What started as a class project has expanded a CPASS graduate’s efforts in helping young athletes to excel.
Ethan Brown, a May 2015 B.S., Athletic Coaching Education graduate, developed sport-specific instruction related to skill techniques to help players succeed. He had to first convince the athletes’ parents to support the training, though.
As an assistant coach for the University High School girls’ basketball team in Morgantown, Brown incorporated the project that he first started in ACE 410 into a successful training program at the school.
Brown’s concentration is with the middle school and high school age group. “In the beginning of my coaching career I worked with much younger youth and I saw other coaches leaving out basic skills needed for the game. Since the athletes who make it to the middle school and high school levels are more devoted in the sport than the run-of-the-mill community athlete is, it is easier to build on the basic skills,” says Brown.
In sharing his philosophy with the athletes’ parents, Brown says that the best way he found to explain his project has been through a breakdown of his system. “That made it less complex and easier to understand,” he said.
“The main concern was with winning over the parents view, I simply had to break that view down and show them that if they want the kids to be good, that these actions needed to happen,” Brown stated.
Throughout the season Brown established goals. “The first goal that I wanted the girls achieve within this new system was to become all around better basketball players within the major domains of the sport: shooting, rebounding, passing, dribbling and offensive and defensive court awareness,” he explained
“These major domains are what make up the base skills within the sport. If the girls do not have these skills before coming into our system, then it is our job to teach these skills to help them in the long run. Another immediate goal is to see general percentages increase in the shooting and assist stats and a decrease in the turnover stat column.”
“My ideal outcome is to see this program turn into a college recruiting ground for the girls and to see girls’ basketball make a resurgence within this community,” Brown added.
Brown said this year’s team motto- “Bring your tool box. We have new tools for you.” has helped remind the players that skill techniques are important to winning.