coachcarlparker-blog

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Hi I questioned one of your players about any tips for a shooting guard. Thanks for the help, appreciate it a lot. I played on the weekend, and my defence was really good, it was a major key in the game and I got a lot of court time for it. Thanks again for the help.

Great! Promise to keep me posted on your progress.

[coachcarlparker-blog]

I'm an overweight girl of 5"9 and I really need to get in shape for basketball. The problem is I have 2 bad knees and 2 bad ankles. Any tips?

This season has been extremely busy. I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to respond earlier. How's basketball season going?

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Learn Something New

Preseason: 8/2012

I am reminded today that we have to keep learning and growing every day. I had a student athlete come in yesterday who is new to the program.  Compared to my other student athletes he is so far behind. Is he really serious about being a college basketball player?

It reminds me that if I don't continue to make improvements every day I will find myself, just like him, far behind-physically, spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally. Will someone ever say, "Is Coach Parker really serious about being an elite basketball coach?" I don't want to be that guy who looks around and finds himself deep in a hole that is nearly impossible to climb out. I don't want to be that guy who regrets getting up early every morning to put in work. Use it and improve it or lose it.

Learn something new and useful to your personal growth and development. Don't have a plan? Get one. Today!

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Coach: One of my readers messaged me to ask if I had any tips on how to improve as a shooting guard. I'm no coach, but I told her not to neglect her defense while striving to become a better scorer. Since I just discovered your blog, I'd love to put the question to a real expert. Thanks!

Thanks for stopping by! I LOVE defense! It makes a game exciting and will often mean the difference between winning and losing. I also think it's the major factor when going to the next level of your game.

In my high school program we train everyone as guards no matter how tall they are. We put a lot of work into ball handling, dribbling, finishing, and footwork.

More specific to the becoming a better shooting guard, this means learning how to exploit the holes in a defense - FROM BEHIND - especially when playing against a zone. That means maintaining spacing on fast breaks and knowing how to play away from the ball in the half-court set. She needs to help balance the floor by being an offensive threat. That means catching the ball on balance ready to shoot or attack. She's a master at setting screens and finding the  gaps. Shooting skills mean nothing if she doesn't know how to find the openings, draw defenders, and handle the ball pressure.

I hope that helps!

Coach Carl Parker

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Family First: Sharing Passion - Part 3

It was my youngest son who has tons of energy who has pulled me out of that fog that I've been in. He is so passionate about playing the game of basketball that he is always asking me to go to the gym to practice. He wants to learn. It was during one of those workouts with Mikey that it hit me. That was me when I was his age. I know what it feels like to want a coach. It’s not rocket science yet it took me years to understand. I should be doing coaching my kids every chance I get. I have the resources. I have a gym. I have the knowledge. I have the experience. Most of all, they want me to work with them. My son should not have to go anywhere else to learn the fundamentals of the game. Dad is a coach. And before he is anyone else's coach, Dad should be his son or daughter's coach first. That is family first.

3. Sharing Your Passion I think I’m a good dad. But family first means that I also coach my kids if that's what they need. Kind of a weird concept. I guess what I'm saying is that I can be daddy and a coach to my kids. In fact, what is better than sharing my passion for the game of basketball with my own children? Working out with my sons in camp this summer and on weekends whenever we have a chance and just sitting around talking about basketball with all three of them has been one of the best experiences of my coaching career. I don't have to compartmentalize my life as a basketball coach from my family life. I am lucky they all came together. I love my family. I love this game.

Living what you teach is the only way to coach from the heart. Putting your family first will make you a great coach.

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Family First: Live It Coach - Part 2

Many of us don't truly embrace the concept of "family first." It sounds good in speeches but it often falls short because we really don't know what it means and how to successfully implement it as coaches.

To me, family first means making sure to acknowledge on a daily basis that my love for my wife, children, parents, grand parents, aunts, uncles, and even cousins are always a part of what I do and why I do it. They are my foundation and come before any of my professional coaching goals or my love for the game.

It's not easy. I've probably made more mistakes than I can remember. Along the way I have discovered three simple ways to put my family first as I strive to build on my success as a coach. (In Part I of this three part series we talked about the first step of Embracing the Family Support Network.)

2. Live what you coach.

As coaches, we have a tremendous opportunity to guide the emotional, physical, and spiritual development of our student-athletes. Their character will reflect the lessons we teach on and off the court. You cannot coach what you do not know for yourself. I’ve always said that coaching has made me a better man and this is why: I make an effort to practice what I preach, so coaching for me starts at home.

