Chris Ballard (@SI_ChrisBallard) is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated most known for long-form articles on basketball and his books on the sport, including Hoops Nation and The Art of a Beautiful Game. His coverage of Golden State Warriors Coach and PCA National Advisory Board Member Steve Kerr and many other top players and coaches, along with Chris’ own youth sports coaching experience, uniquely qualify him to explain how best practices of pro sports coaches can translate to youth and high school sports.

Ballard talks about the unique interconnected nature of basketball by comparing the sport to football and baseball. He describes that in football, there are abundantly more people involved than in basketball, and in baseball, there are more authoritative stances and positions which can all train and work independent of one another. However, in basketball, the main coach is present and involved with the players, which creates more of a collective and combined feeling and bond. This promotes strong and ‘special’ bonds between coaches and players, as well as amongst players themselves.