EP 102: How to Teach Decision Making

Hey Coach,

I used to think my job was to tell players what to do.

Run this play. Make this read. Take this shot.

But the more I coach, the more I realize, they already know what they should do.

The real question is: can they see it happening in real time, decide fast enough, and execute it when someone's in their face? 

That's a different kind of coaching. And I'm still figuring it out.

This week’s episode of The Hours with Kyle Koszuta touches on this exact thing!

Key Takeaways

• Pattern recognition is your foundation. Players get good at what happens most. Design your system and training around patterns that will repeat in games. If your patterns aren't clear and consistent, players can't develop the recognition speed needed to compete.

• Identify aggressive mistakes vs. bad mistakes. When a player reaches in to apply pressure and misses, that's often a good mistake. When they back off to avoid risk and give up the advantage, that's a bad mistake. Know the difference and coach accordingly.

• Your best teaching moment happens in timeouts. Don't call plays they can't execute under pressure. Match your adjustments to their current skill level—not your ideal strategy. If they don't have the skill to run the press break against that level of pressure, your timeout just made things worse.

• Recognition comes before decision, decision comes before execution. Most players (and coaches) assume the problem is always execution—better shooting, better footwork, better technique. But if they can't see the pattern developing or don't know when to use the move, execution work won't transfer.

• Pressure compounds. One turnover against the press doesn't kill you. Nine turnovers make the opponent feel safe and your team feel helpless. Small consistent advantages—on offense or defense—build into game-breaking runs.

Listen to the full episode here:

One Teaching Cue or Question

"Did you see it, or did you miss it?"

Use this after mistakes. It separates recognition problems from execution problems. If they saw it but missed the shot, that's execution. If they didn't see it coming, that's recognition.

Train differently for each.

Why This Matters

When players can't execute in games what they can do in drills, the gap is usually recognition or decision-making, not effort or execution.

Most coaches default to drilling technique harder.

But if a player can't see the play developing or doesn't know when to use the skill, more reps on form won't help.

This framework: Recognize, Decide, Execute, gives you a filter to diagnose what's actually missing and train it intentionally. It also explains why your press break fails against good pressure:

They lack the skill to recognize and decide fast enough under that level of chaos, so calling a play they've run 100 times in practice won't matter.

Stay SAVI,

-Tyler

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