The Journey Continues — Welcome to Week 2 of Drive the Gap.
Last week, we laid the foundation by attacking the space between good and great. This week, the next step is trust — giving players ownership so they can live the standard you set.
🔎3-Point Focus🔍
1. Why Ownership Accelerates Development
When players take responsibility for their growth — whether skill, spacing, or decision-making — development speeds up. Ownership shifts focus from “doing what the coach says” to internalizing standards and problem-solving on the court.
Where in practice do I see players relying on me instead of taking initiative?
What are 2–3 areas I can immediately delegate for them to own?
- Action Tip for Coaches: Identify one aspect of practice this week where players self-monitor or correct themselves — no coach input unless asked.
- Ownership Prompt for Players: How will you recognize when you’ve slipped below the standard — and what will you do to correct it before a coach does?
Key Idea: Ownership is the fastest way to multiply development — one coach can’t accelerate growth for 15 players, but 15 players can accelerate growth for each other.
2. Preseason Situations That Give Players Control
Situations should do more than test execution — they should give players room to think, decide, and lead. The more decisions they own now, the less dependent they’ll be when the lights come on in November.
- Reflection for Coaches:
Which situations create decision-making opportunities for players, not just execution?
How can I adapt my favorite segment to add a layer of ownership?
- Action Tip for Coaches:
Small-sided games can develop players' ability to organize spacing and call actions tailored to their team’s personnel, with one short timeout allowed every 3 possessions to regroup.
- Ownership Prompt for Players:
When given control in a situation, how will you show that you’re not just executing — but leading?
Key Idea: Great situations don’t just prepare players for games — they create leaders.
3. Avoiding “Coach-Dependence” Before the Season
It’s easy for players to lean on the coach for every answer in preseason. The challenge is building systems and habits that encourage independence, not dependency.
How often am I providing answers before players attempt to solve the problem?
What are the risks if players are still relying on me for solutions in February?
- Action Tip for Coaches: Pull back on constant feedback — let players solve the rep first, then debrief together. Create decision windows where players must commit to a read before you intervene.
- Ownership Prompt for Players: When something breaks down, what’s your first instinct — look to the coach, or look to a teammate?
Key Idea: Independence in September prevents dependency in February.
💥Smashing Whiteboards💥
Topic: Are You Building Players Who Listen, or Players Who Lead?
Preseason habits set the tone: if players always wait for the coach, you’ll build great listeners — but not leaders. Leadership grows when coaches resist the urge to give answers and instead create space for players to own the process.
Implementation Ideas:
- Coach in Questions: Players don’t need direct answers to every mistake. They need space to think, decide, and learn. Coach in questions — ask before telling — so you’ll know how to help them when they really need it.
- Silent Stretches: Run segments where players must self-correct and communicate without coach input.
- Delegate Decisions: Assign players to run huddles, call actions, or choose triggers in live play.
Reflective Questions for Coaches:
- Am I giving answers too quickly instead of asking the right questions?
- Do my players look to me first — or to each other — when things break down?
- By November, what evidence will show that leaders, not just listeners, are emerging?
Key Idea: Leaders aren’t born on game day — they’re built in the silence of preseason.
🚨Coach’s Challenge🚨
Question: What’s one decision you’ll delegate this week?
Challenge Steps:
- Identify one practice decision you normally control (e.g., sub pattern, drill rotation, who calls the set).
- Delegate it to a player or group.
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Debrief with them afterward — ask questions instead of giving answers:
- 1. What worked — and why?
👉 Challenges them to connect outcome with process, not just state the obvious.
- 2. What broke down — and how did you respond in the moment?
👉 Shifts the focus from the mistake itself to their reaction under stress.
- 3. What would you change — and how would you lead it differently next time?
👉 Adds the leadership lens, not just “do it better.”
Key Idea: Delegating small decisions now — and debriefing them through questions — prepares players to own the big ones later.
🔈Buzzer Beater🔈
Players don’t just need your answers — they need your trust. Build ownership through questions now, so they can lead with answers when it counts.
