Jim in the Gym Archives

April 2025

My first (and most influential) Coach

Coach McGannon with his father, Robert F. McGannon.

Coach Wooden’s 1st coach here

There is a REALLY GOOD 8th grade player in the South Haven area who comes to Basics. He is already playing with the varsity kids and doesn’t just hold his own, he is one of the best players. He will play varsity as a freshman next year.

His parents are loving, caring people. They are so proud of their son, his development and his inclusion already among the best players in the area at such a young age.

But there is an all to common problem…

Not only do they attend every single game whether it’s a summer travel team or an in-season school team, they live, eat and breathe the results of those games. There is nothing really wrong with this UNLESS they pass judegment or criticize or question outcomes, plays, games, coaching decisions. In other words, trying to control issues and outcomes CLEARLY OUTSIDE THEIR INFLUENCE.

This is a recipe for hurt feelings, uncertainty and the tell tale issue that destroys more young athletic careers than any other.

Blame.

Coach Wooden comment: “You haven’t really failed until you begin to blame.”

This story about my dad may have little application in 2025 but what DOES apply is this – parental guidance and leadership. My father’s ability to INTERPRET issues was far beyond mine. I did not understand this at the time of course. I was upset by this decision or that decsion. But in hindsight years later, he was right 100% of the time.

His litmust test was simple. What was in MY best interest? My grey matter was not fully formed yet, and thank God he had the personality, depth and authority to make decisions based on my best interest regardless of what was “popular” or what I wanted to do.

RELATED – I often hear parents say “Let me talk to my son about this, and see what he wants to do.” This kid might by 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. FACT – these kids will choose the path of least resistance or what is MOST COMFORTABLE every time. Guaranteed. It is fine to confer with your child but the parent should make the decision as to what is best for the child. The child doesn’t not know fully. He is in fact a CHILD!

If we were not playing basketball as kids, we were playing football. I loved football! We had the perfect yard, about 50 yards long and 25 yards wide buffeted by the house on 1 side and some pretty sharp, prickly evergreens on the other. I did not once win an argument win those evergreens! So much so that we learned to avoid that side of the field completely… Unless we had newcomers playing, then we forced all their plays to that side of the field! OUCH…

I was always the biggest kid with the best hands. Not the fastest or strongest, but I caught everything and my size was a huge advantage. So when I enrolled in the all boys Catholic prep school (Fairfield Prep in Fairfield, CT), the football coaches were all over me. My destiny as a tight end was in sight. LOTS of excitement. After all, football was more religion at this school than the religion was.

Little known fact – my father was the team dentist for the New York Giants for 22 years.

This is actually part of the Mindset Training. I was on the Giants’ practice field as a little boy a dozen + times when my dad would go to the stadium for any dental issues. To say I loved the Giants and loved football would be an understatement.

Two weeks before high school football tryouts at Fairfield Prep, you can imagine my surprise when my dad came home 1 day and said

“Hey big boy. Just a heads up. You’re not going to play football in high school.” And he walked away. That was it.

To the degree that I would not lose my compsure especially around my father (who was not one to abide youthful and often misguided exuberance!), I lost my composure!

“What! What! The coaches are all over me, I might play varsity as a freshman. Dad! Come on! It’s a great football school. PLEASE.”

He looked at me with patience and love. He knew. He simply said “No. Too many injuries.” And that was it.

I was bitterly disappointed. For about 2 weeks.

Then when my 2 best friends (who were both better athletes than me) both went down with serious leg injuries – never to play HS Football or basketball after these injuries – I realized my father was right. The fact that he saw these professional players up close and personal (and their many injuries) just hammered home the point. He was right.

Parents – you are all blessed with these beautiful, loving, ambitious and often athletic children. There are SO MANY CHOICES these days. I would highly advise that you as adults interpret what is best for your child(ren) FIRST. Balancing the many moving parts of a young family is no easy task. It’s possible that what the kids want may be the best choice, but it is JUST POSSIBLE. It very well may not be. That is YOUR CALL.

Parenting and coaching are in many respects the same thing.

Another Coach Wooden comment: “Doing what is right is often the hardest thing to do.”

