I have had the honor of being a friend and teammate of Coach Lance Randall for the last 30 years ((Woodstock Police Chief: We Keep Peace, Not Needlessly …. https://patch.com/georgia/woodstock/woodstock-police-chief-addresses-department-george-floyd-death)). Coach Randall is a born leader and extremely charismatic. He is the type of individual that is the center of attention whenever he enters a room. A devoted family man with four children and a wife, Lance enjoys a career impacting young men by teaching them the game that he loves ((Spring 2017 Recipients – Pure Gold | Montana State University. http://www.montana.edu/puregold/recipients/2017spring.html)). He has agreed to provide Youth Basketball Parent with his insights on the training of young players commenting specifically on what he does for his kids. He will discuss high school and club basketball while diving in deep to the do’s and don’t of college recruiting.
Coaching Background
“It is hard to find a professional job that also checks the boxes for your family,” Coach Randall commented on the career of a basketball coach. He has had positions where he was an assistant coach, but he says, “I am a head coach. I do not have a lot of interest in being an assistant.” One thing that is true at all of his stops is that he wins wherever he goes. Because of that, he has never been fired as a coach.
His coaching background is extraordinary. His first head coaching job was with Division III Webster University ((Perception of Popovich: Spurs’ coach remains rock solid …. https://www.foxnews.com/sports/perception-of-popovich-spurs-coach-remains-rock-solid-while-viewed-in-kinder-gentler-light)). He immediately turned them into a winner leading them to their first-ever birth to the NCAA tournament. He was the coach and general manager of the Pertemps Birmingham Bullets in England. He successfully led that team to a final four appearance in the Northern European Basketball League Challenge Cup. When his father died unexpectedly, he took a break from his college and pro career to take over his Dad’s team at Oshkosh West High School in Wisconsin ((Woonsocket MFg. Co. – Coachbuilders, Coach Building …. http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/w/woonsocket/woonsocket.htm)). His teams won back to back Division I state championships. He was on the staff of Division III UW-Stevens Point when they won the Division 3 national championship. Recently, he had the opportunity to join the Kosovo National Team as an assistant coach. While there, the team made an impressive run in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Currently, Coach Randall is back leading the Division II Saint Leo Men’s basketball program.
Growing Up Basketball
Coach Randall did not have to travel very far for the most significant basketball influence in his life. His dad was also his high school basketball coach. Lance said his dad was “very hard on (him), but iron sharpens iron.” He helped him become mentally tough and a great player. The pressure from the community and the school on him as a “Coach’s Son” was always in the background. He felt that he had to do it better than everyone else, and his father would always demand more. In fact, in his junior year, despite being an all-conference player, his dad benched him for five games. All the pressure was worth it, as Lance’s team went 26-1 during his senior year, making it to the state finals ((TNT’s Ernie Johnson Give Emotional Speech on COVID-19. https://www.thewrap.com/tnts-ernie-johnson-opens-up-about-his-sons-medical-struggles-and-efforts-to-protect-him-from-covid-19-1/)).
I have coached in NIT games, I have coached in NCAA games. I have coached in the World Cup playoffs. To me, the most amazing thing that I have been apart of was the Wisconsin State Basketball Tournament.
Coach Lance Randall
Coach Randall admits that it was in the 6th or 7th grade, where he finally found his passion for the game. His dad took an active part in his development, providing very structured training. He created what he called AB Workouts for him. These were shooting and basketball drills that would take around 45 minutes, which were meant to be used when his dad could not be there with him. Back in the late ’80s, it was tough to get in a gym, and the advent of widespread summer club basketball had not begun. He spent a lot of time going to camps that his dad worked during the summer so that he could play games ((Hiromi Shinya – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiromi_Shinya)). It was a different world back then.
After high school, he decided to attend Beloit College to further his education and play basketball for the hall of fame coach Bill Knapton. Lance had a great career at Beloit. He was team captain for two years, won the Johnny Orr Leadership Award, and was named Team MVP.
Training His Children
You must face the idea that each kid is different, and you must adjust your approach with each of them.
Coach Randall on Training his Children
Coach Randall’s background in coaching and education has taught him that every child is unique and that varying approaches must be taken with each. His children are no different. He has one child that he describes as “Outcome-Driven.” If he tells her to shoot 500 shots today, she will shoot 500 shots. If he tells her to runs 3 miles, she will run three miles. “I simply put the work in front of her, and she will get it done,” he says.
He describes his other children as “Journey Based.” These are the type of kids that will put in the work but want to enjoy the ride along the way. With these children, Coach Randall talks about trying to get creative with them. He does a lot of one on one or two on two basketball games. They love to play horse. They need to have a score attached to everything they do. They are seeking immediate gratification and tend to be very competitive. He shared a great story about trying to do dribbling drills with his Journey-Based children. They needed something exciting other than the stationary two-ball pound. He had to go straight to the between the legs since that was more exciting for the child.
He went on to say that he has another child that is a mix of both. “You must recognize the natural physical tendencies and shortcomings (of your children)” and continue to adjust your approach. He also commented that a parent must recognize the difference between work and play. If the kids are out there working on their game, then he expects them to work hard and show effort and intensity. If they are playing a game, then he expects them to play to win. He also acknowledges that there are times when they are merely playing. At these times, he lets go and allows them just to have fun.
Coach Randall is a proponent having kids play multiple sports. His oldest daughter is a three-sport athlete in high school. He feels that this can help to negate the burnout that results from specializing in just one sport. Also, he cited studies that he read that discussing that multi-sport athletes can reduce the chances of injury through the development of different muscles by playing different sports. Also, the studies pushed the benefits of various directional changes used in different sports.
He is focused on preventing the burnout of his children in their primary sport. There are so many kids that are mentally fatigued by the time they reach him in college. You must let your children “go alone” during their workouts and practice sessions at times, so they do not think that that a parent must always be there. If and when they get off track, you can still be there to jump in with a gentle motivational push. This usually takes the form of “You said you wanted to be great. You have to do the work to get there.”
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this close-up look into the basketball journey of Coach Randall and how he works with his kids. In Part 2, we will share his insights into basketball clubs, high school coaches, recruiting services, and online recruiting profiles.