Basketball coaching discussion

[insidehoops]

Anyone interested in basketball coaching discussion, please feel free to use this thread.

If you really know basketball coaching -- the X's and O's, actual plays, offensive and defensive systems, etc. and you want to discuss it, so so here.

This thread will remain alive and be moved, perhaps to the main forum or someplace else, but as long as good stuff is put into it, it'll definitely be kept on our board, even if it gets moved to another forum once or twice.

So, dive into basketball coaching discussion!

[Thorpesaurous]

Anyone interested in basketball coaching discussion, please feel free to use this thread.

If you really know basketball coaching -- the X's and O's, actual plays, offensive and defensive systems, etc. and you want to discuss it, so so here.

This thread will remain alive and be moved, perhaps to the main forum or someplace else, but as long as good stuff is put into it, it'll definitely be kept on our board, even if it gets moved to another forum once or twice.

So, dive into basketball coaching discussion!



I've been coaching middle school kids for something like 8 years. So this is something that I reall like discussing. It's very difficult without a chalkboard function. But for anyone interested, search down Da KO King's old "Ask Me About Basketball Thread". He really knows his stuff, and there's tons of good stuff in there. I posted a ton in there myself too.


No one's posted in it really since 2010, but there's still tons of good stuff in here.

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44936&page=46

[kNIOKAS]

I always thought that if you're capable to move ball around the perimeter, get it inside to a back to back player, then have somebody cutting with some moderate pick, kick back out/do over you'd be alright as long as you have quality players.

[Dwyane Rose]

What's an easy but effective offensive system for a middle school team? I tried teaching the triangle and I failed miserably. Maybe Princeton offense?

[Thorpesaurous]

What's an easy but effective offensive system for a middle school team? I tried teaching the triangle and I failed miserably. Maybe Princeton offense?


The flex is a relatively easy offense to teach and has a bunch of applicable fundamental elements that allow you to build practices around pieces.

And you can add elements to it as you progress. Things like a screen and roll and screen and pop sets off of that high post catch.


But the problem is that most teams at the middle school level play zone almost exclusively. I run a zone offense that's a 1/2/2 in set that relies on L cuts, flooding a side with high post flashes, screens on the zone defenders, and seam attacks.
I have a variation of it that works well against a triangle and two as well.

I also have a second zone offense that I don't use as much that's essentially a wheel.


For my man offense I usually run a simple screen down screen away series, that frankly I wish I could expand upon, but we just don't see enough man to man to warrant using my 4 hours a week of practice time working on. It's easier to teach than the Flex.

There are only a handfull of times I face every year that play predominantly man, or at least an aggressive trapping zone, and that includes myself.

[Maga_1]

Flex is an amazing tactic, there's so many options inside that .. you can not even imagine how many open guys you have if you do all the stages correctly.

[The Big Skinny]

isn't the Flex useless against a zone d? lets say a 2-3...

[ZenMaster]

I'd like to hear some American coaches thoughts on the US development system of HS/AAU, college and last a lottery for potential NBA players.

[ZenMaster]

Flex is an amazing tactic, there's so many options inside that .. you can not even imagine how many open guys you have if you do all the stages correctly.

I used to play flex when I was a player, now I have to admit I'd never consider using it as my base system on offense, maybe I'll use bits and pieces of it in the future for a single set play or so.

I find that it's pretty easy to prepare for defensively so the team running it will not draw enough fouls on us for it to be effective.

[ZenMaster]

isn't the Flex useless against a zone d? lets say a 2-3...


Yeah it's a m2m offense.

[Rake2204]

But the problem is that most teams at the middle school level play zone almost exclusively.
That's interesting. It's been the complete opposite in the region I coach (western Michigan). We'll see a zone a couple times a year, but more times than not, it's a man-to-man situation. I'm actually a big disbeliever in running zones exclusively in middle school. I find my player's skill levels to be too limited (due to age as well as ability) and I see little redeeming quality in terms of developing defensive fundamentals. My "B" team coach tried utilize a 2-3 zone but his players would literally stand still like telephone poles so I stomped that out real quick, even though it was mildly effective (therein lies the issue).

Of course, skill levels change quickly and you may be discussing AAU or another sort of select league. Zones in middle school are much more common here (and much more breakable) in those leagues. But for school teams, where most squads are just looking for 5 guys who can make layups on a semi-consistent basis, it's not something we run into a lot. Though, I loved facing a packed 2-3 zone when I was coaching a 7th grade girls "B" team. Nothing like trying to beat a team from the outside with girls not strong enough to hit seven footers.


