Coaching Lessons from the London Lions Academy: Different Styles, Same Mission

Do your behaviors in practice match those aspirations? So if you were to walk into an NBA gym and you saw LeBron practicing or Luka practicing, what sort of behaviors do you think they would display? And then when you can hold the players accountable to that, it was like gold dust.

We were really good at giving them a voice and letting them have a level of ownership throughout practice. And I think And that really helps with building that competitive environment.

Hello and welcome to the Transforming Basketball Podcast. On today's episode, we have 2 very special returning guests. We have Liam Jefferson and Will Twig. Both Liam and Will are Transforming clinicians. They've been on the podcast before. And they are 2 of the finest coaches I've ever had the pleasure of being in the same gym with.

I was very fortunate last year to work alongside both Will and Liam, and I learned a lot from them. I remember Liam, just our walks home after practice and like just asking questions and just like having you give these answers and like, it was just like major food for thought.

And it's something I'll never forget because it was like just from those walks alone, I learned massively. So just welcome to you both.

Thanks, man. Excited to be here.

Yeah, good to see you, George. Great to be here.

So guys, I want to talk about a lot of things, but specifically you guys last season had 2 teams that played 110%. The culture, quote unquote, was everyone played for each other. They were unselfish. They were dogs, for lack of a better word.

You guys' team was amazing to me, man. And I think the really cool thing about that is that you guys have 2 distinct styles of coaching, right? And I just want to know, what did you do? So Liam, we'll start with you. What kind of values did you instill in your team?

How did you get them to buy in and be unselfish and play so hard?

Yeah, I mean, it's, it's a good one because it's kind of that magic solution that all coaches are looking for, right? Is that you want to be able to walk in the gym and everybody's competing, everybody's playing hard. I think a big part of it came down to just the environment that we were all able to create.

And you guys can speak to this a lot because both of you would have been in that environment too. But There was never any small-sided game or activity that we did in practice that wasn't competitive. There wasn't a scoring system attached to it.

There wasn't a winner and a loser. And I think that in itself just instills a culture amongst the players that they're here to play hard, but have fun while they're doing it. And by the end of the year, they, they just love to compete.

I think, George, when we were at Bobby Moore for one of the 16s, like the guys even start trying to come up with their own scoring system for some of these small-sided games because they want to get so competitive with it. So I, I think the biggest piece was just how we were able to add a scoring system into everything that we did that just really emphasized intention but competitive spirit as well.

To build on what Liam's saying, 100%. And I think, I think it actually started when we sat around that table, all of us, with Vanya and Jacob as well and Alex, and we decided Like our philosophy of what we wanted to do as a group, as all the teams.

I think that's where it actually generates from there to start, because that really built the identity. And then we were very fortunate, I think, to still have our freedom of how we wanted to coach it, but in the sense of we're still going to teach using the CLA.

I think one of the best things is just the collaboration from each other. And I think that really helped. That helped me for sure. Collaborating with both of you and Alex and everyone to build to how to create more of a competitive environment from early doors.

Yeah, we were still also individual in how we approach practice, but all of our players really like— it was the one culture, the one, you know, the London Lions Academy culture, which was really cool. I'm curious, what were some of the non-negotiables from you both at practice?

And I remember Liam said something that I still remember to this day, and it was like, your values, are not what you say they are. Your values are what you choose to allow at practice. And that's always stuck with me. So I'm just curious, what are some of your values or non-negotiables during those practice sessions?

I mean, the, the, a big one for me, and I've tried to drum this home quite a lot this year at Oakland's as well, where I'm coaching now. So essentially moved over from coaching an under-16 youth team to a 16 to 19 academy team and a men's program as well.

So I tried to take some of that stuff along, but one of the non-negotiables that I'd loved is, do your behaviors match your aspirations? A great way to start to get to know the players was simply ask them, where do you want the game to take you?

What do you want to get out of the game? And oftentimes at the ages we had, right? 14, 15, 16. They're like, I want to go play in the league. I want to make the NBA. I want to play EuroLeague. I want to play for my country.

