Besides having a lot of great scouts out there, teams are very careful in hiring scouts because those personnel would be the gauge of how better a team will be in the future and how well they would fare in their upcoming games. As a scout, your task is to look for prospective talents for your team and also to get vital information from your opponents for the team to prepare well before their matchup, like determining the most frequent offensive and defensive sets the opposing team is employing.

If you are looking for basketball scouting job, there are lots of high school, college, and even NBA teams out there that are looking for scouts. But the question is do you have what it takes to meet their standards?

Teams are looking for scouts who have an extraordinary knowledge about basketball and have the natural ability to easily determine a player’s strength and weaknesses. Having the ability to make sound judgment is also a must especially for talent scouts, because you will be tasked to determine whether a certain player has the potential to become a big time basketball player. Patience is also a quality that a good scout must possess because you will absolutely be travelling a lot, will have irregular working hours, and should work even during weekends and holidays.

The competition out there is very stiff. Teams are always in search for talents so scouts have no time to relax if you really want to help your team improve.

Being a scout isn’t your ordinary sports-related job, but if you feel that you have all the abilities and qualities to become an effective scout, then why don’t you strut your stuff out there, especially those who have played professional basketball before. Who knows, an NBA might be intrigued and hire you as one of their scouts – an opportunity that will give you a lot of success and good opportunity also for the after-basketball lives of former players.

All coaches, who are looking to gain experience from NCAA-certified events, must be certified by undergoing the NCAA Participant Approval Program that is currently being administered by LexisNexis. During an NCAA-certified event, the event operators will mandatorily ask the coaches to show a US Government issued picture Identification Card to make sure that only approved coaches will have the chance to participate in the event.

The NCAA Participation Approval Program is currently available online. All you need to do is to create a username and you must agree to the terms and conditions set by the NCAA. During the process, you will also be asked to authorize the NCAA to release your background check results.

And of course, having the knowledge about NCAA rules is a must. You will take the NCAA Rules test and must score at least 70% percent to pass. You also need to pay the $40 non-refundable fee through credit card to complete the application process.

The process usually takes three to seven business days, and upon the completion of the application process, your name will be posted in the List of Approved Participants. Only coaches who are in the List of Approved Participants will be allowed to participate. In case your application wasn’t approved, you will also be notified through a letter sent to the address that you indicated during the application process.

Founded by notable basketball players like Dave DeBusschere, Dave Bing, Archie Clark, Dave Cowens and Oscar Robertson, the association provides assistance to retired players in different ways like helping members in pension issues, providing support in career transition, and post-retirement objectives.

The association also engaged in different community services like providing funds for different charitable activities, especially regarding health care coverage by providing financial help to different hospitals and small health care units in the community.

In 1992, the NBRPA also established a scholarship program that is continuously providing financial assistance to the children of former professional basketball players in need to help them meet the demands of higher education nowadays. The NBRPA scholarship program, which was later renamed to The Dave DeBusschere Scholarship Fund in honor of one of the association’s founder, has provided over $1,000,000 financial assistance to former players and their children.

The NBA, which is arguably the most famous basketball league in the world, is supporting the association financially and has built a good working relationship since it was established.

You might be wondering how difficult it is to become a member of this impressive association. Actually, it is not that difficult; if you have played at least one season of professional basketball – NBA, ABA, and Harlem Globetrotters – you are eligible to become a member as long as you are officially retired.

Through the years, the NBRPA has lived up to their goal of providing assistance to retired basketball players to help them have a better life after their basketball career.

Scottie Pippen – Former Chicago Bulls Player

Known more for his on court defense than his off court business sense, former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen lost $120 million in career earnings due to poor financial planning and bad business ideas. Air Jordan’s sidekick blew $27 million on bad investments and spent $4.3 million on a Gulfstream II corporate jet.

Latrell Sprewell

Look up the word “shortsighted” in the dictionary and you will see a picture of Latrell Sprewell. He famously turned down a $21 million contract because he said it wasn’t enough money to feed his family. Sprewell, who made over $96 million during his career, lost his $1.5 million dollar Italian yacht, named “Milwaukee’s Best”, in 2007. According to MSNBC, a U.S. marshal seized the yacht after Sprewell defaulted on his mortgage. His $5.4 million house went into foreclosure in May 2008. Don’t blame Sprewell for turning down the three-year, $21 million contract though. I mean really, who could live off a measly $7 million a year?

Excerpts taken from full Yahoo! report..read more here

I do know that the NBA currently has a program for ex-NBA players and their transition after basketball. It is important to have path or at least a mentor to help you find your new career.