I'd like to hear some American coaches thoughts on the US development system of HS/AAU, college and last a lottery for potential NBA players.

The AAU system is definitely evolving. It sounds like you want to hear about high-profile AAU (NBA prospects and whatnot) but I have nearly no experience in that regard. My AAU experience was more homegrown, dealing with players who usually end up playing low division college basketball. It used to be a league reserved for usually a school's one or two best players, but now I see a lot of AAU teams made up of 8-10 players from the same school. So, my issue used to be AAU's lack of structure, but as it continues to expand, structure is beginning to make its way into the system, albeit slowly and in pockets.

One of my little brother's AAU squads right now, for instance, is essentially a school team. He's coached by a former varsity head (his son plays on the team), everything's based on hard work and execution, and there's a lot of structure. On my brother's other AAU squad though, he plays with no school teammates, there's a lot less structure, hard work is still encouraged, but it's more or less a "roll the ball out and go" situation, which has its pluses and minuses. It was great for my brother's improvisational skills and basketball instinct, but clearly development would take a hit if he wasn't getting structure from somewhere else. I think that idea could be applied to a lot of AAU programs.



I used to play flex when I was a player, now I have to admit I'd never consider using it as my base system on offense, maybe I'll use bits and pieces of it in the future for a single set play or so.

I find that it's pretty easy to prepare for defensively so the team running it will not draw enough fouls on us for it to be effective.
Flex was our primary offense in high school and we made a killing off of it. Then again, when we graduated two of our most prominent cogs in that offense, we struggled mightily. Like most offenses, I think it's largely dependent on a team's personnel. One of the players we lost to graduation was someone who was ready, willing and capable of delivering passes on point to the flex cutter. Further, he was excellent at setting freeing picks throughout the offense. Flex seems to operate best when its run with precision (obviously). So, if the tools are there, it can be legit. But, I've got no problem admitting a lot of the teams I've coached just didn't have the pieces to run like I'd want it run.

[StateProperty]

Toughest problem I ran into when coaching middle school was getting them to rebound. At that age it's usually just the biggest kids get the boards. Boxing out is something younger kids can learn the technique of but forget all about it during a game. Like they never learned it.

I ran a drill (that my high school team ran) where I'd take 4 players on offense with me and play half court, with me shooting a perimeter shot and the defense had to box out and rebound. If the offense got the board, defense did push ups.

It improved the aggressiveness for rebounds but I had kids colliding and getting hurt. Turned into a mess. :facepalm

[Maniak]

Toughest problem I ran into when coaching middle school was getting them to rebound. At that age it's usually just the biggest kids get the boards. Boxing out is something younger kids can learn the technique of but forget all about it during a game. Like they never learned it.

I ran a drill (that my high school team ran) where I'd take 4 players on offense with me and play half court, with me shooting a perimeter shot and the defense had to box out and rebound. If the offense got the board, defense did push ups.

It improved the aggressiveness for rebounds but I had kids colliding and getting hurt. Turned into a mess. :facepalm
I always thought the most effective rebounding drill was one person shoots(intentionally missing) and the other person has to go in and rebound. If the ball bounces once/goes out of bounds, the whole team runs to the other end of the gym and back. You do that until a certain amount of rebounds in a row.

But rebounding is def. hard to teach people. They assume(no matter what they are told) that if they are shorter, they can't get better position and get the rebound.

[ZenMaster]

The AAU system is definitely evolving. It sounds like you want to hear about high-profile AAU (NBA prospects and whatnot) but I have nearly no experience in that regard. My AAU experience was more homegrown, dealing with players who usually end up playing low division college basketball. It used to be a league reserved for usually a school's one or two best players, but now I see a lot of AAU teams made up of 8-10 players from the same school. So, my issue used to be AAU's lack of structure, but as it continues to expand, structure is beginning to make its way into the system, albeit slowly and in pockets.

One of my little brother's AAU squads right now, for instance, is essentially a school team. He's coached by a former varsity head (his son plays on the team), everything's based on hard work and execution, and there's a lot of structure. On my brother's other AAU squad though, he plays with no school teammates, there's a lot less structure, hard work is still encouraged, but it's more or less a "roll the ball out and go" situation, which has its pluses and minuses. It was great for my brother's improvisational skills and basketball instinct, but clearly development would take a hit if he wasn't getting structure from somewhere else. I think that idea could be applied to a lot of AAU programs.

