Coach Tavon Green: The Mission of We Believe Basketball

Hey man, my job is not to get you into college, it is to win basketball games.”

“You are a dime a dozen. I could go to the park and find a guard just like you.

These were just a couple of the things that Coach Tavon Green heard from coaches and family when growing up wanting to be a basketball player while only being 5’8”. While he tried to tell the people around him that he can compete and play at a high level, in some way or another, he was told over and over again, “you are not good enough.” It was due to this back story, the frustrations that he felt at the prior programs he coached at, and feeling called by the Lord, that led Coach Green to start a travel basketball program called, “We Believe Basketball.”

We Believe Basketball

We Believe Basketball was created to help young athletes believe that they can not only perform at a high level, but when they are told, “You are not good enough to make this team. You do not have the height, the talent, or the abilities”. Coach Green’s goal and desire is to get them to believe. To believe in themselves and in their theme verse which says,

With man these things are impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Coach Green wants to give the same opportunities that would normally be extended to the best player on the team, to also be given to the 15^th player on the team. Coach Green ultimately built We Believe Basketball so that he can be hands on with teams that are initially not the greatest, that need development, that need love, and that need care.

Today’s All In Takeaways are around three of the most important aspects of Coach Green’s philosophy as a coach and as the founder of We Believe Basketball.

All In Takeaway #1: Relationships

Coach Green takes a lot of pride in being a relationship centered coach. He values relationships with his players and with their parents. Being able to build these relationships helps the athletes not only on the court, but off the court as well. For instance, Coach Green shared a story about a kid on the middle school team whose initial behavior on the team was “out of control.” In fact, this kid was told multiple times that, “You are either going to be in jail or dead.”

Through building a strong relationship with him, whenever he is in the gym with Coach Green, he feels like he is at home, a strong leader, and his behavior is 100x better. Now, if there is ever an instance where he gets in trouble, it is the coaching staff that gets called. Coaches, building relationships WILL transform the lives of your athletes.

All In Takeaway #2: Believing

Belief in yourself and the team is at the heart and soul of Coach Green and We Believe Basketball. Not only does this change the athlete’s game on the court, but it will transform their lives off the court. In describing the power of believing, Coach Green described a story about one of the kids on the 5^th and 6^th grade team.

Even though early on the team would get blown time and time again by over 30 points (mainly due to many of the kids being in grades below 5^th and 6^th), he would gain more and more confidence in every game. Out of nowhere, his confidence was through the roof, and he began playing better than anyone thought he would. This is the power of belief that We Believe Basketball is built around. “I refuse to give up on my teams. I believe that they can overcome.”

All In Takeaway #3: Team Culture

Coach Green takes a lot of pride in building a strong team culture within every one of his teams. He does this through having unity in everything that they do. He will oftentimes tell his team, “I have three rules: do not walk on my floor, do not cuss in my gym, and everything we do, we do together.” Coach Green will oftentimes tell the other coaches to “whisper negatives and scream positives,” which will help build a stronger team culture. Being united will help every member of the team, including the coaching staff. 

Coach Green has been coaching for 11 years, starting when he was just 17 years old. He started We Believe Basketball in September of 2021 and currently has 4 going on 5 different teams. As We Believe Basketball continues to expand, it will be exciting to see the impact he makes in the lives of the kids who need to hear, “You are doing great! You got this! I am so proud of you!” 

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