Game Strategies and Tactics for Basketball: Bench Coaching for Success [Paperback]

Kevin Sivils (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2009

Game Strategy and Tactics for Basketball: Preparing to Win the Sideline Battles is both a how-to book and a guide for how to plan strategy and tactics for basketball for an entire season or an individual game. Coaches often focus on X's and O's and overlook how and when a particular offense or defense should be applied and used during a game. Game Strategy and Tactics for Basketball: Preparing to Win the Sideline Battles serves as a planning guide and a master checklist for all the possible situations that a coach will face during a season. The book includes both traditional and some "out-of-the-box" strategies to the common situations that coaches face and provides both the pros and the cons of the approaches described. It is not the author's intention to tell each coach exactly what to do, but to serve as a guide in the decision making process.

About the author:
A 24 year veteran of the coaching profession, with twenty-two of those years spent as a varsity head coach, Coach Kevin Sivils amassed 464 wins and his teams earned berths in the state playoffs 19 out of 22 seasons with his teams advancing to the state semi-finals three times. An eight time Coach of the Year Award winner, Coach Sivils has traveled as far as the Central African Republic to conduct coaching clinics. Coach Sivils first coaching stint was as an assistant coach for his college alma mater, Greenville College, located in Greenville, Illinois. His teams were always known for their discipline, intense effort, execution of fundamentals, and team play.
Coach Sivils is also the owner of KCS Basketball Enterprises, LLC, an enterprise focused on providing coaches with information to improve their knowledge of the game of basketball and their ability to coach.

"If you have been looking for a rigorously thorough handbook on basketball tactics and strategy, you have found it!"
Coach Doug Porter - Head Women's Coach, Olivet Nazarene University
National Scoring leaders: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Champions: 2000, 2005, 2007

"His thought provoking approach makes for an easy read and will definitely stimulate thought and, most likely, change the way you go about coaching!"
Rusty Rogers - Two time NAIA Division II Women's National Championship Coach and Two time NAIA National Coach of the Year

"Coach Sivils clearly brings his experience in the game of basketball to his writing. He is a great teacher who acquired great gifts over the years and it's great he wants to share those gifts with other coaches."
Bill Reidy - Long time successful high school and AAU coach

Editorial Reviews

Review

I got my hands on a new book this past week, Game Strategies and Tactics for Basketball from my friend Kevin Sivils. I first met Kevin as an assistant on Dale Brown's staff and immediately recognized a passion on his part to TEACH -- which is why I am not surprised that his book is an excellent one. The book itself is different but is exactly one that so many coaches need. If you are looking for some plays, quick-hitters and detailed X & O's, this isn't the book. But if you are looking for help to better teach the X & O's and, most importantly, apply them in game situations than this is a must read. There are thousands of books and videos on plays but this is unique look at STRATEGY including the following sections:

The Right Approach Goes A Long Way It speaks to theories Kevin learned from Coach Wooden and Don Meyer as well as understanding what you can control from the bench and what you cannot -- including your relationship with officials.

The Logic Behind It Delves into both strategic thinking and tactical thinking

Management Issues Again, this is game coaching that we often don't give enough thought to such as preparing to play at home and on the road, bench decorum and bench organization.

Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail This is a great chapter on planning and practicing special situations

Controlling What the Coach Can Control Detailed look at pre-game warm-up, substitutions, timeouts, and jump balls

Some Thoughts on Defense A different look at defense with thoughts on how to foul for profit, special defensive strategies and how and when to change defenses.

How Fast Do You Want to Play? Kevin talks about how to speed the game up and how to slow the game down.

The End of the Game This is a section on understanding time and score, killing the clock and what do you need to do to comeback in a game.

It is All in the Details A lot of great checklists to help your stay organized in a variety of areas.

From the Summary -- some thoughts from Kevin:

Coaches should always be thinking about teaching the game, and regardless of the outcome of the game, never stop coaching and teaching the players!

The time to plan for special situations and bench coaching strategy and tactics is long before the game.

The coach should decide what to do before games so decisions will be made in a calm, unemotional environment.

The coach's responsibility is to TEACH the players.

From the section on Bench Coaching for Success:

"Don't whine, don't complain, and don't make excuses!" - John Wooden

If ever there was a creed or slogan that every coach in every sport should adopt, this might be the one. All players must accept responsibility for their actions, their inactions, and their individual responsibilities. It is almost inbred in each of us as humans to resist these very things; thus, the need for coaches everywhere is to teach the Wooden Rule.

