BOOKS
Practice Design
These books focus on designing better practices and individual workouts for players to maximize player and team development.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
These books focus on the practice, development, and instruction of specific skills.
TACTICAL SKILLS & STRATEGY
These books focus on offensive strategy and skill development from a tactical perspective.
Long Term Athlete Development
These books are broad and general in topics and cover dozens of factors that contribute to talent development over the course of one’s childhood.
Brian T. McCormick, PhD is a professional basketball coach, consultant, and clinician. McCormick has coached professionally in Denmark, Ireland, and Sweden, taking a team to the finals in Denmark's 1st Division and being selected to coach in Sweden's Damligan All-Star Game. He has coached CYO, AAU, high school, junior college, and college basketball in the United States, and worked as a strength and conditioning coach for two junior-college basketball programs. McCormick has directed clinics in Canada, China, Greece, Ghana, India, Macedonia, Trinidad & Tobago, and throughout the United States, and spoken at coaching, strength & conditioning, and sports psychology conferences in the United States and Canada. McCormick completed his PhD in Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Utah, and has had peer-reviewed papers published in the International Journal of Exercise Science, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, and Strength & Conditioning Journal.
McCormick has published 20 books for basketball coaches, many of which have spent time on Amazon's top 10 books for basketball. The books have been well-received and recommended by prominent coaches such as Fran Fraschilla and Mike Dunlap.
McCormick has directed camps and clinics for players and coaches around the world, most recently in Jackson Hole, WY and Waddington, NY. He also has been a speaker at clinics for Basketball BC, Basketball Manitoba, and USA Basketball.
McCormick has coached youth, high school, college, and professional teams; he has coached boys and girls, men and women. He has coached in championship series, AAU National Tournaments, and all-star games. He currently is the head coach of a women's junior college team.
McCormick has consulted with numerous high school, college, and professional coaches and players on skill development, practice design, and strength & conditioning.
Latest news
Why I Choose to Fully Commit to Motion Offense and Man-to-Man Defense
by Paul Cortes Head Boys Varsity Coach, International High School Director of Player and Coach Development, Bay City Basketball At the ages of 14 and under, which is what is widely classified as “youth basketball”, I do not believe in set plays and zone defenses. Here’s why: It is my conviction that basketball is, first Read more about Why I Choose to Fully Commit to Motion Offense and Man-to-Man Defense[…]
Maybe it’s the drills
As I refereed a college soccer game last weekend, I heard a coach speaking to his bench:
(Paraphrased from memory) “How many bad passes have we made? How many simple balls have we not controlled? When we do these basic drills and you look at me, this is why.” Read more about Maybe it’s the drills
The problem with stutter steps
Originally published in Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter, 8.15. Subscribe here.
I attended a college practice, and the team practiced closeouts. Fake Fundamentals explains my philosophy on the traditional closeout. This drill mixed short and long closeouts depending on one’s starting position, and the staff treated them the same. Players ran a few steps and stutter-stepped to close the distance to one arm’s length from the attacker. Because it was a non-competitive shell drill, nobody gave up an open shot or was beaten on the drive. The closeouts worked! Read more about The problem with stutter steps
Are the Rockets the Anti-SABA?
When I wrote SABA: The Antifragile Offense, the San Antonio Spurs were the model; they moved the ball, cut and exploited small openings or advantages, continually hunting for a better shot. They used some of the same ideas: you’re most open on the catch, 1-second rule (they call it a .5 second rule), etc. Because Read more about Are the Rockets the Anti-SABA?[…]
How much is too much
Originally published in Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter, 7.22 (July 2017). Buy Volume 7 as a paperback or a Kindle.
A few weeks ago, I watched a high-school player practice and listened to her coach and parents discuss her progress and training. Their discussion caused me to fear for the player. Unfortunately, her story is becoming increasingly common. Read more about How much is too much
Coach Education, Coaching Clinics, and Development
Every so often, a Twitter storm erupts about the need for mandatory coach education. There is a belief that coach education will solve every ill in basketball in the U.S. U.S. Soccer requires coaching licenses at various levels, including the Development Academy. Their coach education programs are further along than USA Basketball’s, but every complaint Read more about Coach Education, Coaching Clinics, and Development[…]
Developing a Successful High School Program
Originally published in Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter, Volume 7. Subscribe here.
As I think about the realities of youth sports today, the most important person in the development of a successful high-school athletic program may be the elementary school physical education teacher. We know athletes specialize. We know athletes engage in less free or unstructured play. That does not appear likely to change. We also know this specialization has adverse effects in terms of basic movement competency, general physical literacy, overuse injuries, and emotional burnout. Read more about Developing a Successful High School Program
Steve Kerr and players running the show
Originally published in Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter, 8.3. Subscribe here. Steve Kerr allowed Warrior players to run the huddles during their game against Phoenix last night. His decision has inspired praise from those who view it as empowering players and derision from those who view it as disrespecting an opponent or evidence that the Warriors Read more about Steve Kerr and players running the show[…]
How to play defense: No Fake Fundamentals
My friend and future NBA coach Jon Giesbrecht put together the above video on Oklahoma City’s Andre Roberson’s defense. Many consider Roberson to be the NBA’s best perimeter defender, especially with Kawhi Leonard’s persistent injury problems this season. As I watched the video, I noticed two things. More specifically, I noticed the absence of two Read more about How to play defense: No Fake Fundamentals[…]