Elias Maahs

I’m from Germany and coach at USV Halle - a grassroots sports club. I coach both youth basketball and our first men’s team.

I was looking for evidence-based ideas regarding how learning and movement occurs in sports environments. Traditional coaching methods never convinced me at all - something was just missing! So I found Rob Gray, Mike MacKay and of course Alex Sarama - this was the start of a new journey for me.

The Transforming Summer Camps in Italy gave me more examples of the practical application of the CLA, which really complemented Alex’s book for the theoretical framework and deeper understanding of the subject area. Also the podcasts, videos social media content (particularly the YouTube Shorts Videos) have widened my lens in regard to how to see the game and apply the theory by creating rich learning environments for people who play basketball.

From copy pasting drills from famous coaches, teaching techniques traditionally and knowing all the answers...a complete change to an environmental architect, who creates problem-solving activities and changes constraints purposefully. My players now have the opportunity to explore and find solutions on their own, and critically, are allowed to make mistakes! This quote pretty much sums it up for me: “What you teach a child, he can no longer discover for himself. But only what he discovers for himself improves his ability to understand and solve problems.” - Jean Piaget

Furthermore, the players love it with the freedom to explore and try new things, while being challenged and competing in small-sided games. It is waaaaaay more fun than boring and repetitive drills! And of course you will see more struggle and "chaos" by design, but it’s worth it completely because players become way more creative, adaptable and versatile and have a deeper understanding of the game. For us the icing on the cake is that you will be more successful as well - which for me, is not a strong indicator of success as long term development is prioritized over immediate results. But it takes time and you need to have patience with the non-linearity of learning. It is a marathon, not a sprint.