That's the hook in for me then to be like, well, do your behaviors in practice match those aspirations? So if you were to walk into an NBA gym and you saw LeBron practicing or Luka practicing, what sort of behaviors do you think they would display?

And then when you can hold the players accountable to that, it was like gold dust. And at that age as well, 14, 15, 16, they really understood that if I walk in the gym, I'm probably not gonna be sat at the side on my phone texting my girlfriend or scrolling through Instagram.

So phones were always away in the bag. I'm going to hydrate in the moments where we give them 30 seconds to get water really quick and they're going to sprint over. And Will did a great job of getting his whole team to always have a water station and the quality of the conversations that they would have in that environment.

It was a non-negotiable that when you were getting water in Will's gym, then you were talking about coverage solutions. You were talking about your coverages on the defensive side. And I think just being able to hold players accountable to those behaviors was really powerful.

For sure. And I think something that we both did, Liam, that I— from working with each other, I think it was we were really good at giving them a voice and letting them have level of ownership throughout practice. And I think that really helps with building that competitive environment when it doesn't matter what player they were, 1 through to 15, whether they're on the depth chart, etc.

It didn't really matter as long as they all felt a part of the bigger picture, and they all were clear to have a voice. I think that really helped with them, conversations and talking about coverage solutions and talking about affordances and different scenarios and situations.

I think we all did that. I think we all made it really a friendly environment for the players, but we made sure there was that line of what was acceptable and what is not. And that really helped build their confidence, I think, over time.

Yeah, I remember I was at— I came because obviously we would be at each other's practices at different times. And I was at Liam's practice towards the end of the week. I had missed a couple practices. And then I think it was Atta, he came over, one of the players.

He was like, oh, coach, are we scram switching after we switch on the pick and roll? And then I was like, what? And it was just such advanced terminology at the time from like a 14 or 15-year-old boy that I was like, are we doing what now?

So like, obviously I had missed practice and I wasn't aware of what we were doing. But it was just like having them being able to come over and ask those advanced questions at that age. Like, it's really credit to you both how advanced you got with the principles of play, with the coverage solutions, the triggers you guys ran.

So I really want you, can you build on that, Will? Like, you guys, obviously we started the season talking under 14s and it was like, oh, we're going to go one-on-one. That's going to be our main trigger, if you will, to create advantages.

And your guys became so good at hunting out the mismatch, being in the dunker spot, wheeling over and under, as well as then you just went to gets, you went to pick and roll. Like, they were getting coverage solutions for the pick and roll.

So can you just talk about that, how you accelerated their learning process?

Yeah, for sure. I think the biggest element that really helped us was setting rate limiters and making it clear throughout what the age groups of what we really wanted to try and achieve. I think that really gave me a clear understanding of I need to get into this position.

So then when they move up to Liam in the, well, in the future, then they would have the understanding of they've got this ticked, got this ticked, got this ticked. Like, like been a bit of a tick box exercise in a sense. So once we established that, that really helped.

But yeah, you're right. It started with one-on-one and what one-on-one actually looks like, not putting the ball between our legs 50 times and behind our back and Chucking up a fadeaway turnaround LaMelo Ball jump shot.

What kind of constraints did you use for that? Do you remember?

Sure. Yeah. So within that, it's obviously changing the dribbles, giving them a certain amount of dribbles they would use in the one-on-one, maybe setting a different advantage or a disadvantage within the one-on-one as well for offense or defense as well. Let's put them in different environments where they're going to be as creative as possible and their body's going to self-organize in different ways.

And that was really, that was really fun because we started at that. And the other thing I'm happy to admit as well, like, I was still learning all this while they were learning as well. And that was the, I think, the biggest challenge for me.

And I'm sure you guys may have faced similar challenges within that. But I think because we were both like group learning together in a sense, the player and the coach, it, it made the environment even that much more special rather than I've had a year of Or 2 of understanding and doing this.

And I know how to get— I kind of know how to get to where I want to get to. So yeah, I think that's how it was.

