WYC 084 – Youth Basketball – Ryan Hohman talks Starting your own Youth Sports Program from scratch

Ryan Hohman has lived in the Pennsbury School District for 29 years and has been working with children since he was ten years old when his mother ran an in home daycare out of his home in the Thornridge section of Levittown. He attended West Chester University and graduated with a degree in education, and after two years of teaching in the city of Philadelphia, Ryan returned to Pennsbury where he has served as a Language Arts teacher and head basketball coach at William Penn Middle School for the past 10 years. Coach Hohman has established a reputation as a dedicated and passionate teacher both in the classroom and on the court. He has established Lady Falcons Elite Hoops to offer the level of basketball instruction that the girls of his beloved community deserve. Coach Hohman lives in the North Park section of Levittown with his wife Brooke and their two daughters Joley and Nola. Facebook: /LFEHoops Website: ladyfalconselitehoops.org Listen Now: Listen on iTunes: iTunes link Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link - Quote 'It's about we, not about me' If you can't find the youth sports program you want...start your own! Ryan was frustrated with the lack of attention the leaders of the youth basketball program were giving to the girls side of the program They did a bunch of research on how to start a non-profit, did a Gofundme, and launched program with 250+ girls in the 1st year and going into year 3 they will have 450+ girls! Coaching your own kids 'You told me to pass more' - Ryan was very stubborn when his dad coached him, and one time after scoring 27 points, his dad told him to pass more, so for the next couple games Ryan overreacted and took it to the opposite spectrum Ryan goes with the 'I love to watch you play' after coaching his daughters Ryan wants 'Try-hards' - kids that give it their all My Cringe Moments Most of all of Ryan's cringe moments are sarcastic things he said to refs The second thing was he used to take the results of all the games way too personally Teaching Skills You have to establish what the core fundamentals are that the level of kids you are coaching need Make skill work fun and turn it into a game With smaller kids it often starts with their feet! Good game: Defensive slide duck-duck-goose: So you play the normal game but have to do defensive slide when running around the circle. Another good game: Jump stop Mr. Fox Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance Biggest thing a coach can do to help his kids: SMILE. Remind them that this is fun Jay Bilas' book Toughness talks about 'Next Play' - you can't worry about previous plays, bad calls, etc. - you need to focus on the Next Play All you can control is yourself and preparation, so don't worry about things outside of your control Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding Anytime they refer to people involved in the program they talk about the LFE Family. They constantly hashtag #LFEFamily Establishing mentors within the program - Have the older girls connect with the younger girls The standard is that everyone is going to work hard Connecting with and Impacting Kids Ryan coached a team that had a really tough situation with a girl who had a serious eating disorder - the team rallied around helping this girl out and it actually brought the team together The One that got away They have one team that spooks his girls - the best thing he has found is just to be prepared. Best borrowed/stolen idea Rick Pitino - 'As I go through practice, I try to make corrections in 7 seconds or less.' There needs to be a rhythm and pace to your practice. For youth- maybe this needs to be 20 seconds. Tharp Gallimore study of John Wooden's practice: What a Coach can Teach a Teacher Favorite coaching book/quote Book: Leading with the Heart by Coach K Book: Toughness by Jay Bilas