I was thinking more in terms of how the whole system is put together and how it relates to the players. I have some pretty strong thoughts on this.

To me there is no cohesion, no red thread. You have high school basketball with it's own set of game rules, then you have college with it's own set of completely different game rules. The top players in NCAA are preparing and fighting for a chance to be proffesional players, why not give them the best chances of succeeding at the next level?
Instead NCAA 35 second rule slows the game down limiting overall possesions, thus limiting players amount of plays that help them become better players.
On top of that there is so much pressure on NCAA coaches to win that it comes before the players. Fortunately for the kids there are many great college coaches, but the system is still set up in a bad way.
On top of it all there's a lottery draft for the top pro league in the US.
For early 20's players what would be the biggest desicion for you in terms of being comfortable and motivated to be the best player you could be? To me that is choosing where I live and play. Choosing which people to be around that can help me be most successful.
Instead the NBA takes this choice away and tell kids they have to play for this particular team and coach, oh and you have to live this far away from your family and friends family and friends, to me it's just ridicolus.

It's so different from the program I'm within here. I coach U-16's in a club that's part of an overall city program set up basically to develop players to the top team in the city which is also the top team in the country. At U-18 most the best players from each of the 3 main youth clubs get put on one team, players from the next tier get put on another. This way they get players that are all the same age playing together and have a freshman and senior team every year for U-18 and in a couple years also U-20(it's a fairly new program).
This way as a coach my main goal is to develop players ready for the next level, sure it's nice to win but it's not the main focus for me. Player development is, and that means we focus on the things we can't do instead of trying to hide it to win games.
For example with the team I have now which I took over this season, we would probably win more if we ran a full court press and zone afterwards for most if not all of the game. But we suck(or did) at man to man, so we practice and play it to get better at it even though it has set us a little bit behind in terms of winning games.




Flex was our primary offense in high school and we made a killing off of it. Then again, when we graduated two of our most prominent cogs in that offense, we struggled mightily. Like most offenses, I think it's largely dependent on a team's personnel. One of the players we lost to graduation was someone who was ready, willing and capable of delivering passes on point to the flex cutter. Further, he was excellent at setting freeing picks throughout the offense. Flex seems to operate best when its run with precision (obviously). So, if the tools are there, it can be legit. But, I've got no problem admitting a lot of the teams I've coached just didn't have the pieces to run like I'd want it run.

To me it's just easy to prepare against, chase and make your man go over on the baseline flex screen, bump help early because it sets you in good position to go through on the down screen. I know there are a lot of options and counters in the flex, but we can design our defense so the flex will go out in a semi-contested jumper most of the time.
Generally we've had a lot of succes with specific screening shell drills where we practice some of the specific patterns our opponents use in their motion offense, so far we've only lost two or 3 games by the opponents base offense, when we lose it's because of turnovers and opponents offensive rebounding.

[StateProperty]

I always thought the most effective rebounding drill was one person shoots(intentionally missing) and the other person has to go in and rebound. If the ball bounces once/goes out of bounds, the whole team runs to the other end of the gym and back. You do that until a certain amount of rebounds in a row.

But rebounding is def. hard to teach people. They assume(no matter what they are told) that if they are shorter, they can't get better position and get the rebound.
Yeah, that's what I was doing but with pushups instead. It worked during the drill but by the time they got to the game they always lost that motivation. I'd threaten them with "if we give up 1 more rebound on defense you're doing blah blah blah next practice...GOT THAT?!"....which worked.:lol But it'd start all over the next game.

The team I took over hadn't won a game in 3 years (literally 0-30) and we went 4-6 that year. I was pretty proud. But damnit I wanted .500!

[skan72]

We run the Read & React. Easy to modify, put the layers in you want, play to your team's strengths, etc. I also feel it teaches the kids to really be basketball players. They learn the right habits through this offense. Just my 2

[Rake2204]

Yeah, that's what I was doing but with pushups instead. It worked during the drill but by the time they got to the game they always lost that motivation. I'd threaten them with "if we give up 1 more rebound on defense you're doing blah blah blah next practice...GOT THAT?!"....which worked.:lol But it'd start all over the next game.

The team I took over hadn't won a game in 3 years (literally 0-30) and we went 4-6 that year. I was pretty proud. But damnit I wanted .500!
I run the same drill.