I was going to build on it. The biggest piece for me was just the intentionality that we had across the whole academy. So I remember we had a very early meeting at the start of our season where we were all sat with Alex up on the balcony where we were living, and we were looking at— we've got our entire offensive and defensive philosophies, which by now I know those in the Transforming community will have delved into a little bit and seen the documents and seen some of the terminology.

We had that at the start of the year and we were very intentional with saying, okay, with the under-12s, we're going to expect them to see this and be delivered this. With the under-14s, so your group will, we were only playing originally with creating dominoes out of one-on-one.

And then we were being really intentional with spacing and floor is lava. We were being extremely intentional with how we were busting and running in transition. what we were doing on the defensive end with containment. Then when you got to the 16s, and we had that for both boys and girls.

But I think that the biggest case study for success that we had was how we had to revisit that document halfway through the year and add stuff to it for each of the age groups because of how far moved along we've each of them.

George has mentioned that you were getting into gets and pick and roll with the U14s group. And originally, I remember sitting there saying, we're never going to do that with U14. Ideally, we don't even want to teach roll. Like, if we get to gets, then it's been a great season.

And by the end of the year, they were just so intentional with not only robotically going through the motions with what a get looks like, they were actively seeking, trying to create advantage, trying to find coverage solutions, trying to punish different coverages. And that just comes down to that intentionality piece from the very start of the year and having that Almost glossary and philosophy documents that we had to be able to guide us in what we were doing on a daily basis.

Yeah, I remember early on in the season, Will, one of your practices we did, we played a 3-on-3 game and it was just FIBA 3-on-3, but there always had to be someone in the weak side dunker, for example. You know, then they worked on creating advantages from the 1-on-1 and then, and then it was like, all right, now that we're good at the weak side dunker, so let's add some Some spacing.

So it was like the train start where they would spin the ball out and it would have to be a double gap on either side of the ball. And then from there, there'd still have to be someone in the weak side dunker. And then they would have to create, try to create dominoes from a one-on-one situation there.

And it was just so impressive how quickly, not only they went out to space to create space, like driving lanes, but then also found that weak side dunker. So we would just yell turnover immediately. And then they would obviously learn and they would, they would always be in the weak side dunker to the point where, like, I remember Charlie, one of the boys, would always be yelling, get to the weak side dunker, get to the weak side dunker.

And it would just always be so funny at practice, the players holding each other accountable without us having to say much sometimes.

For sure. And I think that was the beauty of it because they were able to communicate and they were as comfortable as they were around each other. They could then challenge each other a little bit more. I remember later on when we got to the point that we introduced turtle, where we were exploiting mismatches in a one-on-one and trying to figure out the turtle spacing, which they were learning at the same time.

That was the really big eye-opener because then they would purposely seek each other out to go out at each other, which was great because then they kind of got their coach's hat on to find them advantages in the moment. That was the beauty of it.

And to get to that as well, I set them some homework and it was, I want you to write like a mini scouting report on each of your teammates. Doesn't have to be much, like just, just the clear detail. Matthew brought like a folder of everyone, of all the information clear of each of the players.

It was, it was great. I was like, that's incredible. And he was playing 2 years up. He was 12 at that time. And the fact that you had that buy-in from that really just, it just showed the beauty of it and what was like the potential, what could have been, but, but also the how we could progress further.

I feel like the train starts for the small-sided games as well, Will. Like, train starts was definitely one of your go-tos for trying to teach your guys how to get out in the right sort of spacing, different constraints that you would add around it.

Why, just to build quickly, I think the other great thing with the U14s and with the U12s was it was positionless. So we're talking about, yeah, they had to get to spacing that was 4 out with a weak side dunker filled, but we were putting point guards in the weak side, point guards in air quotes, in the weak side dunker.

We were putting guys that would typically, if you're playing junior basketball, be a 5, but at the next level, they're not a 5. So it was forcing everybody to play in a different position and be in different situations.

Yeah.

And they just adapted so well to it because of it.

