Basketball Poems | Basketball Quotes

Welcome to our collection of Basketball Poems. We hope that you can find something that will serve as inspiration for you and your team.

"I'd Rather See a Sermon"--author unknown. A basketball poem emphasizing the power of example.

"If" by Rudyard Kipling--An inspirational poem by Rudyard Kipling that can be used as motivation in any setting. We have included it on our site as potential content for basketall coaches to use in their players' basketball notebooks

"Man (or Lady) on the bench"--author unknown is a tribute to the basketball players who do not get much playing time, but who are faithful and indispendable to the team.

"The Man in the Glass"--author unknown. A short poem dealing with self respect.

Don't Quit--a good poem to share with your team during the rough spots in the season.

It's All in a State of Mind--cotrolling your thoughts makes a big difference in performance.

Little Eyes--Author Unknown is a nice reminder to older players that they are constantly being watched and worshiped by younger basketball players, just like they looked up to the older players when they were in elementary and middle school. This is one of those basketball poems that needs to be in every players' notebook!

The Road Ahead--an inspirational poem about taking personal responsibility.

Winning is Giving--one way to define winning.

If you have any suggestions that would be good additions to our basketball poems collection and could be useful in basketball coaching, please e-mail us your contribution.

Your Worth to the Team

The Edge is in the MInd

Ambition

Here are a few basketball poems, and other odds and end for you to consider as handouts for your players, to elementary or middle school basketball players, or to include in your players notebooks. Also check out our basketball quotes section for some ideas to include in your notebooks.

Momentum is a huge part of the game of basketball. Some of it is out of our control, but there are Momentum Killers and Momentum Getters that we can identify and work to our advantage through a plan and the way we run our basketball practices. We have started a list to get you thinking.

Intensity Looks Like is our list of the types of things we look for to evaluate whether or not a team is playing as hard as we would like or not.

The Quiz is a fun way to step back and take a look at what are the things that really matter in education and amateur athletic competition.

The Starfish Story makes a great point about what it really takes to make a huge difference in the world.

Togetherness Looks Like is the counterpart to the playing hard list, but this one is written from the perspective of team building and what that chemistry looks like when a group of individuals comes together and truly forms a team.

Michael Jordan has two commercials, one with a theme that he will succeed due to his failures, and that his game was not built on flash, but rather on fire. They both have great messages and can be watched on youtube by clicking on the link.

Basketball by Bob Knight is a very nostalgic look at the game of basketball and what it means to all of us who are fortunate enough to be able to be a part of it.

The Way to Victory

The Ten Commandments of Getting Along with Others

Your Worth to the Team

Abraham Lincoln Failures

A Basketball Player

The Leadership Secrets of the Army's Top Generals.Here is an article on leadership from Jeff Janssen's Sports Leadership Center. The article was written by Shelley Johnson.

Steps to Success

Navy Seal Creed

Ten Rules for Raising Delinquent Children

Three Letters from Teddy

The Winning Attitude.

Average Teams and Great Teams

Letter to Staff

Videos

These are inspirational videos that can't be put in a notebook, but are still very much sharing with your team.

What It Takes to Be Number 1. Some thoughts and views on success from Vince Lombardi.

It's our job, it’s their game. Even the most dedicated players will never take is as seriously as coaches do.
It’s not what you teach it is what you emphasize that they will remember.
Players want discipline, direction, and purpose.
Repetition with variety leads to proper habits. Re-teach if necessary.
There will always be problems—It is our number one job as coaches to solve them and to manage each crisis.
Wins and losses do not determine success.
Are you spending your basketball practice time and individual development workout time on the things that make the biggest difference in games?
Your team will play their games almost exactly like the basketball practices you run.
Good teams and players give first and second efforts, great teams and players give third and fourth efforts.
Coach K builds a culture at Duke rather than a program.
Becoming fundamentally sound will make you a consistent player.
THE EDGE IS IN THE MIND I picked this up at one of Don Meyer's Clinics. It is directed to players, but is applicable to us coaches as well The Edge is in the Mind. It is taken from What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School by Mark McCormack.

This was posted on Coach Eric Musselman's Blog and I found it reposted by Larry Ronglein of the Yahoo Coaching Hoops Group. You can go to either of those sites by clicking on the link. The notes are from Pete Carril's book, The Smart Take from the Strong. You can click on the book title's link to read a few excerpts. Here are the posted notes from the book: The Wisdom of Pete Carril.

Ed Schilling Questions from coaches with Answers provided by Coach Schilling

They're Called "Coach"

Filing Cabinet

Videos