How to Teach Leadership in Basketball

5 Tips to Teaching Leadership in Basketball

Before I get in to this post, just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all of my readers and the people across the world!!!

Are leaders born or made? Are you a leader or a follower?

Do you want to be yourself or a copy?

Do you want to make the impossible seem possible?

Most kids are taught at a young age that if you are not a leader then you are a follower. That is a statement that is a fact because it can only be one of two ways. To be a leader, you need to carry attributes such as honesty, loyalty, respect and responsibility – just to name a few.

It is not easy to be a leader, that is why there is not that many out there. Not to give you a dictionary class of the word leadership, but leaders speak up when no one else will. Most people are followers because it is easier to lay back and let someone else take charge.

Being a leader is a heavy burden, but it comes with its rewards. These fundamentals of leadership are spoken through ones actions. In basketball, a leader would be a team player, the guy everyone would come to and rely on. In turn, the leader would rely on everyone else. It is a team effort.

Young players watch too much NBA basketball and they want to be the showboat of the team or score every single bucket in the game instead of being the leader. No one wants to play with a showboat and no one wants to play with a ball hog.

Coach Mckillop, the head coach at Davidson College, told me the only reason any player earned a basketball scholarship is because they are a contributor in several aspects of the game. They are also a leader on and off the court.

Here are 5 keys from Coach Mckillop to help develop basketball leaders on the court!

1. The player is vocal on the basketball court! – He talks to his teammates, he is one of the loudest players on the court. People know he is on the court by his voice alone!

2. He dives on the floor! – this is big, he or she loves the 50/50 balls and will fight for every rebound or loose ball.

3. The player motivates his teammates throughout the course of the game, he or she has a never quit attitude no matter the score.

4. The player can coach the team on the court and lead his team to victory by giving the effort on every play.

5. The player gets his or her teammates involved and has fun while he or she is playing.

Leadership qualities do not stop there, what other leadership qualities do you think a basketball player should have?

I just started coaching a youth basketball team and my biggest teaching point is for them to become a team. If the young players buy into this system and hold each other accountable, you develop leadership in a lot of your players.

As a parent or a coach coaching a young team, the most important thing to instill in them is that they have to play as a team. They cannot achieve anything without each other, because a leader cannot lead if there is no team and a follower cannot follow if there is not a team to follow.

As long as they have that instilled in them, they are already winners.

For you point guards, here is a 12-week skill, leadership and mentality system that will not only help you develop your point guard skills but has a mentality and leadership course that will help you learn how to lead and motivate your team.

The leadership course is 5 weeks of elevating your mind on and off the court as a leader of your team. Damin Altizer’s 12-week point guard program is a course you serious point guards should train with if you want to become an elite basketball leader. Click Here to Order the Leadership Program!

You need to have goals and motivation to get to where you want to go. If you want to win games, you have to work hard and work together. There is no room for selfishness.

If a teammate messes up in any way, the worst thing you can do is put them down because then you are putting the whole team down. A good level of good sportsmanship is to let your teammate know that you will be there for support no matter what.

This is how you build a long lasting relationship. Whether or not you are a leader on the basketball court, if you have good sportsmanship and if you are a good role model for your team that will teach you how to be a leader in life.