Assistant Coach's Job (Scouting Report)

Hello! This is Yoshinaga.

Looking back, I realized I haven't written about the job of an assistant coach (AC) yet😅
That's because, for me, the way of being a coach is the same whether you are a head coach or an AC.

That said,
the actual work is quite different.
So,
I would like to write about the specific tasks.

However! I have never learned about being an AC from anyone, so
this is strictly my personal approach.

For those of you aiming to become coaches!
I think you will likely start as an AC.
When I first started as an AC,
I started from a state of having absolutely no idea what to do,
so I hope this post will be of some help.

AC's Job

Roughly speaking, it is as follows:
・Opposing team scouting
・Own team scouting
・Workouts
・Practice support
・Liaison between HC and players

Can you imagine it to some extent?
Scouting is mainly about making videos. I show the videos I've made to the players, or create reports to make the videos easier to understand.

Opposing team scouting includes:
・Opponent's set offense
・Opponent's defense
・Opponent's players
and so on.

Own team scouting is the same:
・Own team's set offense
・Own team's defense
・Own team's players
and so on.

Workouts.
As you might imagine.
I think the points of when to do them, who to do them for, who does them, and what to do are very important.
There are also very important precautions for workouts,
so I will explain them in detail if I ever write about workouts.
I feel that the current environment for workouts is not very well-organized.
The environment I am thinking of
is not about the place or time to teach,
but the problem of the person teaching.
In the worst case, someone who is not a coach does the coaching under the name of a workout.
I think the situation is so bad that this kind of thing happens.

Practice support.
This involves passing during practice, acting as a dummy defender,
or the AC coaching specific parts during practice.
There is a problem here too.
Can you throw strong and fast passes?
Can you move as a dummy defender?
I think there are many ACs who don't think about these points at all.
Passing randomly, defending randomly...
This is why coaches need training.

Liaison between HC and players
I think this is the part that leaves the strongest impression on everyone when it comes to ACs.
This is a very important role as an AC.
There are a few things I am careful about when acting as a liaison.
I will write about that in detail if I ever post about being a liaison, but
simply put,
・Don't be a 'Yes man' too much
・Don't let either the HC or the players lose out
・Team first (the opinions of the HC and players are not everything)
・Give opinions within the scope of team rules and systems

The last point is a bit difficult to convey in just this one sentence.
Simply put, it means not making outlandish suggestions.

Among these tasks, this time I will write about the
scouting report used for opposing team scouting.

Scouting Report

I write about each opposing player in the format shown in the figure below.
・Jersey number
・Name
・Position, Height, Weight
・Portrait photo
・Play style (diagram) - items noted in red in the memo are shown with red arrows
・Shot situation
・Memo (write the player's characteristics. Especially note points of caution in red)

I actually tried writing one using a certain player,
so I think this will be easier to understand.

I think you can see the jersey number, name, position, height, and weight.

First is the explanation of the shooting situation (Shooting situation in the upper right of the figure).
Catch & Shot is 43.1%.
This means 43.1% of the shots he took during that season were catch & shots.
From this, we can judge that he is a shooter.
I write the items with higher percentages from top to bottom.

Next, I will explain the notes (below the diagram).
Here, I list his characteristics in bullet points.
Especially important points are written in red!
For example, that he is a shooter.
That he is particularly good at 3-pointers from both corners.
That he is a player who is good at using off-ball screens.
Since there are spot shooters (players who wait in a specific spot to shoot) and shooters who use screens well, I note which type of shooter they are if I know.
Among those who use off-ball screens, he is particularly good at curl cuts.
On the right side of the notes are his tendencies in closeout situations (a closeout situation is when the ball is received and the defense is scrambling to cover the offense, creating a gap between the defense and offense).
He is a player who often dribbles to the left.
He is a player who does more pull-up shots (taking a jump shot after dribbling) than layups.

As for other points to note,
he is a player who makes many back cuts (moves to get behind the opponent).

I note these down in bullet points.

Finally, here is an explanation of the playstyle (diagram) in the center of the figure.
Here, I represent what I wrote in the notes using the diagram.
By visualizing his plays and characteristics like this, it becomes easier for those reading the report to understand his traits.
I'll skip the detailed explanation of the diagram here, but what was written in red in the notes is displayed with red arrows.

I think it's too much information to create and show this individual report for every single opposing player.
So, I think about 8 players (at most 10) is ideal.
The criteria for choosing players are:
・Starting members
・In order of playing time
・Players with special characteristics (especially shooters)
I used the above three points as my criteria.

I used to list them by position.
PG → SG, SF → PF → C
Furthermore, within each position, they were in order of playing time.

Individual Stats

In addition to player characteristics, I summarize and display player stats.
That is the diagram below.

Here too, to avoid having too much information, I only include the necessary stats.
MIN = Playing time
PPG = Points per game
FG% = Combined shooting percentage
3FG% = 3-point percentage
FT% = Free throw percentage
RPG = Rebounds per game
APG = Assists per game
I think this is enough.

Also, I color-code the numbers that require attention.
Filled in red are good stats.
Filled in yellow are bad stats.
Taking 3P% as an example,
No. 23 Taneichi's 3P% is 45%, so it is filled in red.
This means we shouldn't let him shoot 3-pointers easily.
Conversely, No. 13 Tane's 3P% is 20.2%, so it is filled in yellow.
This means we don't need to react sensitively to his 3-point shots.

There is a reason for summarizing everyone's stats like this
instead of writing stats in the individual section.
That is
because you can see at a glance who the scorer is, who the shooter is, who you can let shoot free throws, etc.
Especially in a game that is close until the end and you have to play the foul game,
who should you let shoot free throws?
When responding quickly in such important situations,
I think it is very important to be able to see it all at once like this.

Lastly

I wrote this roughly, so it was hard to understand, wasn't it 😅
I don't get it!! What does this mean?
Tell me in more detail!!
If you have any questions like that,
please send me a comment or a DM on social media 😁

Since the video and the report are a set,
I'm thinking of writing about the video next.
I'm not sure if I will write it though 😏

At that time, I would like to write about things I couldn't write this time,
such as when to show it,
the amount of information and tools needed to create videos and reports,
and points to be careful about!

Thank you for reading until the end this time as well!
I'm sorry that an annoying person appeared in this note for the first time in a while 😂

I wonder if Kosuke is doing well? 😁
I wonder if he understands my feelings after being looked down on by the kids in Toyama?
Kids in Toyama!!
That old guy is a really good person,
so it's okay to look down on him as much as you want 😆

So,
that's it for this time!

Thank you for reading until the end!!
See you next time!!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via comments, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram!
twitter
facebook
Instagram

＊The content written in this note is my own basketball philosophy and has no relation to the basketball of the Rising Zephyr Fukuoka.