Touch the Lines

I was attending a basketball clinic a couple years ago and heard something that was new to me – the presenting, very successful coach, Clif Wegner (Clackamas Community College in Oregon) said his mantra was “We Touch The Lines.” It seems simple enough but I think there’s something really key in this.

“We have a slogan, “We Touch The Lines.” Any time a kid doesn’t touch a line, the whole group starts (the drill) over,” Wegner told the crowd. Wegner had his players on the floor to help with the demonstrations. He told the attendees to let him know if any of the players didn’t run to the finishing line in the drills he was presenting.

Think about it…you run through drills all the time requiring players to finish at a certain point. Do they always do it? Or, do they slow a few steps from the end line? If you have players who can’t give you the extra step or two needed to finish a drill properly, then how can you trust them to finish a game the way you want? Can they be expected to go all-out for their teammates?

It’s something to consider as you look back on last season and start forming goals, resolutions, slogans and philosophies for next year. You want a team of line touchers.