March 13, 2008 From Hooplines- The Official Newsletter of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association, Winter 2008 edition. What do you expect from your players? by Kevin Bille, NDC Men's Basketball Head Coach I think that it’s very important that players know what to expect of their coach, regardless of the level.  I’m a firm believer on treating our basketball program likemy second family; therefore a lot of the same concepts apply.  You must be honest with players’ right from the start, and I believe that starts during the recruiting process.  Everyone at the college level has different philosophies and approaches the system differently, but at Notre Dame College we feel it’s important to seek the following characteristics when bringing in student-athletes to our program.  The approach is congruent with what we want to accomplish in the four years a player will attend Notre Dame College.             When recruiting, the first thing we look for is a quality person.  We want people who are going to buy into what we want them to do.  Therefore they must be unselfish, always placing the team first.  We’re not concerned with players who care more about their individual statistics and accolades ahead of helping this program win.  Next, we want players who are going to be competitive.  We want them to compete at a high level on a consistent basis, whether it’s on the basketball court or off.  I don’t enjoy coaching players who won’t compete at everything they do.              Having players that are tough, both mentally and physically, is something we desire from each of our players.  It’s a long year with all the things that we do; if our players aren’t tough, we aren’t going to cut it at the level on which we expect to perform.  Mentally, they must be able to handle the daily grind of a collegiate student-athlete, from class work to basketball to any other activities that may have going on.  Physically, the next level is much more demanding of new players.  The weight room is a place they must become very familiar with in order to prevent injuries and deal with the rigors of playing at this level.              It’s also very beneficial to us if we can find players that are smart, both on and off the floor.  We expect the same, if not better, results in the classroom than we do on the basketball floor.  While on the floor it’s important to have players that understand the game and are able to pick up things quickly.  We look for kids that have been in good high school systems and have been prepared to be a successful player at the next level.  It makes our job that much easier if they already have a good idea of what to expect. Finally, and just as important as any of the other player attributes, is that we recruit players that are going to work hard.  This is one thing that every human being controls from the moment their head leaves the pillow in the morning.  We want our players to work extremely hard.  Nothing makes me more proud as a coach than having someone attend one of our games and telling me that our players work harder than anyone they’ve seen.  It’s one of the best compliments a team can get.  All of these factors go into a successful recruiting philosophy. Once we’ve assembled a good group of student athletes to come to Notre Dame College, we remind them of what we stressed to them in the recruiting process in regards to what is expected of them once they are here.  This starts from the minute they walk through the door as an immature freshman to the time they leave as a grown up graduate.  Some players have a tough time realizing that.  The players who encounter difficulties are the ones that only do what we ask during basketball season.  If you are a student athlete receiving institution dollars then it is a privilege to be a part of that institution, and our players will do their best to honor that by doing what is asked of them all the time, not just during basketball season.  I’m not a firm believer in having a lot of rules.  In fact, we have one rule in our program.  Do not do anything detrimental to yourself.  I feel that if it’s detrimental to yourself then it’s detrimental to your parents, your school, your team, your coach and anyone associated with you.  I think it’s important for them to realize that and the sooner, the better.  We do have other some expectations of our players such as not wearing their hats in a building on campus and showing up to the early, but all of it goes back to the main rule of developing one’s self.    We ask our players to do three things while members of the Notre Dame Falcons’ basketball program – graduate, work hard, and stay out of trouble.  The first and most important is concerning academics; I cannot promise parents many things throughout the recruiting process.  I don’t know how much their son will play, how successful they will be, or what our team can accomplish during their time here but I can guarantee two things; our players will go to class while putting forth their maximum effort and we will do our best to put them in position to graduate.  It is extremely important to all parents to see their son stroll across that stage with their diploma and it’s as equally important to us.  Therefore, we set the bar high for our team in the classroom the moment they step foot on campus. All players are required to attend the Learning Center at Notre Dame College.  The Learning Center is a place where all students can go for peer tutoring throughout the day and one of the many great attributes of our school.  Each individual on our team is required to attend a certain amount of hours per week based on their performance in the classroom.  Along with those hours each player is also required to have weekly meetings with a coach on staff.  This is an important time for us to find out what is really going on in the classroom as well as an opportunity to get to know our players better. Secondly, we want all of our players to work hard as I mentioned before.  In my opinion anyone can do this, it doesn’t matter if you’re 5’11” or 6’11”.  Everyone can work hard and that’s something that is expected from our players every single day.  It’s our job to prepare them for the next stage of their lives and if they walk out our doors with what it takes to be successful in life, then we did our jobs.  What better lesson than learning how to work hard every single day; it doesn’t guarantee success but it is a pretty good start.  Our players will make mistakes along the way, but as long as they are working hard it’s difficult for me to criticize.  The last of the three things is stay out of trouble and I think this goes back to beginning when I mentioned bringing in quality people.  Our players know they can call me at two in the morning, but it sure is nice not to get those calls (knock on wood).  If you bring in quality people there are a lot less problems to deal with.  It’s not that we haven’t had our share, but it’s minimal compared to the things I’ve heard over time.  At the end of the day it comes to back to their responsibilities as a member of our program and not doing anything detrimental to themselves. Everybody has a role and must do their best at fulfilling their role.  I try to consistently remind my players of their roles within our program from pre-season meetings to numerous times throughout the season to post season meetings to the summer, individually and in front on the team.  I think it’s important for them to hear that so they know what’s expected of them.   I know that some of my players may not enjoy the role I give them but at the end of the day it’s up to them to determine what role they play.  From there they will decide to take on that role or not take on that role.  If your players buy into what you’re asking them to do then it should translate into success.