1/7 🧵As coaches we need to be careful about “being the boss” and...
Transforming Basketball@transformbball
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Dec 27, 2025
~1 min read
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🧵As coaches we need to be careful about “being the boss” and micromanaging our players’ movements.
This can lead to players overthinking how they coordinate their body, disrupting performance.
This is a thread on internal vs external feedback and why it matters for basketball coaches…
🧵As coaches we need to be careful about “being the boss” and micromanaging our players’ movements.
This can lead to players overthinking how they coordinate their body, disrupting performance.
This is a thread on internal vs external feedback and why it matters for basketball coaches…
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Internal feedback = body-focused cues:
• “Bend your knees.”
• “Keep your elbow in.”
• “Position your feet like this.”
It sounds helpful, but it shifts the attention inward. Players think about mechanics instead of self-organizing freely based on the decisions they are naturally acting upon.
Internal feedback = body-focused cues:
• “Bend your knees.”
• “Keep your elbow in.”
• “Position your feet like this.”
It sounds helpful, but it shifts the attention inward. Players think about mechanics instead of self-organizing freely based on the decisions they are naturally acting upon.
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External feedback = outcome-focused cues:
• “Get the ball up over the defender’s hand.”
• “Find a way to get past the defender in two seconds”
• “Score a BRAD (back rim and down)”
External cues have been proven in extensive research to be far superior to internal, virtually every time! See Gabriele Wulf’s research on this for more.
External feedback = outcome-focused cues:
• “Get the ball up over the defender’s hand.”
• “Find a way to get past the defender in two seconds”
• “Score a BRAD (back rim and down)”
External cues have been proven in extensive research to be far superior to internal, virtually every time! See Gabriele Wulf’s research on this for more.
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Wulf’s research shows that external cues produce superior performance outcomes. Here’s how coaches can tweak the feedback they give:
❌ “Snap your wrist.”
✅ “Shoot the ball like a powerful spring”
Wulf’s research shows that external cues produce superior performance outcomes. Here’s how coaches can tweak the feedback they give:
❌ “Snap your wrist.”
✅ “Shoot the ball like a powerful spring”
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Another example on defense:
❌ “Stay low on your slide.”
✅ “Move however you want to keep the defender in front of your jersey number.”
The external cue communicates the job to be done (e.g. staying in neutral), not the body position to hold.
Another example on defense:
❌ “Stay low on your slide.”
✅ “Move however you want to keep the defender in front of your jersey number.”
The external cue communicates the job to be done (e.g. staying in neutral), not the body position to hold.
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Internal cues may have a place in rehab OR when using differential learning. But in small-sided games and scrimmages, external feedback should be the dominant feedback style used.
Internal cues may have a place in rehab OR when using differential learning. But in small-sided games and scrimmages, external feedback should be the dominant feedback style used.
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To learn more about the Transforming Basketball approach, watch this coaching clinic with our founder, Alex Sarama: transformingbball.com/coaching-clini…
To learn more about the Transforming Basketball approach, watch this coaching clinic with our founder, Alex Sarama: transformingbball.com/coaching-clini…