Oh man, the first club I took over win was winless in 7th grade (A & B teams). After I took over. . .they went winless in 8th grade too. I stuck with them though. They loved the game. I'd work with them every summer, we'd play ball at the park all day, I'd coach them throughout high school until eventually. . .their senior year. . .in the district championship game. . .in overtime. . .against a team that'd beaten them by 30 earlier in the season. . .in our own gym. . .seven seconds left. . .down by one. . .magic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7wp6HrGqoU

News Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaMiPPvOB44&feature=related

Proudest moment of my life. Just like teaching, it's moments like this that make it all worth it.

[skan72]

I run the same drill.

Oh man, the first club I took over win was winless in 7th grade (A & B teams). After I took over. . .they went winless in 8th grade too. I stuck with them though. They loved the game. I'd work with them every summer, we'd play ball at the park all day, I'd coach them throughout high school until eventually. . .their senior year. . .in the district championship game. . .in overtime. . .against a team that'd beaten them by 30 earlier in the season. . .in our own gym. . .seven seconds left. . .down by one. . .magic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7wp6HrGqoU

News Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaMiPPvOB44&feature=related

Proudest moment of my life. Just like teaching, it's moments like this that make it all worth it.

Seeing players you've helped in any capacity improve and have success is the absolute most rewarding thing I've ever done, e.g. beating a team that has been a rival and besting them for most of their careers, especially in the most important games; winning a championship; just playing so damn well, etc. I always feel so happy for the players. On the other side of things, the worst is when they work so damn hard and fall just short of winning the Provincial Championship (our equivalent of your State tourney). They put so much time in, and then it's over. It makes you realize how every little thing has to lineup for you to be the last team standing at the end of the season. It also makes you realize sports are a cruel b*tch at times.

Kudos to you and your players on the District Championship and that amazing moment.

[Rake2204]

Seeing players you've helped in any capacity improve and have success is the absolute most rewarding thing I've ever done, e.g. beating a team that has been a rival and besting them for most of their careers, especially in the most important games; winning a championship; just playing so damn well, etc. I always feel so happy for the players. On the other side of things, the worst is when they work so damn hard and fall just short of winning the Provincial Championship (our equivalent of your State tourney). They put so much time in, and then it's over. It makes you realize how every little thing has to lineup for you to be the last team standing at the end of the season. It also makes you realize sports are a cruel b*tch at times.

Kudos to you and your players on the District Championship and that amazing moment.
Well stated. I've had a hard time finding a group I connected with like I did that first one. But it's always great to see that growth and development; to know I was able to play a part in the progression of their growth.

Meanwhile, could you elaborate on your read & react offense?

[Thorpesaurous]

That's interesting. It's been the complete opposite in the region I coach (western Michigan). We'll see a zone a couple times a year, but more times than not, it's a man-to-man situation. I'm actually a big disbeliever in running zones exclusively in middle school. I find my player's skill levels to be too limited (due to age as well as ability) and I see little redeeming quality in terms of developing defensive fundamentals. My "B" team coach tried utilize a 2-3 zone but his players would literally stand still like telephone poles so I stomped that out real quick, even though it was mildly effective (therein lies the issue).

Of course, skill levels change quickly and you may be discussing AAU or another sort of select league. Zones in middle school are much more common here (and much more breakable) in those leagues. But for school teams, where most squads are just looking for 5 guys who can make layups on a semi-consistent basis, it's not something we run into a lot. Though, I loved facing a packed 2-3 zone when I was coaching a 7th grade girls "B" team. Nothing like trying to beat a team from the outside with girls not strong enough to hit seven footers.



I completely agree. I really dislike the sitting in a sagging zone. It's just not helping anyone long term. But I do see a ton of it. I coach a parish middle school team. There's a ton of leagues around here, and we'll play 3-4 games a weekend by playing in a couple of leagues. But the leagues aren't strictly parish. There's a lot of travelling all star type teams who need funding that aren't related to a church. I find that a lot of the parish teams play a lot of zone, and particularly soft zones. The all star teams that are more "ahem" urban, tend to play much more aggressive, and even if it is a zone, it's a trapping zone of some kind.
I run a lot of defenses. I base out of a man to man, and teach a ton of man to man principals. Ball line mid line man technique is gone over in a shell in every practice. But I do run three variations of a 3-2, one that's somewhat soft, in that it doesn't trap, but it does rotate. I also run one that's kind of a gimmick, I call it an amoeba, but it's really a box and one where the one keeps switching. If the ball is entered into your zone, you step out and pick it up man, and the guy who had the ball falls in, and we rotate to fill in the box.
All of the defenses I run I teach as a reaction to an opponents approach. For example I run a 1-2-1-1 press that traps up front like any typical. But then we run a variation where their is no trap, and the point man dives up the gut, cutting off that weak spot in the middle, and the weak wing cuts over to the inbounder. The idea is to get the kids to recognize that there's a weak spot in our press, but we can counter that counter but recognizing it and make teams uncomfortable like they're being pressed but not actually be trapping.

