“My coaching philosophy is different than most in the area. I was raised a certain way by my Dad and taught to look at the game differently than most. I was taught to play every position and pass the ball even if you're open for a good shot if your teammate has an opportunity for a great shot. When I was younger, I was told to stand under the basket because I was tall and NOT dribble the ball or shoot anything except lay-ups. After seeing this philosophy my dad took over coaching and gave me and every player on the team the opportunity to handle the ball and shoot. I still see dads and programs that have nonparent coaching still doing this today to children and pigeonholing them into one position. When doing this, that child will be put in situations as they get older, and they won't be able to adapt. This is the main reason why we don't run plays besides a couple of standard plays.

I want every child to learn to dribble, shoot, play with the ball in their hands and be able to move without the ball and not just stare and watch the player dribble. Instead of working on plays for an hour every week, I rather take that time to work on boxing out, forcing kids to their weaker hand, help side defense, screen away, pin down the screen, dribble handoffs, curl cut, etc. These are things they can carry onto the next level. If you add up all the hours spent on running plays from 2nd grade to 6th grade, it would be around 260 hours (1 hour per week for 5 years). Yes, running plays can look great but it isn't always beneficial. I have seen so many kids wide open, but they still "run the play". A kid feels he has to do A, then B, then C, and doesn't realize that he is wide open to drive and score after A has been done. Also, if you're the kid that runs and sets screens every play down the court and is told to roll to the basket every time, then I hope you are at least 6'6 in High School because if you're not, then you won't be playing. This is why most of our kids, as they get older, make their school teams. They have an advantage of 260 hours where they worked on skills needed to make their Junior High/High School team over every other player from other programs in the area. Also, the tall kid that was told NOT to dribble at other programs at a younger age because they were tall might be cut because they aren't the tallest anymore and were never given the opportunity to develop their game.

At Indy Hoops Academy, we want every child to develop the skills to be a great player overall. If their coach asks them to handle the ball on a press, set a screen, box out, shoot, or drive, we want them to be able to do that and all the little things that will impress at tryouts.

My father also taught me that winning isn't everything. I don't know how many times a kid makes a mistake, and I say, don't worry about it, just move on to the next play and learn from that mistake. I tell every team I coach that I expect you to control the things you can control (hustle, boxing out, attitude towards your teammates, helping your teammate off the floor, making sure to tell your teammate who made the pass so you can score a nice pass). I also tell them they have a standard to play to, and if they can do this, then win or lose, I don't care. I have had teams that win by 20, and I am not happy with the way they played. We have lost by 20 and have been so proud of their effort and the way they played.

Ask your child what their record was for the season, and most of the time, they have no clue or have to think through it for a while. This is why, to me, winning doesn't matter. Just learn and get better, and over time, the winning will come when your entire team can do everything on the court and bring positive energy to the team.”