The By Any Means Coaches Podcast

In today’s episode, we’re breaking down what actually builds better defenders in the modern game.Most coaches approach defense with yelling, punishment, endless sliding, and shell drill reps… but none of that matters if your players can’t actually defend 1-on-1.This episode dives into the three major pillars of developing elite defenders individually (the part most teams skip) and how these foundations translate to better team defense:1. Perceptual SkillsElite defense starts with reading the game.We break down:Why offense always has the advantage, and how anticipation closes the gapPostural cues and attunementDeveloping angle recognitionDefensive craft: creative swipes, baiting, pulling the chairHow to train anticipation through small-sided games and film2. Movement & Physical QualitiesIf players can’t move, they can’t defend.We cover:Transitional locomotionGeneral & positional strengthThe defensive first stepBracing, decel → re-accelWarm-up design that actually builds defensive qualitiesUsing constraints to sharpen movement solutions3. Effort (The Right Kind)Effort isn’t yelling or punishment, but rewiring priorities.You’ll learn:How to shift a player’s defensive identityDisadvantaged scenarios that naturally increase effortDefensive-incentivized SSGs“Perfect Defense” drillsConditioning that builds pride, not burnoutWhy we’d rather scale efficiency in hard-playing athletes than try to wake up lazy onesWant to Go Deeper?A ton of what we talk about today connects directly to the ideas inside The Modern Basketball Blueprint, my new book.If you’re a coach who wants to bridge science, movement, decision-making, and practical training, this book lays out the full framework.Grab your copy here → www.byanymeanscoaches.com/blueprintIf you found this valuable:Share the episode with a coach who wants to build a tougher, smarter defensive teamSubscribe so you don’t miss the next deep diveScreenshot and tag us on IG so we can repost you

In this episode, we break down a mini meta-analysis of three peer-reviewed studies on the quiet eye, or the visual behavior that predicts shooting performance better than mechanics, “form,” or feel. We look at how elite shooters use their eyes differently, what actually happens to gaze under pressure and fatigue, and why the final fixation on the rim is the single strongest predictor of accuracy across conditions.You’ll walk away understanding the underlying science, how contest and intensity disrupt visual control, and what coaches can do to train quiet-eye stability on the court. This is the foundation behind consistent shooting, and it’s backed by real data.Make sure you're following us on all socials, we have some incredible stuff coming very soon!YT: https://www.youtube.com/@ByAnyMeansCoachesIG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanscoaches/

Welcome to the By Any Means Coaches Podcast! The podcast has a new look and format, and we're about to bring so much value it's not even funny. The important format changes: 1. Coleman Ayers (@byanymeansbasketball) will be giving you guys 2 solo episodes a week: he'll be taking a deep dive into the art and science of player development, every single episode.2. Tyler and Alex will still be providing one episode per week in a similar dialogue and feel to prior episodes, discussing pertinent topics around: team coaching, player development, mindset/psychology and much more3. Guests will be back: Tyler Clark, Coleman Ayers and Alex Silva will be hosting some of the greatest minds in the basketball world. Albeit, coaches, players, agents, front office, researchers, etcAll of us with The By Any Means Coaches Podcast are going to work our butts off to provide as much value as humanly possible and we think this format will execute exactly that. Besides announcements, Alex and Tyler discuss environmental constraints this week and how/when/why to use them as well as discussing the idea of other constraints and they take you along some of their experience in learning about constraints how the CLA expanded their ability to coach. Make sure to stay up to date on all platforms!YT: https://www.youtube.com/@ByAnyMeansCoachesIG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanscoaches/

Basketball coaches talk a lot about “consistency,” “repeatability,” and “perfect reps.” But the human body was never built to operate like a robot. It’s built with noise… unavoidable variability in the nervous system, muscles, perception, and movement itself.And if you don’t understand motor noise, you’ll completely misunderstand shooting mechanics, skill acquisition, and why even elite shooters miss wide open looks.Make sure to check us out on all of our socials and stay updated on some very cool things happening in the very near future:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ByAnyMeansCoachesIG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanscoaches/

In this episode, we break down the 10 small-sided games I’d choose if I could only do 10 for the rest of my life! Because each game can be constrained and modified in countless ways, this list becomes an infinite toolbox for any coach or trainer.Whether you primarily run team practices or smaller, PD-focused workouts, these 10 SSGs give you a simple, scalable framework for creating game-like learning environments without overthinking drills or reinventing the wheel. Make sure to follow us on all socials to stay up to date on everything we have going on, you don't want to miss out on anything!YT: https://www.youtube.com/@ByAnyMeansCoachesIG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanscoaches/

