Prolific Performance: How
do manage to work so well with not only kids but the most elite kids in the
country?
Coach Francis: You
have to be true to yourself as a leader. That’s what resonates with the young
players that my staff and I work with.
My biggest “secret” is that I use nonauthoritarian methods to empower – asking them what plays they want to
run; who they want to get the shot for.
Prolific Performance: Speaking
of Leadership – where is your leadership derived from?
Coach Francis: You
have to speak what you believe. You have to speak from experience —
intellectual, visceral and intuitive. As a coach, I know how to unify young men
and it must be done quickly as I often only have these groups for 48 to 72
hours. At the basketball grassroots level a community can develope into a team that
works together for the greater good; representing all 50 states gives us the
chance to bring together the country behind our most valuable resource; our
kids. Often it’s not the most physically
talented teams that win — it’s the team that can best use its talents that wins;
ultimately that’s my job as a leader.
Prolific Performance: What do players who are true stars need from
their coach?
Coach Francis: One of the nation’s top players said to me "Nobody
has tried to motivate me, they just play me." But, he said, "You and your
staff try to motivate us every day, and that's makes the game fun again."
Leadership is not just letting stars produce, but its being a friend of the star,
to motivate the star. Our teams go a lot further when the stars are pushed after
while they begin to push each other. At the end of the day I am a big kid just like them in the game for the love of the game.
Prolific Performance: Players on top-ranked basketball teams
are composed of high-level stars, people who
are used to having the planets rotate around them. How do you deal with this?
Coach Francis: I want
to first see that the kid is coachable and will listen, that he shows respect to
his parents and others he deals with especially his teammates, and that he is
willing to learn...It is true that your best player can lead you to the championship,
but your most talented player can also lead you to the defeat as well. Because
the best players are going to have a lot of influence, you want to make sure he
comes in and has a quality relationship with the staff and the other kids.
Prolific Performance: What
is the premise of the National Select team?
Coach Francis: Simply
put, the goal is to put the best players in the country on the court
together. The elite players share a
special fraternity; a special understanding – they are used to carrying their
respective teams. By placing them
together they get to feel the support of having players just as good and some
cases better around them. These players
are used to making the other players around them better, when they have a
chance to be made better by THEIR teammates you have some very special moments
and games in that scenario. In the old
days this is how games were played, you put the best players together no
matter where they are from and you competed; but with the shoe companies and aau
clubs trying to control player movement nowadays, this is the only opportunity for
players prior to their senior year all-star games to meet, play, and develop relationships and in the end that is what this game and life is about.
Prolific Performance: You
recently parted way with Middle School Elite as the sponsor for the National team
– what’s next for National Select?
Coach Francis: Business as usual, everything stays the same except
the name on the chest; which will now read USA National Select, and operate independently
which will allow for us and the kids to forge relationships with many outlets –
event sponsor will be sought for specific events and will increase the visibility
of the kids and the brand. It was truly disappointing to part was with MSE; but
those who have intimate knowledge of this middle school industry know and understand
that there have been challenges with the leadership at the top with that particular group for sometime. Working so closely with peoples children, I couldn’t
professionally engage in some of the stuff that has gone on with social media
ect. – I wish them the very best and it’s my hope that its a mutual respect, at
this point I must remain taking the high road no matter what is said, I owe the
players and the parents that much as a role model. MSE is still more than welcome to the media
and if they are true to the game I truly believe they will continue to promote
these kids as they are the tops in the country without question.
Prolific Performance: Will
you be doing camps so that you can still see kids nationally?
Coach Francis: I am
working with an unnamed group right now and will be announcing camp dates with
a major group really soon. We will be moving
around the country regionally and will hold a major national camp as well. I am tremendously confident that what is
being put together will be one of the top event series in all of middle school
basketball. It will allow for players to be added to the National Team as well as allowing me to work with folks like you here at P2 to provide top notch exposure.
Prolific Performance: Sounds
exciting and you haven’t let the nation down yet – where do we find you moving
forward?
Coach Francis: Again most everything is the same! Email is nationalteam@msenationalselect.com
phone is 1.800.338.4629 – the website for Coach Francis’ USA National Select
can be found via the trail on the aforementioned email or you can go to www.middleschoolelite.net ; its my
hope that everyone visits that page to see the growth of the program and talent
we have been privileged to work with, which can be found on the alumni page. Finally I am on twitter and Instagram @coachfrancisusa
Prolific Performance: Any
last words for the kids out there?
Coach Francis: I happy
and I am doing well, the team and coaching staff here with National Select is
anxious to work with our current group of players and the new ones on our
committed list and in our pipeline. I am so
thankful for the support, the tweets, the emails, and Instagram messages from
all the players and parents – it’s very humbling and I am thankful for each one
of them.
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