One of the best and efficient ways to market businesses is through clothing. Many individuals have the tendency to read what may be written a person’s clothing, such as a t-shirt. T-shirts are good for advertising to consumers and can drive consumers to help boost the business. There are many screen-printing shops on the Internet and throughout communities across the world. Many of these screen-printing shops have package deals and custom design the t-shirt that will help drive more customers. Many businesses that use t-shirts to advertise usually choose a design that will definitely catch an individual’s eye. Some of the top screen-printing companies can be reached on the Internet and have some deals and designs that many screen-printing shops in the community may not offer. The top four companies that provide excellent service and the best prices that can’t be found everywhere are Cafepress.com,  Zazzle.com and Spreadshirt.com. These companies not only offer satisfaction guaranteed but also unbeatable promotions. T-shirts can be a key factor in marketing, which is cost efficient and also creative.

Below is quick review of those screen printing on demand  services

CafePress.com

There are many reasons why a person may want to order their own custom apparel.  Maybe its to be different from others, it may have a meaning, business or club purposes or to remember the priceless moments.  There are many other reasons why an individual or company may inquire about custom apparel.  There is a company that specializes in custom apparel from clothing to custom water bottles and more, called CafePress.  This custom design company is one of the top companies on the Internet and offers some of the best deals and customer service around.  Cafe Press has over 11 million unique visitors every month and has designed over 150 million products since their opening in August 1999.  CaféPress not only offers its services to visitors of CaféPress.com but, gives individuals the chance to open their own storefront that is linked to CaféPress at no upfront costs.  This is unique amongst many of the custom design shops on the Internet. This premiere custom printing company has some of the best promotions that can offer FREE items or shipping.  This is why CafePress is the choice amongst individuals who are interested in custom printing.

SpreadShirt.com

Some people state that you can tell about a person on how they dress.  Many of the designers today are using designs that you could have thought about yourself.  The difference is that the designer has a set price on how much he would like for the article of clothing.  The price maybe out of this world and may not be worth it.  Now there is a custom apparel shop online that gives individuals the chance not only to design their own apparel but also design apparel for a club/organization, business, someone in your life or just to be creative and design your own clothing.  The name of this custom apparel shop is SpreadShirt and has many products that can be custom designed and products that have been designed by the team of 300 graphic designers at SpreadShirt.  This company has products that range from custom t-shirts for all ages even pets to custom buttons and neckties for men.  SpreadShirt also gives customers the chance to sell the items that they had designed at SpreadShirt in their own storefront.  This gives designers the chance to sell their custom apparel to consumers on the Internet.  So not only do you spread the shirt at SpreadShirt but also spread the word with custom apparel.

Zazzle.com

There are many reasons why someone may want to design their own clothing, mug, calendar or accessory.  One of the main reasons is to be different than others.  Zazzle is the only on-demand custom apparel for consumers and major brands, offering excellent retail quality, and custom products shipped within 24 hours. Not only does Zazzle offer top quality custom apparel but also has the largest library of customizable digital images from world-class brands.  Zazzle has the connections and technology that has content owners to unlock their entire libraries of content, making it available to consumers on the Internet.  This gives consumers the chance to design their own custom apparel or to choose from apparel that has been designed by designers around the world.  Zazzle offers t-shirts and other apparel, custom mugs and many more products that can be custom designed such as shoes by Keds to custom R.S.V.P postage.  This premiere custom design shop was launched in 2005 and has become one of the leaders in custom and digital printing.  Zazzle is also known for having some of the best promotions on the web and not only saves money but also earns consumers FREE products.  Promotions at Zazzle are constantly updated to give consumers great deals and bonuses.

There are many steps that can be taken for a coach to start coaching basketball overseas.  The main requirement that is needed whether or not an individual is coaching in their home country or overseas, is the knowledge of the game.  The knowledge the game is critical in all coaching jobs.  This is what many basketball organizations look for when choosing an individual for a coaching position.  If an individual is looking to become a basketball coach overseas he/she is required to obtain a passport.   This allows a potential coach to go outside his/her country when traveling overseas.

Coaches from the U.S. must be eligible to become FIBA approved coaches.  Individuals must have either held head coach or assistant coaching positions or any combination for at least 5 years on a professional, collegiate or scholastic level that is a part of USA Basketball.  The prospective candidate must also provide legal documentation proving his/her career as a coach along with references and must be a legal citizen of the United States of America.  There is also a $30 administrative fee that is to be paid to USA Basketball.  Once the above criteria has been met the individual must wait for approval and then can start their career as an international basketball coach.

Of course, the easiest way to get a foot in the door is to make contacts by taking trips and participating in coaching camps and clinics. Also, if you’ve been a head coach for some time, you might have to have a little pride and become an assistant to prove your skills.