Yes, you read that title right, your best players should also be the best at your drills. Coleman takes a deep dive in a thought provoking prompt, a lot of coaches won't necessarily agree with this perspective and that's completely fine. There's a lot of value in your best players also performing your drills at the highest rate!Make sure to check out all of our socials and youtube to stay up to date:YT: https://www.youtube.com/@ByAnyMeansBasketball & https://www.youtube.com/@ByAnyMeansCoachesIG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanscoaches/

Coleman puts shooting under the microscope in this episode, there's a ridiculous amount of value packed into this 20 min episode. If you want to really, truly develop yourself, your players and your team into lights out shooters... you need to listen to this podcast. Repping out the same shot, in five different spots may not be the best approach when developing your ability to shoot. Shocker. The science of building a shooter, breaking down the most important components of shooting - things like energy transfer, hand placement, adaptability and more and also how to develop these qualities are discussed. Steph Curry is always a great example of someone who maximized their potential - yes he had the genetics, however, he didn't have the easiest route. He worked really hard, not just that though, he worked with a specific intent to become the greatest shooter of all time. He always curious, always adding different nuance to his training, due to his size he had to adapt to longer, faster defenders, he developed his conditioning and so much more. There are things we can take from players like Steph. Make sure to follow us on all socials to keep up to date!YT: https://www.youtube.com/@ByAnyMeansBasketball & https://www.youtube.com/@ByAnyMeansCoachesIG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanscoaches/

"If it ain't broke don't fix it"“Well, these drills worked for me,”“The kids just need more reps,”“We’ll get to that later.”We've all heard these phrases and even used them ourselves, it a part of your evolution as a coach and as a person. We all go through our own journey's while on the pursuit of becoming our own person and coach, where it becomes harmful is when you just blindly follow and use what YOU were taught with no reflection or digging into why you're doing something or if there's even another way potentially.Alex and I discuss the concept of confirmation bias and how a lot of us will use anything as proof to confirm a bias (ex: I'm winning games, so.... why would I change what I'm doing?), yes, you are winning games that's great - how are you winning games though? Is there nay even better way, can you repeat this, did you put any thought into this or are you just using this because your coaches did? All very important questions and reflections to ponder on your journey as a coachIf you believe in what you do, you have a reasoning that makes sense to you, you get the desired results, you can be happy with that of course. My challenge to you, is to never become satisfied and even stagnant with that though, coaching is fluid and ever changing - we work with different athletes every day that present different challenges every single practice, rep, game, etc. Be willing and even eager to find more approaches, philosophies, methods etc to help your players. As always, if you enjoy the show, please support us by making sure you're subscribed, give us a shoutout on socials and review/rate the show if you can!Thank you for listening.Follow us and keep up with what we have going on!TC IG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanstc/Silva IG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanssilva/Pod IG: https://www.instagram.com/thetcppodcast/

This was a great episode expanding on our conversation about consistency, we dive much further into the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation - what exactly the difference is and discussing from our own experience when we've been either intrinsically or extrinsically motivatedThe biggest message I want to get across in this episode is that you can use both and both are powerful fuel sources in their own right - it's important to recognize when to use them and even think about what holds more importance for us when considering what drives us (internal or external)I think this is a great conversation to provoke thought and really make you consider more what your source of fuel isMake sure to check out everything out on socials:Silva IG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanssilva/TC IG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanstc/Pod IG: https://www.instagram.com/thetcppodcast/

Alex and I talk about timeout philosophies and how we approach giving feedback in-game, whether that's in a timeout, pre game, half time or post gameAlex brings a plethora of experience from middle school AAU all the way up to division 2 womens basketball and everything in between, while most of my experience has been through the lens of an assistant position at a collegiate levelThe contrast in our experiences created a great dynamic to discuss both timeouts (when to call them, how to make them efficient, how to use them strategically, etc) and the best ways to give feedback throughout a span of the game!If you enjoyed the episode make sure to share it with a friend and give Alex and I as well as the podcast a follow on instagram to stay up to date on everything we have going on!TC IG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanstc/Alex IG: https://www.instagram.com/byanymeanssilva/Pod IG: https://www.instagram.com/thetcppodcast/