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March 2025

My beautiful and precocious daughter Elise at the age of 2! The depth of my love for my children isn’t really calculable. They grow up SO QUICKLY, don’t they parents? The outright joy in this picture is placed here to remind parents what is MOST important, as this excerpt begins.

ANECDOTE – Michelle was a good player. Good size, good agility, did not mind physical contact and when she wanted to, she could impact the game. Strong pedigree too, her dad was an All American and her mom was 6’ tall. She came to Basics frequently and was one of the best players on her school teams. There was just 1 problem.

Michelle didn’t like basketball.

The parents signed Michelle up for as much training as they could. Money was not an issue and this kid played A LOT, not just with Basics but on travel teams, in the summer and more or less all the time. She continued to improve and by her sophomore year, she had made the varsity at a very competitive high school. But despite her physical advantages, she saw very little playing time, which clearly frustrated the parents but didn’t seem to bother Michelle. So they signed her up for a Basics Mindset session, thinking her attitude and commitment might need to be addressed.

These are a few of her replies on the assessment:

If we are going to lose, I sometimes give up. SOMETIMES
I do not whine, complain or make excuses. SOMETIMES
I am coachable. I value constructive criticism. SOMETIMES
I do NOT need to play perfectly. NEVER
I am patient with myself, my teammates and coaches. SOMETIMES
I spend less than 1 hour a day on social media. NEVER
I have high standards for myself on and off the playing surface. SOMETIMES

These replies were eye-opening for me. To sometimes give up, to sometimes NOT be coachable and to feel like you have to play PERFECTLY screamed 1 thing to me.

Does this kid even like basketball?

After we sat down and I explained how the Mindset process works, I looked her straight in the eye and asked

“Michelle, I have seen your assessment. Thank you so much for your honesty. Let me ask you a question right off the bat. Do you like basketball?”

She hesitated. Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at me, shook her head and said “No. I can’t stand it. I play because my parents really want me to play.”

Don’t freak out!

This is rare but it has happened and it speaks to why I am writing this book. This youngster’s self esteem, self awareness and self image were being sacrificed because Mom and Dad wanted her to play. Why, I have no idea. They had to know, or maybe they somehow didn’t or just looked the other way.

I asked Michelle if it would be OK to speak with her parents, would she be OK with that? She nodded her head furiously, “Yes coach, PLEASE. Talk to them.” Which I did. After the initial shock of hearing their athletic and highly trained daughter did not like the sport, they realized how fortunate they were to intercede at a still young age, embrace her, tell her they love her and then ask what they can do to help.

Like that little girl at the top of this entry…

Long story short – this kid loved lacrosse and became one of the best lacrosse players in HS.

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February 2025

Please click on photo to read Luka Doncic’s important message

Excerpt from Coach McGannon’s upcoming book on youth sports. I NEED AN EDITOR!! Somebody please call me! 616 402-1600

Despite the important role Youth Sports play in the lives of millions of children, a large percentage of parents often have little or no notion of what to do, when to do it, how to do it, which choices to make, and which choices are best suited for their children. Through no fault of their own, they often make blind choices based on what others think or what the status quo is.

“We’ve always done it this way.” Obstinant
“Get on THIS team. This is the BEST team.” Bias
“That is the BEST program. They win a lot.” Favoritism
“The coaches yell a lot but that discipline is good for the kids.” Embarrassing
“It is really expensive, but it is the best choice.” Elitist
“You have to play on THIS team in order to make the team next year.” Political
“We have to compete in order to improve.” Ignorant Competition is often the LAST THING kids need
“The kids want to win.” Projection. The parents often want it more.
“He needs exposure to get a scholarship.” False If they are good enough, the player will be found.
“Playing sports builds character.” Not really. Who the coaches are builds (or degrades) character.

Making critical choices for your children based on the status quo (ie “the way things are”) makes as much sense as driving blind folded. It is likely you will be able to move the vehicle forward for some time, but the chances for an accident or poor outcome is incredibly high.

I am in the middle of writing a book on Youth Sports. It will be a tool for parents. It is broken out into 3 areas. Like a triangle or pyramid, the 3 sides make up the whole and if properly aligned, are not just powerful, they become basically impervious to pressure. Help your children by understanding the many moving parts in Youth Sports, interpreting what these choices mean and then placing your kids in the best possible situation. TIP: NO is the most powerful word in Youth Sports. Often, NO is the correct choice. NOT easy, but correct. A LOT like parenting!