And it made us adapt as staff as well to be okay with that as well. Because I think that's the other challenge you'll see. Even my past of coaching, you'll see, like, I would be uncomfortable doing that because it didn't look right or didn't feel right, or it didn't create a messy environment.

It looked clean and good and smart. Yeah, we're good here. When in fact it was absolute carnage. And that's the best thing. That's the best way to learn through mess.

Do you remember the terminology you used for Positions instead of like point guard, shooting guard, small forward. I still, I still remember it, but I think that was a game changer.

We have target, we have converter, and picker. They were the 3 that we used, and that really helped with how we were trying to progress ball.

Yeah, it was a game changer, man. We would have guys that were 6'7 at under-16s, and they were our target. So you're a ball handler and trying to create dominoes, and like, it was just a completely different environment to try and Try and just— I mean, it was so fun.

Like, I'm reminiscing now. It was so much fun just doing different things in different spots to have success.

You know what as well, me and George, it was the moment they understood, right, I'm the target now. And it made it so much clearer for them, the understanding of this is my, uh, not limitation, but this is my understanding of what I'm going to do as a target.

This is my understanding as a converter. So it kind of takes a bit of pressure off them. Thinking, can I do this? Can I not do this? And again, back to non-negotiables per se, it was okay. They had timeout just to clarify who's in what role.

And then, yeah, beautiful.

So you guys spoke briefly about it, but your practice design. So one of the things that we did, which I thought was really cool, we would review our practices to see like what worked, what didn't, and see how we could improve on that.

As Liam said, Will, you loved your train starts. From what I remember, Liam, early in the season, you did as well. I probably didn't. I wish I would have done more train starts at the beginning because I remember with the U12s, like throughout the season, I would go to it a bit more and it really helped them.

So I was like, okay, this is good. The train starts are good. Or even dynamic starts where they're like from the half court and they have to run into space. But I'm curious now, your practice design and your practice design process, how did you guys design the intention for like what you want to work on that week?

And then how did you go about designing the games, the constraints to get those intentions met?

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I think it was when Matt and them rate limiters, for sure. Starting looking at that and determine what the start goal and the end goal was, where we want to try and cover that. And then I feel like we all done the same and we, we kind of randomized it up a little bit as well of what we were covering.

There was, there was still an element of structure to a degree of what we were trying to achieve through the gets and through the triggers and what we were teaching each practice or each week. There may have been a theme. And that was kind of how I built from there.

And then to add, like, I think the beauty of it, because we had that Google Drive as well, it was being able to feed off each other's ideas. So I could go to Liam's session plan and see what his practice plan and see what he's doing tomorrow night.

Okay. Oh, he's looking at this. Well, how could I then, how could I make that more tailored to the under-14 group? So then it would then support that. Because we also go back to Charlie, we had Charlie and Charlie was in between the both, wasn't he, Liam?

Yeah.

Trying to tailor a little bit towards his development as well to Obviously the push of moving up, but then also still tailored to the group of their rate limiters and their PDPs as well, which really helped tailor the plans.

For me, the rate limiters was a big piece, and that, that was even more recognizable once we got back from like the EYBL windows and after we played games and we were able to either receive the feedback from Alex around, these are some of the rate limiters that I see in each of your teams as they're playing.

Or we would start to identify them ourselves. I think the biggest thing for me at the start of the year with just developing my ability to design a practice environment and a practice plan was having Alex there as a check and challenge, as almost that critical friend that all 3 of us were new to using constraints.

Like I've famously said on every single podcast that I've ever been on, that I was games-based using constraints without realizing how I was using them. And to have Alex available as a resource and a critical friend early doors, just to help us to review the practice plans, actually challenge us on what are we being intentional towards, and do those constraints help guide the players?

