Getting Buy-In for the CLA: A Guide for Basketball Coaches

A big hurdle to overcome in making the leap into utilizing the CLA is the pushback you can receive from those on the outside such as parents administrators and other coaches. The players themselves are often the easiest - from youth to pro - as they immediately recognize the value this type of training provides!

With the dominant approach being so entrenched at all levels of basketball, everyone will have established expectations on how a coach is meant to coach in practice, or what they do on the sidelines during a game.

Setting Expectations with Parents

Therefore, the first advice we offer to coaches working with parents who have never seen a constraints-led approach, is to clearly set expectations for all parties involved. When you are going to introduce a different way of doing things, it is critical to first have this conversation. Present on what a constraints-led approach is, why it provides greater value to the traditional things they have seen, as well as all the successful teams in basketball now using it.

Using Everyday Analogies to Build Understanding

When bringing parents in on the conversation, it can be helpful to use an analogy to everyday life such as the example below. This great idea came from Art Errickson in our membership community!

Using everyday examples of the process of learning provides a framework all can relate to. This may help them understand why using a more ecological approach can be beneficial when it comes to coaching their children.

Gaining Buy-In from Other Coaches

When it comes to “selling a CLA to other coaches”, setting expectations with your coaching colleagues can be approached in a similar manner. At Transforming, we often start our coach education in clinics around the world by asking the coaches about a problem they are having trouble solving. For example, the principle of play to be active in the gaps with defensive positioning off the ball. What has the coach tried doing to implement this? This may often lead to a typical answer such as instructing their players on on the importance of moving when they don’t have the ball, pairing this with a traditional drill like a shell drill.

What we can do now is offer the alternative; a CLA activity with a constraint that may invite the desired behavior to become more attractive. For example, if the principle of play is being in the gaps, any time the defense neutralize a drive (e.g. forcing a dribble pick-up or turnover) through good gap positioning, they earn three bonus points. This would incentivize each player to be highly attuned to ways in which they can optimize their off ball movement to offer appropriate help on drives.

Community Ideas for Building Buy-In

Here are two more great ideas from Transforming members for getting buy-in from other coaches in your program who are new to these ideas…