I knew my wife was a keeper when she put up with all my long hours as an athletic director. She wore the prettiest smile while helping me sweep, mop, sell snacks at games, and babysit on road trips. Without her I am sure I wouldn’t have succeeded. She continued to support me even when it seemed that no one else would. She was always my loudest cheerleader at games and at home when I could only manage to get a couple hours of sleep for nights on end. She was often stronger than me and still managed to balance her high-profile, high-stress position as executive director in the D.C. government. If I did not make family first during my tenure as AD I sure I would have burned out long ago. She quietly supported me and when the fog of fatigue finally lifted at the end of the season, I realized what she was teaching me all along. That's family first.

I have three athletically gifted children who I love with all my heart. Yet I found that I failed to truly embrace the family first principle as a dad.

My daughter who was always the tallest girl in her class was always being asked if she plays basketball. And it's a reasonable question because they knew that I was the girls’ varsity basketball coach. The sad fact is that she never really played because I've never had time to coach her and teach her how to play the game. I spent my time coaching everyone else's kids and not mine. Despite that fact, one of the best things my daughter ever said to me is that “[She] loves the way that I am like a daddy to all my players but I'm really her dad.” So I’m still a pretty good dad but I can’t help but feel that I missed a great opportunity to spend even more time with her. That's not family first.

My eldest son who is entering the ninth grade this fall just started playing basketball. He's been a baseball player for years. Although I knew very little about the technical aspects of baseball I've always supported him and cheered him on.  But it appears that he has wanted to play basketball all along. Watching him make the seamless transition from accomplished baseball player to a seriously competitive basketball makes me wonder, how much better he would be right now if I spent more time with him all these years? That's not family first. Again I am a basketball coach. Why have I not been coaching my own children all these years?

I learned that becoming a great coach means coaching from the inside out. I can't teach my athletes what I do not know and practice myself. Embrace your family support network and live what you coach!

(To be continued)

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Ask Coach Parker Anything!

Question: Do you need to be in a good high school basketball division to get a (college) scholarship?

Answer: No, you do not. As a coach, I would like to see how you do against stiff competition for sure but I also know raw talent when I see it - no matter who you're competing against. I walked on in college and received a partial ride without coming from a deep competitive high school background.

You must have solid fundamental skills, strong athletic abilities necessary to defend stronger, faster opponents, meet or exceed the required academic standards, and possess the strong work ethic you will need to continue improving.

More importantly, scholarships are offered to players whose strengths fit the needs of that particular team at the time. In the end, getting an athletic scholarship is about "who knows you" and how you can help them fill a void. If I'm a recruiter and you're that 6'3" shooting guard that I will need to eventually replace my senior starter, then you would be on my short list of scholarship candidates - no matter WHAT high school division you came from. (

Coach Carl Parker

[coachcarlparker-blog]

3 Ways Successful Coaches Put Family First

Coaches in every sport preach the law of “family first” to their team every season but often manage to screw it up at home. We teach it to our student-athletes. It’s in bold ink in our coaching philosophies. It hangs from banners in our locker-rooms. We drive it home at every opportunity we get. “Family first. Family first.”

What does it really mean to you? Here are a three ways I’ve learned to truly put my family first on my journey to becoming a more successful coach.

1. Embrace your family support network.

I had an opportunity today to briefly catch up my cousin Vincent who is a filmmaker in Chicago. Since the last time we spoke almost a year ago, I have been through a significant professional challenge in which I found myself knee-deep in the type of political foolishness every coach finds themselves in at least once in their careers. And only now did I realize that, after having made it through with a few bumps and bruises, never once did I pick up my phone and call any of my four sisters, my parents, aunts, uncles, or cousins for help, support, or advice. I became so wrapped up in the problem that I failed to reach out to the love and reliability of my family. I would've probably saved myself a few gray hairs. That's a problem. That is not Family First.

Make sure that your family is a consideration in everything that you plan throughout your coaching career. As you plan your practice and game schedule put your family first. When you're encountering political pressures from the administration or from disgruntled parents, and all kinds of angry, nasty people that we may deal with as coaches, put your family first by remembering that their love and support helped you get this far in your career and they will continue to have your back. The deep wisdom within the family circle is amazingly strong. Use it. That’s Family First.

(To be continued)

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Ask Me Anything!

Question: School tryouts, never played school basketball, what to expect? My school tryouts are next week for basketball, but I have never played organized ball, ive only playe pick up games, street games. So all these plays, cutting this way that way is new to me.

What would I expect at a school basketball tryouts?