That helped massively in my ability to create a practice environment and a practice plan that was nonlinear, had enough challenge in there, and still had plenty of learning in there as well. But then I think the real magic came when we were all able to start to see whether the constraints were having benefit in practice in the moment and actually just not being afraid to rip up a practice plan and say, you know, well, actually the intention that I want to get to and the end goal that I want to get to, this activity or

these constraints aren't helping me to get there. I'm going to try something completely different and throw something in completely differently. By the end of the season, I think the 3 of us and Alex as well, we were all in a position where it didn't really matter who was head coaching a practice because any one of us would just jump in and we almost all would know exactly what that person was about to add, what constraint they were about to add, or what change they were going to make to the small-sided game in order for us

to get to where we wanted to get to. But it's because we'd all been through that same process.

Quickly, I'm going to put you both on the spot. Do you remember some of you, so maybe something that could help coaches out? Because I know for me early on was finding the right constraints that would help shape the environment so that the desired behaviors would come out, right?

So for example, if I wanted to, if I wanted my players to switch aggressively, let's say we were doing 3-on-3. With side pick and roll and then someone in the weak side corner. And I wanted that switch to be an aggressive switch. So obviously the constraint I would give is like both your feet have to be outside the 3-point line when you switch or it's a turnover, right?

So that was like a great, a great, great constraint to get the desired behavior. 'Cause then I didn't have to say, oh, you're not switching aggressively, you know, whatever aggressive is. So we decided to be super specific about what it is. And then we added that constraint so that we could see the desired behavior.

And then, like magic, the players, they don't want to have a turnover. They don't want to lose the game. So they start doing the behavior without us having to yell at them or tell them again repeatedly. So I'm just curious about some of your specific constraints, maybe a handful or a few that you can share that really helped you, that maybe you still use today, or that you just remember distinctly.

One I remember, and it's from your practice actually, is when we're playing out wide, basically a screen away. And the constraint was making sure they made the right read from the coverage of the defender. And that was one that really eye-opened for me off ball.

But I remember seeing that in the under-16s first, and then I don't think we got that— we go there a little bit with the under-14s, but that was a really specific constraint we added, just determined on their organization of realizing what the decision they have in the moment there.

But yeah, so, well, that was just the single opportunity constraint, if I understood that one correct.

You'll have to correct me, but probably yes. But it's, uh, it was them reading, them reading the decision on the moment of whether they, whether the defender goes under or over the wide screen.

That single opportunity constraint is probably one of the most powerful constraints that we added into our environment when we started to talk Less about just creating dominoes and more about punishing coverages and making them super intentional with— so like that one's a great example in that wide, in that pin away, actually curling it hard and curling it with purpose.

If the defender is chasing over, is it an opportunity to Ricky and screen, rescreen if it's a Lander? And just adding that as a constraint was really, really powerful. My favorite one, and I don't know why I never went through it sooner, but by the end of the year I loved it.

was just walling the space and shrinking the space available to the players. And especially because with U16, we, we were teaching a lot of pick and roll decision-making, and we were playing out of the kind of concepts and triggers that we had from our philosophy at that age group.

We played out of a lot of pick and roll, so we would play out of a side or a middle pick and roll, maybe an empty corner pick and roll, and just walling like the opposite. Lane line and having, I remember the 3 of us being stood there or sticking some cones there and playing 2-on-2, 3-on-3 with, with a constrained space mimics having that roll tack defender there or having the shrink defender there and forces them to be more intentional to find the coverage solution.

So we could say we're gonna play side picker roll. It's gonna be a walled activity. So the opposite lane line is out of bounds. Defense must aggressively switch. Pick and roll ball handler, you get double points if you can reject the pick and roll.

We've added 4 or 5 constraints into that that just really guided the intention of what we were trying to achieve within our practice plan. I think by the end of the year, we got to that point where activities were planned like that, every single one.

And we were very, I keep using the word intentional, but we were in trying get to what the end goals were.

And to build on your point, Liam, I think you didn't just go and set 5 constraints, you know, straight away and have them do it. That would maybe cause some confusion. I think you did something really good, which was you let them nail down what you were first trying to constrain.

For example, whether that's, all right, we have to set a crack angle. All right. As soon as they have that, then you move on to the next constraint to the point where now they're doing it without you having to, you know, officiate or tell them about it anymore.