There are many steps that an individual must consider when starting a community leadership program.  There are things to consider when staring a community program such as a budget, the purpose of the program, the gender or age group that your program is targeting, research and why you are starting this program.  Once you have considered your options and have done your research it’s time to let the community of your plans to help improve the community and gain support from other citizens in the community.  The program director of the community program should be yourself if not someone who has recognition in your community that is well known amongst the youth or maybe affiliated with local or state government. There are many current and former professional athletes that have returned to their hometown and have started community leadership programs that are involved in the community.  You can gain support by attending city council or town meetings and speak on the goals you have to help improve the community.

There are many nationally known non profit organizations that can be of great assistance when starting your community leadership program.  When starting your program it will really help if you have any affiliation with any well known non profit organizations along with support from the community including local and state government agencies.  Government agencies appreciate those who are concerned about the community and does not mind helping market or contribute to your community leadership program.  Once you have marketed your program and gotten it off the ground it is time to make changes in the community that you would like to see change in a positive way.

There are many steps that should be taken if a coach or organization is considering forming an international travel team.  The first step that is the most important is finding a travel company that is trustworthy and has experience in sponsoring sports travel teams and is familiar with your team’s destination.  Planning is also an important factor teams should plan at least a year in advance that will give not only the coach time to book flights, prepare itineraries, and to get the necessary information from travel agencies about accommodations.  Once the necessary arrangements on the team’s accommodations have been taken care of the next step is organizing documents that show the price per person and the expected budget for the trip.  This is where a committee of at least two reliable persons should be chosen to make important decisions regarding the international travel team and choosing members of the team also.

The team committee will hold a discussion with members of the travel team and their families on how much the trip may cost and giving them ideas on how to raise the necessary funds.  The initial deposit should also be discussed to give families and players enough time to reserve a spot on the travel team.  For international travel teams the committee should also discuss with players and coaches the importance on obtaining necessary documents such as, passports and ID’s.  Once the necessary steps have been taken care of its time to offer the world to your international travel team.
Get some advice from some of the best and top International Travel Basketball Teams

Athletes In Action – Christian Basketball International Touring Team

Basketball Travelers -  One of the most popular companies to organize your basketball tour trips (Calendars Available)

Sports Travel International – Organizes tours for college basketball teams

With a huge black-and-white painting of Bob Marley peering over one shoulder and a half-dozen framed NBA jerseys visible over the other, Brian Grant took a deep breath, ignored his left hand shaking as if it were trying to put out a match, and let go of the secret that had tormented him for the last four months.

“I have young onset Parkinson’s,” he said.

That’s Parkinson’s, as in the disease that disrupts the brain’s coordination and control of muscle movement and motor skills. A progressive disease for which the cause and the cure are unknown. A disease so rare for someone like Grant, 37, to contract that his case is identified as “young onset.

Read the entire article

Also, you have a chance to read the ESPN Magazine check out his article: Don’t Take The Field Without A Plan – And Don’t Leave Home Without One.

Here are some quotes:

You have to have something to keep busy. Otherwise, you have too much time to think about not being a professional athlete anymore – and never being one again. Thats depressing realization  sucks you down.

These days, I’m wishing I’d nurtured more relationships while I was playing ..I had a couple of friends in the leage , but I was closed off a bit…

When coaches decide that they want to become professional basketball coaches, their stats and ambition will show.  Coaches that have ambitions to reach the professional level have many tasks to prove to team owners that they are the right man to be named head coach of a professional team.  A coaches overall stats doesn’t always get him a job in the professional league.  Along with a coach’s stats his character and his ability to work under pressure plays a huge part.  Coaches in the professional leagues have to be able to perform as a professional on and off the court.

Many coaches that have climbed the ladder to the professional leagues have educated themselves every chance they can.  There are coaching clinics and conventions that held during the off season and not only educate coaches but gives them a chance to network with other coaches and scouts.  Believe it or not there are scouts that also attend coaching clinics and conventions to help scout for team owners in search of a new coaching staff.  There are many off season opportunities that can help a coach reach the professional level such as volunteering for summer league coaching where many scouts attend to watch up and coming players and participating in summer camps.

Exposure and statistics play a he role in a coach reaching the professional level.  Majority of team owners in the professional leagues solely look at a coach’s stats to see if he can take the team in a different direction and also boost ticket sales.  This is a business that team owners must run and they need a coach that has stats to back up his character.  Winning is the most important issue that all team owners care about aside boosting ticket sales.  Many coaches left the collegiate level and went to the professional level as an assistant coach and were promoted to team interim coach.  Some coaches that were interim coaches were able to turn the team in a different direction and were hired as the head coach.  After becoming head coach of one professional team and have the stats and reputation to back up your coaching skills, still faithfully attending professional coaching clinics and meeting more people in the business you will always have a job on the professional level.