"We may find that 80 percent of consequences arise from 20 percent of causes, or that 80 percent of outputs come from 20 percent of inputs, or 80 percent of results from 20 percent of effort. Typically, 20 percent of professional athletes will scoop 80 percent - or more - of the competition prizes. You will wear 20 percent - or less - of your clothes more than 80 percent of the time. A mere 20 percent of burglars will make off with more than 80 percent of the loot. Just 20 percent of your car journeys will clock up more than 80 percent of your total mileage. Only 20 percent of your time will generate more than 80 percent of your useful results. And 20 percent of your decisions will lead to more than 80 percent of your success and happiness - or the opposite."
**The above information is from "The 80/20 Manager" by Richard Koch**
How can we use this Principle?
Doing more with less should be a priority for every coach. Big results come from small focal points.
Find the Vital Few - Focus on the Vital Few
In honor of the olympics, coaches can use gold, silver, and bronze to teach decision making. This falls into line with simplifying by coaching in one word commands.
Use "gold" when players make the absolute best decision possible. After a puncture, a pass is made to the player with the best opportunity to score. A player who doesn't shoot the One Count three well cuts to the rim when his defender collapses on the puncture. It can describe a player that makes the correct decision when they attempt to score the ball.
Coaches use "silver" when a player makes a decision that could have been better, but it was not the worst decision that could have been made. For example, a player decides to shoot a three while a defender is sprinting to close out. This hard closeout caused the player to rush their shooting motion a little bit, but they are still able to get off a decent shot. Maybe the "gold" decision would have been faking on One and attacking on Two. The decision didn't lead to a turnover or a terrible shot, but there were better options available.
Use "bronze" when a player makes the worst decision possible. Forcing a pass into traffic or trying to score over three defenders would be examples when "bronze" should be used.
Even if a player can't consistently shoot a One Count jump shot, they can still be an effective One Count Scorer.
Starting small will give your players time to get comfortable with the progressions and reads. Use the example situation from the playbook to create your own actions to rep.
I believe strongly in the following ideas.