And now it's just, you know, in the culture or the game plan, it's part of your team identity. And so now you can start to have these 5 constraints, but it's basically, you know, to your point, or the conversation is around the team identity and how you built it, right?

And you just have to continue to officiate those constraints. Liam, I want to, I want to continue on this. So now obviously you're coaching a little bit, the age group you're coaching is a bit older. How have you adapted your playing style from what we did last year, which was obviously a lot of pick and roll, gets, some screenaways as well?

Obviously we had the combo triggers, your pistols, things like that. You mentioned the Ricky, the screen rescreen, but how have you adapted based on your personnel this season and just your experience and what you like on offense?

It's funny because I remember the 3 of us talking about when I was at Loughborough before the season before, I was using some Triggers and concepts in how we were playing. And it's almost like last year with Lions, I was able to fine-tune a lot of those concepts and triggers and bring them back into, from what our philosophy and our offense was into what I foresee mine to be and how we could be a little bit more killer instinct in how we're hunting dominoes and advantage.

So for us, we were, what we've done this year is a bit of a hybrid 5-out, 4-out, 1-in. Yeah. We've specified that our big must be a rim runner or a trailer, and then everybody else, one through four, is very similar. If the big is ahead of the ball, he's on the rim and he exits to the weak side dunker.

If the big is behind, then he plays in the trailer. When I say big, it's big in inverted commas again, because some of our bigs are actually wings and forwards at the next level. It's only with our men's team that we actually have a six ten center that.

That we can actually talk about having a big— with our academy team, our biggest guy was like 6'6. But even then we would add in some different— so we would play out of zoom. We've been playing out of delay. And just within that, some of the, some of the coverage solutions that we would teach when we were teaching gets, handoffs, side pick and roll, we're now looking at how they build into different action.

So if we're going to play out of a delay and we're getting that pin down and looking to come off it, we're in the zoom or in the dribble handoff. All of the different reads and coverage solutions that we might still have. But yeah, I think it's been fun for me to kind of start to look at how I can put my own stamp on conceptual offense and not just deliver the same kind of 5 or 6 concepts.

I'm actually being very structured in what works for our personnel, what works for the next level that they're going to play at, and what's going to have success in our league. And if you look at especially the British Academy League, actually the teams that had the most success were the teams that played less pick and roll, but when they were in the pick and roll, they were highly efficient with it.

Played more out of aways, they played more out of staggers, they had different actions taking place. So we've started to try and emulate some of that, but still try to keep it as conceptual as we can do.

Well, how do you coach or teach the connection That maybe, so let's say you arrive and you're in 5-out and then you're, you know, your quote unquote big gets the ball at the top and you're in the lay action. How do you teach what maybe you, I don't wanna say what you want them to do, but maybe what, you know, your main action is kind of thing.

It's the same as what we were talking about before with some of the small-sided games and constraints that we've used, right? Like you would strip it back so that it's 3-on-3. The ball gets reversed to the big, but the big has nobody the other side of the floor to be able to go to.

And we would constrain defense must switch. Defense can't switch the 5. They can only switch 1 through 4 and look at the different solutions then. So I'll be slipping. Then you get the opportunity to come off the pin down into a handoff. We would just be very clear in the same way that we were with the triggers and concepts that we had at Lions last year.

Right.

You're just layering it in a different way. The one piece that I think has been the most valuable for us this year though is, so we had a real issue where at the start of the year, because each of these concepts and triggers we attach a name to.

So for us, a side pick and roll was just a side, a middle pick and roll was a rub. We had wide, which was the pin away. A lot of the players at 16, 17 that I'd inherited from junior national league programs, Viewed them as sets in their head.

So they would always come down the floor and the lead guard or the ball handler in the moment would almost blast as quick as they can do, get to the wing, get to the 45, and then slow it down and go side, side, side to get into the side pick and roll rather than reading what was in front of them.

Can I get straight into that handoff with the corner guy? Do I have the opportunity to hit the big? So the best constraint that I added around Christmas time was that they just weren't allowed to fall. or verbalize any of the triggers that we played out of, and that they must seamlessly throw from one to the next.