I try to teach a little read and react principal offensively too. My zone offense for example is not a set in stone series of cuts and passes. But a way to set up ideas about where to attack. Then we may run forced sets out of it, but I want the kids to go through progressions from the spots they're in. One of the things I really try to teach them is to recognize who's guarding them in the zone. If it's a high defender, take him low, a low defender, take him high. It's about stretching the zones to create bigger holes. And it's not just the guy with the ball I want making those reads. The cutters too need to recognize what the ball is doing so they know where the holes are being made for them to flash too.

Watching the kids develop is incredibly rewarding. A few years ago I got a request for a college recommendation letter from a kid who I stayed pretty close with, which was just a bizarre but rewarding feeling. And a kid from my first team got drafted by the Seattle Mariners in this past MLB draft.

[skan72]

Well stated. I've had a hard time finding a group I connected with like I did that first one. But it's always great to see that growth and development; to know I was able to play a part in the progression of their growth.

Meanwhile, could you elaborate on your read & react offense?

Thanks.

I'll try:

So the Read & React (R&R) is based on ingraining habits in the players so they become instinctive things. The idea is that the R&R is not an offense, but it is offense, putting all principles of offense together into a living, evolving thing. The best thing is that you can modify it to whatever your strengths are. I think Iowa or Iowa State women's team runs it.

You can set up 5-out, 4-out-1-in, 3-out-2-in, whatever you like really. The first layer is Pass and Cut. Every single time you make a pass to a player in a position one pass away, you must cut to the hoop and the players who are now left 2 or more passes away from the ball need to fill over to the ball. Also for Layer 1, if a player is one pass away from the ball and his/her check is above the read line (the 3 point line is the read line, we have all players set up at NBA range to really space out the floor) then he/she must cut back door. All players fill over to the ball based on same principles I explained for filling after a player passes and cuts. Layer 2 is when you pass to the post you must laker cut high or low around him/her. Posts must post up above the block in low/mid/high post. Layer 3 is Dribble-at, where if a player is dribbled at he/she must go back door. Layer 4 is Dribble Penetration. If the ballhandler goes around his/her check to the right/left then every other player must rotate, low with speed and hands up ready to catch, one spot right/left. There are many other layers involving ball screen reactions, back screens, post reactions to dribble penetration, etc. I've coached quite a few teams that have just been successful using this offense with only the first 4 or so layers. It's really incredible.

However, like any offense, if you don't buy into it, don't teach it because the players will be able to tell you don't genuinely believe in it. I do believe in it, which is a small part of the reason it works. If, after reading my garbled explanation, your interest was actually piqued, I'd suggest reading this link from coachesclipboard:

http://www.coachesclipboard.net/ReadandReactOffenseNotes.html

Then, if you're somehow still interested, read this link, which has really helped me change how I've been coaching the R&R Offense:

http://basketballogy.com/2011/the-rgbs-of-the-read-and-react-offense-part-1-of-5/

[Maga_1]

In the under 22 team that i play when i don't have games for my team, we run 3 different offenses .. i will try to explain.

HORNS:

- The post players come outside the 3 point line, and i choose which side i will take advantage.
- If there's advantage for me in the pick and roll, i go to the basket or pass to the roller.
- If there isn't we got 2 options
a) - Do the triangle between me, the other post guy and the roller to get an open basket.
b) The other guy on the side that i choose (2 or 3 player) have a stagger cut for the opposite side to shoot (the roller and the other guard do that) and most of the times we got a shooter on the other side by himself.

FLEX (UCLA cut)

- You all know that system, it's obvious.


TRANSITION OFFENSE

1 PG, 2 guys as guards/forwards, 2 guys in the low block near the basket.

- I start the offense passing the ball to one of the guards.
- Then i give a block to the post player on the other side to cut and receive the ball at the PG spot.
- The guard who had the ball pass to that Center that now is in the PG position.
- I (PG) in the low block, receive a block from the other guard in the same side to go to his spot (i become a guard/forward) and the guy who blocked me it's now a (center, who was a guard/forward).
- The big guy who as the ball in the PG spot pass me the ball and we run a pick and roll.


Was it clear for you guys?:oldlol:

[amin89]

Thanks.