Whining simply produces negativity and annoys other people. No one likes to be around a "whiner." It is not good for the player, it is not good for the team, and it does not foster a positive team environment. It can also be like a contagious virus. If one player whines unchecked long enough, the whining can spread like the contagious virus. Whining also prevents a player from being proactive and taking steps to eliminate the very thing that he or she is whining about, preventing the player from living up to his or her potential. --Coach Bob Starkey - Associate Head Coach for the LSU Lady Tigers Basketball Team

I got my hands on a new book this past week, Game Strategies and Tactics for Basketball from my friend Kevin Sivils. I first met Kevin as an assistant on Dale Brown's staff and immediately recognized a passion on his part to TEACH -- which is why I am not surprised that his book is an excellent one. The book itself is different but is exactly one that so many coaches need. If you are looking for some plays, quick-hitters and detailed X & O's, this isn't the book. But if you are looking for help to better teach the X & O's and, most importantly, apply them in game situations than this is a must read. There are thousands of books and videos on plays but this is unique look at STRATEGY. --Coach Bob Starkey - Associate Head Coach for the LSU Lady Tigers Basketball Team

"If you have been looking for a rigorously thorough handbook on basketball tactics and strategy, you have found it!" --Coach Doug Porter - Head Women's Coach, Olivet Nazarene University National Scoring leaders: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Champions: 2000, 2005, 2007

"His thought provoking approach makes for an easy read and will definitely stimulate thought and, most likely, change the way you go about coaching!" --Rusty Rogers - Two time NAIA Division II Women's National Championship Coach and Two time NAIA National Coach of the Year

"Coach Sivils clearly brings his experience in the game of basketball to his writing. He is a great teacher who acquired great gifts over the years and it's great he wants to share those gifts with other coaches." --Bill Reidy - Long time successful high school and AAU coach

From the Back Cover

"If you have been looking for a rigorously thorough handbook on basketball tactics and strategy, you have found it!"

Coach Doug Porter - Head Women's Coach, Olivet Nazarene University National Scoring leaders: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Champions: 2000, 2005, 2007

"His thought provoking approach makes for an easy read and will definitely stimulate thought and, most likely, change the way you go about coaching!"

Rusty Rogers - Two time NAIA Division II Women's National Championship Coach and Two time NAIA National Coach of the Year

"Coach Sivils clearly brings his experience in the game of basketball to his writing. He is a great teacher who acquired great gifts over the years and it's great he wants to share those gifts with other coaches."

Bill Reidy - Long time successful high school and AAU coach

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 124 pages
• Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing, LLC (September 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1608440451
• ISBN-13: 978-1608440450
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #339,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Basketball > Coaching

More About the Author

A native of Louisiana, Kevin Sivils has been a coach and teacher for 25 years. In the course of his coaching career, he has been a head coach for 22 seasons while winning 464 career wins and garnering 8 Coach of the Year awards. A current resident of the state of Texas, Coach Sivils has also worked extensively in athletic administration and athletic event promotion. Interestingly enough for a basketball coach from the Southern United States, he is an ice hockey fan, having been introduced to the sport by his wife Lisa, a native of Michigan and a Detroit Red Wings fan. His other passions include the history of North American Railroads and dogs, of which he currently has three. He and his wife Lisa work with an Italian Greyhound rescue serving as foster parents for abused and neglected Italian Greyhounds until they are ready to be adopted.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blueprint for a winning basketball program!, December 18, 2009

By 

Gift For You - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Game Strategies and Tactics for Basketball: Bench Coaching for Success (Paperback)

I had the opportunity to read "Game Strategies and Tactics for Basketball" by Kevin Sivils a couple of weeks ago on a plane flight. I honestly was shocked with the amount of information in the 106 page book. I have read books on coaching basketball for the last twenty years and this is one of the best I have come across. It is concise and makes you think about how you handle every situation.

It isn't just basketball coaching, but administration of your basketball program and that is what I am impressed with. I would recommend it to any basketball coach on the high school level, especially the younger guys. It would have saved me from making some "young and dumb" mistakes early in my coaching career.

It is a blueprint on how you should run a basketball program. I really liked his management ideas on how to prepare at home and on the road. He hit on the mark with his view on special situations and how to plan for them. What things you have "control" over before, during, and after a basketball game.

You are going to want to check out this "information packed" book on basketball coaching/management ideas that will make you think.

Coach Peterman

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise and Informative, November 9, 2009

By 

Jeremy B. Donalson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Game Strategies and Tactics for Basketball: Bench Coaching for Success (Paperback)

Let's be honest, you can choose from hundreds of thousands of basketball books (I see a collection of 154,000 just on Amazon). However, I have not found any as concise and informative as Kevin Sivil's Game Strategies and Tactics for Basketball. As a young coach, it is easy to get caught up in the X's and O's of the game. Coach Sivils uses preparation as a catalyst to success. It is not the moment that counts, but the preparation it took to allow your team perfect execution in that moment. For all the variables we cannot control as coaches, Coach Sivils focuses his efforts on those variables which we can control through preparation.

If you are a young coach, as myself, looking for guidance and direction, this book is a quick and efficient utilization of your time. I was able to read it in less than a week as it is well organized and straightforward. And, as coaches, do we really have time for anything else???

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Informative, December 11, 2009

By 

S. D. Laidlaw (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Game Strategies and Tactics for Basketball: Bench Coaching for Success (Paperback)

This book is so well thought out and presented, i am very impressed with it's clarity and focus on team preparation. This book really will help coaches in teaching their players how to be prepared for various situations and how to handle them. Everything from bench decorum and how to control the speed of the game is covered in this book - really brilliant.