Coach Ellis and the Pony Express Basketball System

About

Profile Picture of Coach Matt Ellis

Meet the Coach

Matt Ellis, the Founder and Director of Basketball Plus Education, is an author, basketball consultant, educator, and researcher with over 40 years of basketball coaching experience. His coaching philosophy emphasizes skill development, player growth, and maximizing each athlete’s contributions.

Coach Ellis has placed 11 players into Division 1 college programs from the junior college level. While Head Coach at Frank Phillips College in Texas, the Plainsmen executed the Pony Express Basketball System and led the nation in scoring twice (110 and 102 points per game.) All the while, Coach Ellis maintained a 97% graduation rate.

Coaching and Educational Achievements

  • Developed programs for forwards and centers to excel.
  • 8 of Matt’s Division I transfers were not recruited out of high school.
  • Led the nation in scoring with two teams (110.6 ppg/102 ppg).
  • 97% graduation rate for student-athletes.

Learnings from 40+ Years of Basketball Coaching

The springboard to the coaching philosophy initially came from researching gaps in shooting idiosyncrasies. This research uncovered several interesting elements, based on shooting statistics from the last 30 Men’s College Basketball Division 1 NCAA Tournaments:

  1. Shooter location and technique has a major impact on field goal percentage.
  2. Offensive movement has a major effect on the availability of clean shots.
  3. Controlled defensive movement can upset the continuity of an offense, and improve rebounding position.
See How It Works in Action
Girls basketball team and a person is shooting the ball.

The Game-Changing Approach to Basketball Development

What is Captain Ball

Where Strategy Meets Skill Development

Captain Ball is more than a game—it’s an innovative approach to basketball that combines strategic thinking, teamwork, and skill development based on a simple set of rules and floor divisions. The simple rules are a set of instructions for the players when the ball is in different spots. The floor divisions and the Captain Ball rules combined create a constant variance of forward movements and floor openings, which are created by ball location. These two factors help the players locate those open areas that become available every time the ball is passed.

“Systems win! Believe in your system, and then sell it to your players.” – Billy Donovan

Why Captain Ball Works

Where Strategy Meets Skill Development

This program instills critical skills like decision-making, leadership, and teamwork, while improving basketball fundamentals. Its ”pass-paced”, inclusive structure ensures every player contributes to the team’s success, and it makes fatigue a part of the game. The Captain Ball process changes a coach’s thought process about every player in his/her program. For every player in the program, it instills a belief that he/she actually has something to contribute to the team. The Captain Ball process improves team depth as well as the depth of an entire program.

“Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better within a structured framework. –Pat Riley

Impact and Reach

Changing Lives, One Game at a Time

Captain Ball has been adopted by programs nationwide, empowering teams to:

  • Outmaneuver opponents with smart offensive and defensive strategies.
  • Develop players who are not only skilled but also team-oriented and disciplined.
  • Achieve academic success, a 4-year 97% player graduation rate at the community college level.

Playing systems do not have roster spots for players with the “Disease of Me” by Pat Riley.

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