Cognition Coach

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Cognition 201

Mission Statement

Part of Integrity Hoops’ mission is to positively transform lives through basketball, and the mission for Cognition Coach is no different. Noah created Cognition Coach with the intention of helping coaches improve their leadership skills, challenging their philosophies, and building a community for coaches to connect and learn from each other. Much of this is taught through Noah’s Principles.

Our Lead Cognition Coaches

  • Noah LaRoche

    FOUNDER/CEO/LEAD COACH

    Noah LaRoche is a well-respected basketball coach and player development specialist. Renowned for his innovative, evidence-based approach to skill acquisition and practice design, LaRoche has worked across every level of the game — from grassroots athletes to NBA All-Stars.

    A native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, LaRoche began his basketball journey as a collegiate player at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, where he earned a degree in finance. After a brief stint in the corporate world, he returned to the game by founding Integrity Hoops in 2007 — a premier training and consulting company dedicated to helping players and coaches elevate their performance through intentional learning environments.

    Through Integrity Hoops, LaRoche has played a key role in the development of both overlooked and elite talent, including Georges Niang, Duncan Robinson, Harrison Barnes, Russell Westbrook, Diana Taurasi, and Kelsey Plum. His coaching path has included stints with Attack Athletics in Chicago under Tim Grover, strength and conditioning work in China, and video analysis for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He most recently served as an Assistant Coach and Head of Player Development for the Memphis Grizzlies.

    In addition to his NBA experience, LaRoche has consulted for numerous college and professional teams and served as a player development consultant with Wasserman Media Group and Excel Sports Management, preparing athletes for the NBA Draft. Across every setting, he’s recognized for his ability to foster shared cognition, independent thinking, and game-transferable skills.

    Driven by a mission to create practices that work in any system and empower every athlete, LaRoche continues to impact the game through both on-court development and mentorship within the coaching community.

  • Joe Boylan

    LEAD COACH

    Joseph Ford Boylan is a seasoned basketball coach with over a decade of experience in the NBA and G League, currently serving as an Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development for the Memphis Grizzlies.

    Boylan's coaching journey started at Attack Athletics like Noah, but also includes notable positions such as Director of Player Development for the Minnesota Timberwolves (2021–2024), where he was recognized for his significant contributions to player growth. His NBA tenure also encompasses roles with the New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, and Boston Celtics. In the G League, he served as Associate Head Coach for the Iowa Wolves and as an assistant coach for the Grand Rapids Drive.

    An alumnus of Emerson College, Boylan is also the founder of Hoops Mind, a platform offering guided visualizations and mental training resources for basketball players and coaches. Additionally, he co-founded "Your Place Called There," a mentorship initiative aimed at providing experiential learning opportunities for aspiring basketball professionals.

    Boylan's coaching philosophy emphasizes creating effective learning environments that foster behavioral change and long-term knowledge retention. Known for his expertise in practice design, cognitive skill development, and fostering high-performance team cultures, Boylan continues to influence the game through both on-court coaching and off-court mentorship.

The Principles

The principles of play are constantly re-emerging patterns that create the game's most efficient shots. When watching a basketball game, it is often striking that the best players seem to be one step ahead of their opponent. Even when they're not the fastest or most athletic, the game moves in slow motion for them because of their pattern recognition. Experts notice meaningful patterns of information that novices don't through "chunking" information. 

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Noah is a teacher of the fundamental principles of basketball and the practice design necessary to make playing this way second nature. There cannot be one without the other. For example, in critical moments of close games, coaches often lament the players' lack of solutions when the plays don't work. But without training with representative design, practice doesn't create the context for creative solutions.

Noah identified the principles from first-principle thinking. He inherited no playbook to bind him to conventional ideas of offensive basketball. Instead, his idea is to equip players with the problem-solving ability to react to situations more quickly than the defense. By knowing ahead of time what your teammate is going to do, you create shared cognition.

“Why nba teams should study
a school you’ve never heard of”
— Coach Daniel

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