Answer: Expect to be nervous. Get warmed up. The jitters won't last long. Expect to make a few mistakes. Your basketball IQ is probably going to be a weakness but that's OK if you show the coaches a willingness to learn. (Don't be afraid to ask questions.) Expect tough competition from new and returning players who want a spot on the team just as much as you do. You will need to EARN your spot AND their respect. And most importantly, expect tryouts to be a great experience you will ALWAYS remember no matter if you make the team or not. Enjoy every moment! When I conduct varsity basketball tryouts every year I look for students with serious talent and experience of course but I also look for those students who possess these 4 KEY attributes that mean even more to our successful season: 1. HUSTLE all practice long. Fight for every loose ball and rebound. If a coach calls you over, run it in. It shows me that you would bring great energy to my practices and that necessary spark we need in games. I love it! 2. SPEAK UP! Call out the name of the person you're passing to. I want to hear you yell things like PICK, I GOT IT, BALL, BALL. And THANK your teammate for giving you the assist. Be the best cheerleader out there - on the court and from the sideline. Help your teammate by encouraging them. It will boost their confidence and improve their performance. It shows me that you understand that basketball is a team sport and you would fit nicely on my roster. 3. LISTEN. If you're not clear, ask the coach to repeat. If you're speaking while I'm talking, you're not listening. That's disrespectful. If you can't listen, then you will not play for my team. Maintain eye contact and speak clearly, with confidence. "Yes sir." "No sir." Heard, understood, acknowledged! 4. Be ENTHUSIASTIC. I'm looking for students who seem to really enjoy playing basketball as much as I enjoy coaching the game. That's the athlete that will develop and grow as an important part of my team because they will be eager to learn. Enjoy the game. It's infectious. It makes us coaches want to keep you around :) Have fun and Good Luck! Coach Carl Parker Takoma Academy

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Venus Listens to Her Body

Tennis superstar Venus Williams' battle with chronic fatigue finally diagnosed as Sjogren’s Syndrome.

Coaching elite athletes includes teaching them the importance of listening to their bodies - knowing when to push and when to back off. "Quitters never win" is BS. Our minds are so powerful that it will allow a young athlete to run through a brick wall despite the logical consequences of broken bones and a serious psych eval.

Knowing when to quit or throttle back is essential to achieving your training and performance goals. Training should progressively vary the stress placed on the body in order to prepare muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons for the increased workload to come and simultaneously minimize the chances of fatigue and eventual injury through overtraining. While Venus didn't overtrain, it's a good reminder for coaches and athletes to pay close attention to what our bodies tell us.

We wish you well Venus.

Love your team!

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Study: Jogging beats weight lifting for losing belly fat

Aerobic exercise is better than resistance training if you want to lose the belly fat that poses a serious threat to your health, researchers say.

That's the finding of their eight-month study that compared the effectiveness of aerobic exercise (such as jogging), resistance training (such as weight lifting), or a combination of the two activities in 196 overweight, sedentary adults aged 18 to 70.

The participants in the aerobic group did the equivalent of 12 miles of jogging per week at 80 percent maximum heart rate, while those in the resistance group did three sets of eight to 12 repetitions three times per week.

The Duke University Medical Center researchers looked at how these types of exercise reduced the fat that's deep within the abdomen and fills the spaces between internal organs. This type of fat -- called visceral and liver fat -- is associated with increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer.

Aerobic exercise significantly reduced visceral and liver fat and improved risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, such as insulin resistance, liver enzymes and triglyceride levels. Resistance training didn't deliver these benefits. Aerobic exercise plus resistance training achieved results similar to aerobic exercise alone, the investigators found.

"Resistance training is great for improving strength and increasing lean body mass," lead author and exercise physiologist Cris Slentz said in a Duke news release. "But if you are overweight, which two-thirds of the population is, and you want to lose belly fat, aerobic exercise is the better choice because it burns more calories."

Aerobic exercise burned 67 percent more calories than resistance training, the researchers found.

The study was published in the Aug. 25 issue of the American Journal of Physiology.

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Vick's Real Value

From prison to 3rd string to $100M. Vick is back. But it's not about the big contract. This comeback story is proof that you ALONE determine your value. Sometimes it takes a minute for the world to get it. Until then, dig in, dig deep, build from the inside out. And one day you'll get your shot. Ready or Not? That's on you.

Remember: Character is who you ARE, not who people THINK you are.

[coachcarlparker-blog]

New York, New York. I'm just saying...

[coachcarlparker-blog]

How Bad Do You Want It? We don't workout, we BLACKOUT. We don't 'shoot around' or lift weights, we TRAIN. Let's GO!

Ballers ONLY.

[coachcarlparker-blog]

When you want to breathe as much as you want to succeed, then you'll be successful.

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Under Armour Women. Protect This House. I WILL. (by underarmour)

Get it in ladies!

[coachcarlparker-blog]

Dirty Pearl

Wining and dining young athletes and their AAU coaches is what's KILLING basketball.