Scouting gives some extra edge

Local coaches agree knowledge of an opponent can be the difference in a game.

Greenon girls basketball coach Gary Falkenbach (background) watches as Allie Turner (left) looks for an opening in the Northwestern defense, led by Katie Byrum, during a tournament game last month. Hours of scouting help Falkenbach put Turner and her teammates in position to win games like this one. Staff photo by Barbara J. Perenic

Barbara J. Perenic Greenon girls basketball coach Gary Falkenbach (background) watches as Allie Turner (left) looks for an opening in the Northwestern defense, led by Katie Byrum, during a tournament game last month. Hours of scouting help Falkenbach put Turner and her teammates in position to win games like this one. Staff photo by Barbara J. Perenic

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Coaches don’t just coach, but also scout

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By Michael Cooper, Staff Writer 10:50 PM Friday, March 12, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — Scouting is in Gary Falkenbach’s blood.

The Greenon High School girls basketball coach can’t not scout a game after practice.

He knows it works. He’s seen his team’s advantage over the years as proof that preparing can help you win basketball games.

In 2001, Falkenbach, then the coach for the Catholic Central girls team, scouted every second of a 96-12 blowout by Division III second-ranked Versailles against winless Bradford.

He stayed to the very end, and caught on to one of the Tigers’ in-bounds plays late in the fourth quarter.

“It never pays to leave early,” Falkenbach said.

In their game a few weeks later, the Irish faced the same play late in the game, stopped it and eventually lost in overtime.

But it was putting his team in a position to win that gave Falkenbach faith in the scouting process. He said he scouted over 60 games in 1996 as an assistant coach for the Irish boys basketball program, the year the Irish won the state title.

“I love it,” Falkenbach said. “It’s always been a goal of mine. I would love to coach in college and be a scout.”

What to watch for

Shawnee coach Lee Ann Ballard and her husband Todd, a Braves assistant coach, sometimes struggle paying attention when she’s scouting.

But that’s mostly because she brings her two children, Zoe, 5, and Evan, 2.

“As the kids get older, it’s a little bit easier to take them,” Ballard said. “We eat, breathe and sleep it for awhile.”

They still look for the same basic things, just like every other coach, while they’re scouting. What offense and defenses will my opponents run? Who’s their best ball handler or their best defender? Will they press off a bucket of a made free throw? What are their weaknesses and strengths? What kinds of out-of-bounds plays do they run?

Scouting isn’t just limited to live-game actions. Some coaches, especially those who played out-of-state opponents like Falkenbach and Kenton Ridge coach Ed Foulk, have scoured the Internet looking for information and stats on other teams.

“You can get on the Internet and get on a local newspaper site and get all you can get,” Foulk said.

But there’s still nothing like seeing your opponent play in person, especially with assistant coaches. The entire Greenon High School staff will go to games together to find every little detail they can find. Most coaches around the area try to see every team they play at least once before they play, although that can be a struggle for teams who have late practices or play on the same nights as their opponents.

Urbana coach Bill Moss is a big believer in scouting. He tries to see every team in person before they play, and he does a large amount of film study as well.

“To me, understanding the opponent is just as big as understanding your own team,” Moss said.

He’s seen several instances during his career where scouting paid off.

During the Hillclimbers’ state title run in 1992-1993, Moss knew they’d have to play Hamilton Badin on the road to the state tournament. They scouted each other at least six times each during the regular season.

“We knew down the line we had to go through them,” Moss said. “It was the same thing with them. We looked up (at their scouts) every time and said ‘How many times are they going to watch us play?’ ”

Game film and scouting reports

Coaches also have to formulate what they’ve seen into a scouting report.

Some coaches, like Falkenbach, want no secrets for his team. He believes the more information he gives his players, the more likely they are to filter it into the game. He gives his team a large scouting report with both a team’s and individual’s tendencies.

“They have a lot of confidence knowing it,” Falkenbach said.

Other coaches will hand out a small scouting report or go over information on a chalkboard before the game.

All coaches like to run through the other team’s plays with their younger players.

When Foulk was a junior-varsity coach, he would run the other team’s offenses so much with his team, they would run those same plays in a game.

“You just see it better by seeing it on the floor,” Foulk said.

Some coaches also use film study with their players to go over other teams’ tendencies, as well as what they need to do to improve.

“When they see it and see themselves out on the floor, it clicks,” said Northeastern coach Kari Kitchen. “You can see light bulbs go off.”

But all coaches know there are limits to film. They don’t want to overload their players with information, or psych them out.

“Sometimes, you can make a team sound too good,” Falkenbach said.

Other coaches, like Moss, will encourage his players to scout on their own as well.

“It’s good for the kids to get out and see their opponents and understand what each opponent does,” Moss said. “It gives them a better knowledge.”

Do what we do

Four hours after his team’s Division IV district title win over Riverside on March 6, Southeastern coach Jim Lightle was back at work, scouting the Trojans’ next potential opponents, Miami Valley and Tri-Village.

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