10 November 2026
Ep 2069 What Do You Say When You Start the Season Oh and Three?
Basketball Coach Unplugged (A Basketball Coaching Podcast)
About
https://teachhoops.com/
CoachingYouthHoops.com/nuke: clean sports hydration made with coconut water. Use code youthhoops25 for 25% off
How to lead your staff, your captains, and your practice gym through an early losing streak, and what to measure when the scoreboard is not on your side yet.
It is a Saturday morning in mid November. The coffee went cold an hour ago, your team is oh and three, and practice starts at nine. What do you say when you walk into that gym? Coach Steve Collins has been there, and early in his career he handled it badly. Starting oh and four with a team that looked good on paper, he changed the lineup twice in one week, installed a new offense, and ran his players after every loss. They lost the next two as well, because his players were not just losing games. They were losing their coach.
In this deep dive, Steve lays out what he learned about leading through an early losing streak. He covers getting your staff aligned before you talk to the team, giving your captains a real job, keeping practice tone steady instead of angry, charting the things your team can control, and refusing to let a November record change who you are as a coach.
Part 1: Staff and Captains
The real danger of an early losing streak is not the record, it is the panic
Steve's oh and four start and the week he changed everything at once
Meeting with your assistants first and leaving the room with one message
The young assistant Steve asked to be the steadiest guy in the gym
Sitting down with captains, asking what they are hearing, and giving them concrete jobs
Keeping the team talk short: what we do well, what we fix this week, and that you believe in them
Leaving out excuses about referees, the schedule, or sickness so players learn to own it
Why players remember whether you looked scared more than anything you said
Part 2: Practice and Perspective
Why angry practices make tight teams play tighter
Building small wins into practice so players feel success somewhere
Charting deflections, charges, paint touches, and first half turnovers
The locker room whiteboard with goal and last game numbers that the captains eventually updated themselves
Showing players controllable numbers on Monday, honestly, good and bad
How charting helped turn an oh and four start into eleven wins in the last fifteen games
Staying the same coach through the losses so your players trust you in February
Finding someone to talk to so you do not carry a losing streak alone
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:15 Opening hook: oh and three on a Saturday morning
01:10 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com practice plans and progressions
01:33 The oh and four start and the week of panic
02:21 Takeaway 1: Staff on the same page first
03:40 Takeaway 2: Bring your captains in early
06:16 Takeaway 3: Steady practice tone, not angry
07:30 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com competitive drills and practice plans
07:56 Takeaway 4: Measure more than the scoreboard
09:37 Takeaway 5: Do not let the record define you
11:10 The challenge
11:22 Post roll: TeachHoops.com
This week's challenge: Pick three things your team can control, chart them in your next game, and show your players the numbers on Monday.
Format: Deep Dive, two parts.
Resources: Practice plans, competitive drills, scoring systems for practice, coaching courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
https://teachhoops.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
CoachingYouthHoops.com/nuke: clean sports hydration made with coconut water. Use code youthhoops25 for 25% off
How to lead your staff, your captains, and your practice gym through an early losing streak, and what to measure when the scoreboard is not on your side yet.
It is a Saturday morning in mid November. The coffee went cold an hour ago, your team is oh and three, and practice starts at nine. What do you say when you walk into that gym? Coach Steve Collins has been there, and early in his career he handled it badly. Starting oh and four with a team that looked good on paper, he changed the lineup twice in one week, installed a new offense, and ran his players after every loss. They lost the next two as well, because his players were not just losing games. They were losing their coach.
In this deep dive, Steve lays out what he learned about leading through an early losing streak. He covers getting your staff aligned before you talk to the team, giving your captains a real job, keeping practice tone steady instead of angry, charting the things your team can control, and refusing to let a November record change who you are as a coach.
Part 1: Staff and Captains
The real danger of an early losing streak is not the record, it is the panic
Steve's oh and four start and the week he changed everything at once
Meeting with your assistants first and leaving the room with one message
The young assistant Steve asked to be the steadiest guy in the gym
Sitting down with captains, asking what they are hearing, and giving them concrete jobs
Keeping the team talk short: what we do well, what we fix this week, and that you believe in them
Leaving out excuses about referees, the schedule, or sickness so players learn to own it
Why players remember whether you looked scared more than anything you said
Part 2: Practice and Perspective
Why angry practices make tight teams play tighter
Building small wins into practice so players feel success somewhere
Charting deflections, charges, paint touches, and first half turnovers
The locker room whiteboard with goal and last game numbers that the captains eventually updated themselves
Showing players controllable numbers on Monday, honestly, good and bad
How charting helped turn an oh and four start into eleven wins in the last fifteen games
Staying the same coach through the losses so your players trust you in February
Finding someone to talk to so you do not carry a losing streak alone
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:15 Opening hook: oh and three on a Saturday morning
01:10 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com practice plans and progressions
01:33 The oh and four start and the week of panic
02:21 Takeaway 1: Staff on the same page first
03:40 Takeaway 2: Bring your captains in early
06:16 Takeaway 3: Steady practice tone, not angry
07:30 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com competitive drills and practice plans
07:56 Takeaway 4: Measure more than the scoreboard
09:37 Takeaway 5: Do not let the record define you
11:10 The challenge
11:22 Post roll: TeachHoops.com
This week's challenge: Pick three things your team can control, chart them in your next game, and show your players the numbers on Monday.
Format: Deep Dive, two parts.
Resources: Practice plans, competitive drills, scoring systems for practice, coaching courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
https://teachhoops.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices