-Coaching Philosophy

Head Coach: Jamy Bechler + Coaching Staff + Basketball + Athletics

General Basketball Philosophy

  • As coaches, we will see our position as a lifestyle, not as a job. As John Wooden says, “Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life.”
  • We will seek to develop our players so that they have every opportunity to reach their potential as a basketball player.
  • We will be in much better condition than any opponent that we will face all season.
  • All players will be treated fairly with respect and dignity.
  • We will play with a great deal of enthusiasm.
  • I will have an “open-door” policy toward my players.
  • We will be successful on the court as a direct result of playing as a complete unit.
  • It will be emphasized that toughness of character will make you successful in life.
  • Practices will be organized and structured, allowing for optimal efficiency.
  • The total program will be organized and structured.
  • Our program will be disciplined (this will be defined as “doing what has to be done, when it has to be done, as well as we can possibly do it, while doing it that way all the time.”)
  • We will not let what we cannot do interfere with what we can do.
  • Everyone in the entire program will represent Bryan College, the Lady Lion basketball program and themselves in a first-class manner.
  • Basketball fundamentals will be emphasized each day at practice.
  • The coaching staff will work hard at scouting our opponents. However, we will keep it simple with our players. We will emphasize what we do and executing it to perfection.
  • We will do all within our power to help each Lady Lion player achieve their fullest potential as a student, a woman, and an athlete.
  • No one will outwork us, as coaches, in the identification and recruitment of top-notch student-athletes.
  • Recruit the best possible and most talented student-athletes regardless of size or position
  • General Principles that will be emphasized regardless of the specific personnel or makeup of the team are:
    • Team and collective effort
    • Solid rebounding
    • Hard work
    • Mental toughness
    • Discipline
    • Trust in one another

Defensive Philosophy

DEFENSE and REBOUNDING wins CHAMPIONSHIPS! This phrase may be thrown around as cliché but I have personally seen its’ truth. At all levels of basketball, it is commonplace for the championship-caliber teams to hold opponents’ field goal shooting percentages way down and have high rebounding margins. Making good shots hard to come by and then limiting the opponent to only one shot. That is the mark of a championship team. Therefore, hard work, particularly on the defensive end, must be our team’s cornerstone. It will be the program’s bread and butter. As potent as we’d like our offense to be, our defense must be the catalyst for success. Our players will play tremendously hard while on defense or they will not play. It is that simple. An individual putting forth effort that is anything but her best will result in problems for the rest of the team. Our defense will work because of hard work, fundamentals, and knowledge. This knowledge will come from each player knowing exactly what we want in each defensive set and how to go about achieving it. An average or below-average defense is usually the result of either (1) lackadaisical play or (2) a lack of knowledge on the defending of a particular play. We will experience success because we play defense. It is commonly said that "Effort never has an off-day". I have found this axiom to be true. Offenses may have off nights when it comes to shooting, but the defensive effort demonstrated should always be at a consistent level. The more that our team’s defense is consistent; the team will win more than it loses, even if we have only average offensive talent. Defense is the one thing that can be a constant each and every game. The specific type of defense or the "defensive plays" utilized will be based upon the personnel and situations that are present.

Offensive Philosophy

Offensive skills and techniques must be mastered and become automatic. Basketball is a game of habits. We will develop this through repetition and discipline. Success demands an emphasis on paying attention to detail…the pretense for execution. Quality execution will be demanded from my players. Repetition alone is not enough, its quality repetitions that count. Doing things right requires discipline and mental toughness on the part of both the players and the coach. In addition, we will become a quicker and thus more efficient and effective team by practicing quicker thinking skills on the court. Through all of this, we will emphasize team play. Every play works on paper, therefore execution and the individuals are the key ingredients to the success of any offense. An offense is only as strong as the individuals that form it, however, average individual players can work together to form an above average offense. Execution, discipline, attention to detail, and fundamentals must be present and evident to insure team success. Players will be put in situations that allow them the best opportunity to utilize their skills to the benefit of the team. Execution and discipline will be the cornerstone of our offense, while we seek to implement the simplest yet most effective offensive system based upon the personnel for that particular year’s team. It will be very important for us to utilize the strengths of our individual players into an offensive scheme built around complementary teamwork.

Recruiting Philosophy

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any successful program. A program cannot survive, and ultimately thrive, unless it works hard, day in and day out on the recruiting process. It is possible to establish a structured recruiting system through hard work, persistence, and organization. There are plenty of talented players that would be great fits for Bryan College and our basketball program. It is my job to find them. Recruiting must also be ethical. The way you recruit is an extension of your personal beliefs and values. When I recruit a player, I am not only attempting to bring a talented individual into the program, but I am taking on a bigger responsibility of looking after that young person for the next few years of their lives. Honesty and integrity are essential components in the process. It is important that I develop and nurture a relationship with the recruit. She is a person and should be treated in that manner. It should get to the point that the family, friends, relatives and anyone else close to the player trusts me without hesitation. My motives must be pure and up front. From a parent’s perspective, they are sending their child away to be raised by another person for the next few years. As a coach, if my primary objective is to use the athlete for those years and then discard her, then I have failed to have a positive impact on a young life. It my belief that good athletes will go to a place in which they feel comfortable. It is my goal to show the athlete and her family that I truly care about her. I will be persistent and real in all my dealings with her. I will do all that I can to recruit first-class people, while attempting to conduct myself in a Christ-like manner.