Taylor Krocker

In my lifetime, I have spent more time being involved with basketball than I have without. From playing to volunteering to coaching, I have been around many different levels of basketball. In my time playing, I was never the most vocal or the most skilled. I was quiet, coachable, and retained all the information that was thrown at me. I understood what must be done for the team to be successful. I was understanding of concepts and schemes the instant they were told to me. Playing in college, and seeing the strategies used at that level, interested me to the point where I wanted to become a coach. During my time as a volunteer assistant at Rockford, I knew developing the players skills and preparing them for the future is why I wanted to continue coaching.

My goal is to create an environment, program, and culture that encourages students to continue coming out for basketball and where they will learn to become a better person on and off the court.

● Either played or coached basketball for all but one year since 2005

● Went to PHS and played basketball all 4 years. 2 years on varsity

○ Also played 2 years of football, 2 years of tennis, and 1 year of baseball

● Played 1 year of basketball at Lakeland College

○ Also played 1 year of tennis

● Played 1 year of basketball at UW Baraboo

● Played 2 years of basketball at Rockford University

● Volunteer Assistant for 1 year at Rockford University

○ Assisted head coach and other assistants with anything they needed help with

○ Involved with decision making, planning, and recruiting

● Varsity Assistant for 2 years at Portage

○ Assisted in development of player’s skills

○ Assisted in game and practice strategies

● JV2 Head coach for 2 years at Portage

○ Developed player’s skills

○ Organized practices and drills throughout the year

○ Assisted with Varsity when we didn’t have practices at the same time

● Coached various summer league and summer tournament games for Portage when I was in college

● In my four years coaching at Portage, I also helped some players get recruited by colleges to play basketball

● I have built a rapport with the incoming Juniors and Seniors, as I was their coach when they were on JV2

● Build a successful program, youth through high school

● Core Values

○ Respect teammates, coaches, and other teams

○ Be coachable(Being receptive instead of responsive)

○ Give your all in practice and in games

○ Be humble

● Celebrate success no matter how big or small

○ From wins to simply taking a charge

● Always trust the other coaches and players

● Weekly discussions with coaches and players

● Hold every player to the same standard

○ No favorites

● Make sure that when a coach is talking, everyone else is listening

● Make sure everyone is taking practice serious(coaches & players)

● Have team bonding every week or every other week

○ Very important for kids to trust each other and the coaches

● Team meals the day before games

○ Communicate with parents

● When subbing for a player, make sure to tell them and know who they are guarding

○ Possibly exchange a towel or warm-up shirt to guarantee communication

● When a player is subbed out, everyone on bench stands up to acknowledge them

● Bench energy is a must

Sit up, be engaged in the game, and be ready to go in when called on

● I don’t want the players to be afraid that they will be subbed out of the game for making a mistake

○ Talk through with the player about what they did and what they could have done to fix their mistake

○ Trust them that they won’t make that same mistake

● Emphasize team basketball. Even talk about how colleges do not care if you are scoring a ton of points, they care about a team player and overall being a good person

● Grade checks weekly

○ I also want to know if the student athletes are behaving in class or not

● Look like a team off the court(gamedays)

○ Wear travel suit tops to school

○ Possibly have coaches wear travel tops at games to match

● Communicate with Athletic Director about everything going on

○ Add AD to all emails going to players, coaches, and parents

● Let the players and parents know that they can talk with me about any issues or concerns

○ Communicate with the parents when needed

● Always communicate with other coaches and players

○ Discuss with players what they are doing wrong and what they can do to improve

○ Tell them that they can talk with us about anything

○ Talk with assistant coaches to let them know what expectations for them are