The Youth Sports Pyramid

The Parents
The Coaches
The Programs

Comment on Basics Sports methodology. The 2 top scorers in the history of Muskegon area basketball (Bradley Richards – Muskegon Catholic – 2300 + points and Spencer Krannitz – N. Muskegon HS – 2008 points) attended Basics training over 300 times. Cam Thompson – Whitehall – is an all state player who will attend and play at D1 WMU next year – attended over 100 X. Basics charts a course we know works, and it does NOT include travel, leagues, summer ball, plays, zones, wins, losses, calculated points, calculated rebounds, etc. It’s entirely about SKILL DEVELOPMENT, PREMIER CONDITIONING and MENTAL STRENGTH. Outcomes and results are NEVER part of the equation.

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January 2025

Click on Pyramid for a closer look at what REALLY is required to compete. TIP – it has nothing to do with what team you’re on, if you travel, what the team’s record is, and what game or tourney results there are. Pyramid video here.

“Your pyramid is an important reminder for athletes, parents, and coaches as to the importance of developing the fundamentals of the game. Without sound and fully developed fundamentals, players will never play to their potential. Coach Wooden would be supportive of your approach.”

~ Bobby Field, Athletic Director (ret), UCLA. (a close friend of Coach Wooden who developed the Pyramid of Success.)

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December 2024

How does a 6’9″ basketball player at the age of 32 with not much experience attempt to qualify for the PGA Tour?

Answer: with great difficulty!

Still, I went for it for 5 full years. I left a pretty cushy job, moved to NC and literally and figuratively “teed it up.” It was really the beginning of Basics and more specifically, the Basics Mindset.

Because of the location (Pinehurst, NC – a well known golf destination and resort), there were LOTS of great players walking around. Within a few months, I was playing with All American guys from North Carolina, Duke, Georgia, Wake Forest, Florida etc. While I was still an amateur, it was pretty clear to me I could hang with these guys on the course not so much from a skills and experience angle but from course management, decision making, handling mistakes and the ever-important “short game.” While my competition was superior technically, I ran past them with my approach and my ability to not fold after mistakes. A large % of these players did not handle adversity well. Many unravelled.

The coach in the picture below with Sophia Wiard and me is a former Strength and Conditioning coach at Ohio State under Urban Meyer when they won the National Championship in 2014. His name is Rick Court. He is a hard working, devoted and skilled coach who now works in Greenville, MI. His comments below on the Mindset are motivational for me. I know the power of this training. I saw it unfold in those years playing golf and now I am blessed with the opportunity to share it with the Basics family.

“Coach, your Mindset Training has many similarities to what the athletes at Ohio State learned when I was there. Our Greenville kids are going to benefit from this training.” Coach Rick Court. NOTE – also pictured is 2024 MAC Player of the Year Sophia Wiard from the U of Toledo. Sophia is a graduate of the Mindset Training and indicative of the type of player who can REALLY benefit from the Mindset tools learned and practiced.

November 2024

Another basketball season is upon us. High school boys and girls try out this month, and their seasons begin in December. The energy, hopes, aspirations are all plain to see. In many respects basketball is the most emotional game of all. TINY surface. ONLY 5 get to play at a time. The FANS are right on top of the court. The possession changes are CONSTANT. If you add these facts up, it makes for an emotional game for all to see. It is GREAT!!

This entry however is not about the high school kids. It’s about the middle school kids, 5th grade to 8th grade.

While some of these younger kids are prepared for high school ball, the VAST majority are not. They are unable to use both hands effectively. They do not create space well (with their feet). They do not protect the ball well, especially off the dribble. Their jump stops and pivots are often uncompetitive. Their shooting form is misaligned. Defensively, they often do not keep their man in FRONT of them and they do not understand defensive positioning.

Criticism without a solution is simply criticism, it really does no one any good. Basics has a solution but I have 1 key question first.

What are these kids doing in middle school?

Answer: playing but not preparing. Those of you that know our model have heard this refrain before – competition and competitive growth are BARELY RELATED. If a player has modest skills, about the last thing you want to do in an effort to improve is to compete. Players without sharp skills who then compete often REGRESS.