And if at any point they lost momentum or they lost dominoes, it was a whistle and it was a turnover because the ball had died or someone had dribbled back out and tried to set something up. And that helped us massively with getting into especially like the delay and zoom because they weren't just one action.

There's a couple of actions layered into it and That helped the players to not second-guess themselves almost and just dive straight into whatever they felt was most natural in that moment.

Yeah. And I remember Alex was super cutthroat about the turnovers where it was like, but I think the intention again behind the being, you know, a bit quick to call a turnover and hold the players accountable is that you really want to enforce this behavior, to your point.

So, so yeah, no, it makes sense. That's awesome, fellas. Thank you. It's been a nice conversation. Before I let you get out of here, I do want to ask each of you our transformative tip. Will, we can start with you. What tip can you leave for coaches that can instantly change, improve their practice or learning environments?

Listen. I think that's the biggest thing, like listen to different coaches, In this environment, don't ever feel like you're a know-it-all, quote unquote, be a sponge, take it all in.

For me, I think the biggest bit is, and especially for those that are in the Transforming community, I don't think you can view the small-sided games and all of the activities that are available as gospel. Some of them are going to work really well in your environment.

Others, the players based on forms of life, based on their age, based on their stage, based on the competition. They might just, they might not work. And so don't be afraid. Like we said before, like middle of the season, we probably got to the point where we felt most comfortable as coaches using constraints when we could rip up a practice plan and just freestyle in that moment or tweak a small-sided game because we recognized that our constraints that we planned for half an hour just didn't work anymore.

So I think the biggest piece for me is don't see these small-sided games and constraints that are shared as a kind of silver bullet. Use them as an opportunity to put some framework around your practice environment and what you're doing, but don't be afraid to deviate from them and go in a different direction if you feel like you're not meeting the outcome goals and objectives that you want from them.

Awesome.

Thank you, guys.

What about you, George? Come on, you don't get out of it.

You know, I was waiting for a guest to ask me that question, but I haven't thought of an answer. Off the top of my head, I think, I want to say be adaptable. All right. I guess a little bit similar to, in a way, to what you both said.

But I think as coaches, we always ask our players when we're coaching in the CLA that we want to create environments for them to be adaptable. So I think my transformative tip to coaches is like, be adaptable as well. So put yourself in an environment where you have to be adaptable.

So whether that's You're constraining yourself. All right, today I'm only gonna— my feedback's gonna be 30 seconds max, right? And I'm gonna time myself. Or my time on task, this practice has to be 90%, like, because it's been super low. I'm filming myself and then I can look back and see it.

But mainly put yourself in positions that you're out of your comfort zone, just like you would the players.

I'm not gonna let you get away with it.

Yeah, fellas, it's been nice, man. Really nice to catch up, obviously reminisce a little bit about You know, the amazing things we did at London Lions Academy. It's crazy because we were speaking a little bit off air and Liam was saying the progression that his team was having this year.

And it's the same thing that we had last season. I remember we started and then our teams were getting, you know, absolutely destroyed at the start of the season. And then to the point where at the end of the season, we're not only winning games, but we're like a lot better than the other teams.

And then the teams in the, like, maybe are on the 12s category.

Yeah.

We were like right there as well. I remember the first under-12 game, we lost by like 50 or something. And then we played that same team at the end of the season and we won. So it's like, it was just crazy in a short space of time how good they, all the, all the age groups got.

It is a shame, man. I was talking about this with somebody else the other day that we only got a 1-year crack at it. Such a shame because the progression that we were seeing, I genuinely do. And this isn't to cast shade on anybody else within British basketball, right?

Because There's some really good pockets of work going on around the country. I really do think that the developmental environment that we created, we were going to do something really special. So it has, it had been fun to be able to have a chance, like you said, to reminisce and catch up and almost talk like we're back in it again, even if just for 40 minutes.

Yeah, man, absolutely. All right, guys. Well, I'll let you get out of here. I know you got stuff to do.

Appreciate you, George.

Thank you. Appreciate you, man. Been fun.

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