The leagues, travel teams and tournaments that are EVERYWHERE do not promote this fact.

PARENTS: please watch Basics video Curtain Call – Middle School choices. Call me with any questions.

October 2024

Competition is barely related to competitive growth. In other words, if players or teams compete BEFORE they have sharp skills, strong conditioning and mental strength, not only will they lose more often than not, they may actually REGRESS. i.e. Get worse. The Pyramid of Skill explains why.

Click on Pyramid for larger font

Examine the Pyramid closely. You will note that of the 10 blocks that make up the pyramid, 7 (SEVEN!) are not technical basketball skills. Here are the 10 Blocks in line item form.

Motivation
Footwork
Ball Handling
Vision
Communication
Awareness
Shooting
Mental Strength
Conditioning
Competition

The only TECHNICAL SKILLS in the Pyramid are FOOTWORK, BALL HANDLING and SHOOTING. It is now easily explained why competition and competitive growth are only partially related. To compete with even a chance to win players and teams must possess all the ingredients in the Pyramid. They must actually practice not just the physical skills of footwork, ball handling and shooting but also the other more intangible skills. (Motivation, Vision, Communication, Awareness, Mental Strength and Conditioning)

If this explanation makes sense to you and I am confident it does (ie DEVELOP SHARP SKILLS BEFORE COMPETITION), why then do we see so many unskilled players in youth sports generally and youth basketball in particular?

Competitive athletes, coaches and programs know that one of the GREATEST FEELINGS IN SPORTS is beating a team or individual who is superior in skill and condition. There’s really very little that is better than than that! The expectation of course is the lesser team or athlete will lose, and this is often the case. But if this lesser team is well coached, if they emphasize not just the technical skills but the more intangible skills noted here, if they are never outworked, if they maintain a great attitude and they are SUPPORTIVE of one another, anything is possible.

September 2024

Book titles are important. Some options are below. PARENTS: CHIME IN, I am open to ideas! (NOTE: I need an editor!!)

These Are Your Kids: Helping Parents Understand their Youth Sports Choices
A Parent’s Guide to Youth Sports: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
A Parent’s Guide to Youth Sports; YES, NO and “Are You Kidding Me?”
un-COACH-able: Navigating the Youth Sports Industrial Complex

Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success is the inspiration for Basics Pyramid of Skills. Properly constructed, a pyramid is the strongest structure known to man.

Following suit with THREE SIDES, this book will offer 3 pillars critical in Youth Sports:

The Parents
The Coaches
The Programs

This book will outline the choices parents have with the youth sports their children play. The goal is to educate parents so they may make choices that fit for their child(ren) and family.

**Question: How do you eat an elephant?

**Answer: One bite at a time.

Youth Sports and its ancillary touch points is, like an elephant, of ENORMOUS size importance in our children’s lives. In this day and age of super-charged, 24-7 information and decision making, parents must slow down, understand what they are choosing for their kids, be intentional about their needs and make an educated choice. And please remember one of the most powerful words and choices in our lives is “NO.”

It is not only OK to say NO to youth sports choices, it is often encouraged.

What are some of those touch points?. FIRST IMPRESSIONS are EXTREMELY important, they set the stage for what is to come, good, bad or indifferent. Youth Sports is FULL of first impressions for our kids. This list may seem extensive. Frankly, it’s a PARTIAL list.

Self Image
Socialization skills
Communication skills
Sense of fair play
What is an “authority figure?”
Dealing with adversity
Dealing with people you may not like
Playing with friends
Sense of proportion
Organizational skills
Time management
Developing important observation skills
Which clearly leads to developing interpretation skills
Developing a positive work ethic (or not)
Understanding patience and applying this key life skill
Understanding the importance of hard work
Learning that “rest and recovery” is required
How to both WIN and LOSE with grace and humility
The beginning stages of learning how to be CONFIDENT
The clear connections between success in school and any other extracurricular activity

Communicate with Coach McGannon with any questions. 616 402-1600

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August 2024

There are 3 categories of players who try out for middle school and high school teams.

Players who KNOW they will make the team and play a lot. These are among the best players and-or ARE the best players.
Players who ARE QUITE SURE they will make the team but are not sure about their playing time or their role on that team
Players who ARE NOT SURE they will make the team.

Which category describes your son or daughter? Watch this video to help you identify which category your child is in.

I am in the middle of a book on youth sports. As joyous and celebratory as youth sports can be and often times is, it has an equal amount of frustration and negative lessons. While parents send their kids to Basics primarily to improve their basketball skills (over 90% make said teams above), my primary motivation has more to do with teaching these kids life skills that are natural tangents to the work they put in on the court.

RELATED VIDEO (highly encouraged): The Curtain Call is in Middle School. (I try to keep these videos short, this one is 8:35. It is well wroth the time, it is a complicated issue) What are these kids doing 5th to 8th grade?

July 2024

The last 6 MVPs in the NBA are European and-or foreign born. The top 2 selections this year (2024) in the NBA draft are from France and Australia. Multiple other Top 20 picks are foreign born.

What the heck is going on?

It used to bother me a LOT that many of the best players were coming from overseas. After all, we invented basketball, it is a great American game. It still irks me, but it is outside my control (See the Mindset Traning) However it is clearly within my control to communicate with the parents and the coaches.

Basketball is the most highly skilled game of all (Coach Izzo: “Skills defeat athleticism.”) Skills are built in 1 way and 1 way only: repetition. Competing before a player-team has sharp skills is like driving a vehicle without sufficient preparation. The vehicle will go forward, but a crash is likely coming soon.

Parents: see the media below. Choose skill development, conditioning and mental toughness training OVER competition until a clear skill set has been developed and tested. Players without really sharp skills have a limited shelf life.

Related Media:

June 2024

Practice-to-game ratio

When a test approaches, you study. If you want to do well, you study a LOT. One thing you won’t do is take test after test after test to actually prepare for the test that matters. That’s nuts!

Yet with youth sports in this country, many programs play more games than they practice. This makes no sense from a competitive growth perspective but makes infinitely good sense for the organizers, who make a bundle on the games, the fees, the gear.

A correct practice-to-game ratio should be at a minimum 4 to 1. Ideally it’s closer to 6 to 1. Skills are NOT built in games, but in practice. Parents, the most powerful word in Youth Sports is NO.

May 2024

Go to the beach…

Summer approaches. Basics families live in West Michigan, pretty near Lake Michigan. Take it from someone who did NOT grow up in this spectacular place. NEVER EVER EVER travel away from the lake in the summer time, especially on weekends. Your son or daughter can improve just as much if not MORESO by staying put, working on their skills and then do what kids do naturally. Go play in the sand!

April 2024

Perspective

It is a well known stat that roughly 1% of HS players go on to play in college (that is 1 in 100). And the % of these players who get ANY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE is a fraction again of that 1 %.

In other words, really, REALLY slim.

So a HS athlete’s team experience essentially is over by age 17-18 for almost all of these kids.

All the supposedly “elite” teams and “exposure” tourneys are manipulative of the parents. They are little more than a well-oiled pocket lining for the organizers, since 99% of these kids will not play past 12th grade.

RELATED: The Underwear Olympis 2:30

March 2024

Travel Teams

At Basics we do not believe in travel teams at all, at any level in any sport. We understand this is counter to the way youth sports is conducted, where travel teams are often thought to be the most competitive.

There is nothing further from the truth.

Briefly, players improve by working on their SKILL, their CONDITION and their MENTAL TOUGHNESS. Games are merely a benchmark of skill. Games do NOT create skill, they reveal skill. Travel teams are a waste of time, energy, effort and money. Avoid them.

RELATED: Condi Rice Commission on NCAA Mens Basketball.

RELATED: Basics video on Travel Teams

February 2024

I have always wanted to communicate brief, cogent thoughts on Youth Sports. I have been working on a book on that topic. It may morph into a Parent Handbook, a guide to navigating the many facets of youth sports.

Parents are ALWAYS welcome to call with any questions. I believe that your youth sports choices are among the most important you will make for your kids.

Today’s topic is pre-existing! Go to our Candid Shots library of video logs that address many important topics. Travel Sports, Try outs, Basketball’s MOST IMPORTANT SKILL DRILL, Youth tournaments, Normal Improvement and many other topics of interest.