I'll try:

So the Read & React (R&R) is based on ingraining habits in the players so they become instinctive things. The idea is that the R&R is not an offense, but it is offense, putting all principles of offense together into a living, evolving thing. The best thing is that you can modify it to whatever your strengths are. I think Iowa or Iowa State women's team runs it.

You can set up 5-out, 4-out-1-in, 3-out-2-in, whatever you like really. The first layer is Pass and Cut. Every single time you make a pass to a player in a position one pass away, you must cut to the hoop and the players who are now left 2 or more passes away from the ball need to fill over to the ball. Also for Layer 1, if a player is one pass away from the ball and his/her check is above the read line (the 3 point line is the read line, we have all players set up at NBA range to really space out the floor) then he/she must cut back door. All players fill over to the ball based on same principles I explained for filling after a player passes and cuts. Layer 2 is when you pass to the post you must laker cut high or low around him/her. Posts must post up above the block in low/mid/high post. Layer 3 is Dribble-at, where if a player is dribbled at he/she must go back door. Layer 4 is Dribble Penetration. If the ballhandler goes around his/her check to the right/left then every other player must rotate, low with speed and hands up ready to catch, one spot right/left. There are many other layers involving ball screen reactions, back screens, post reactions to dribble penetration, etc. I've coached quite a few teams that have just been successful using this offense with only the first 4 or so layers. It's really incredible.

However, like any offense, if you don't buy into it, don't teach it because the players will be able to tell you don't genuinely believe in it. I do believe in it, which is a small part of the reason it works. If, after reading my garbled explanation, your interest was actually piqued, I'd suggest reading this link from coachesclipboard:

http://www.coachesclipboard.net/ReadandReactOffenseNotes.html

Then, if you're somehow still interested, read this link, which has really helped me change how I've been coaching the R&R Offense:

http://basketballogy.com/2011/the-rgbs-of-the-read-and-react-offense-part-1-of-5/

does this offense work well against zone defenses?

[skan72]

does this offense work well against zone defenses?

I think so! There is actually a layer that addresses the different ways to modify your R&R Offense against zones. You still follow all the same principles, just slight modifications to each. Like cutting through gaps instead of to the basket after every pass, and cutting through and stopping at the short corner sometimes instead of filling all the way out to outside the 3, or having 2 post players in, etc. Also, the Pin & Skip, a layer of the R&R - although a layer that doesn't really follow with the building habits theme as it seems like more of a very simple, but effective, set - is great when facing a zone. Essentially, skip the ball, then have one of the weakside guards/posts screen down on the zone, and a shooter rotates up to get a skip pass back for an open shot, if zone closes out, you have guard/post who just screened posting up 1-on-1 or sometimes 1-on-0 if communication was sloppy.

[skan72]

Any coaches want to share their tips on how they run subs efficiently and smartly, i.e. there is always a ballhandler on the floor, defender, scorer, etc.? I don't usually do the subbing for my team, get my asst's to do so, but I've had to do it a few times and... I'm not very good at it. I know it sounds silly, but subbing seems to me to be an art form. A good sub(s) can really help, a bad sub(s) can do the opposite and cost you a game... which is what I feel cost my team the game tonight, my poor coaching decisions.

[Thorpesaurous]

Any coaches want to share their tips on how they run subs efficiently and smartly, i.e. there is always a ballhandler on the floor, defender, scorer, etc.? I don't usually do the subbing for my team, get my asst's to do so, but I've had to do it a few times and... I'm not very good at it. I know it sounds silly, but subbing seems to me to be an art form. A good sub(s) can really help, a bad sub(s) can do the opposite and cost you a game... which is what I feel cost my team the game tonight, my poor coaching decisions.

I state outright at the start of the season that we're in a competitive league, and we're going to play competitively, and there will be games in which kids won't play at all, or more usually play very limitedly. I also coach first level pop warner, and that's different at that age. I get everyone in for at least a quarter in that. But at the level I coach basketball, middle school, things really begin to seperate.
But one of the things I do do to ensure I'm getting everyone some time, is some of my worst players I'll create a specific defensive scheme around. I may run a full denial of the other teams best player. Or I may run a hectic trap where he ignores his guy completely and just chases the ball full time. Or a specific trap where if a certain guy gets it he immediately doubles him. Or if the ball goes to a specific corner he comes to double.
We're only playing 6 minute quarters, so it's hard to get anyone substantial time. But I can run that stuff for three minutes and get anyone in in a role they feel like they're contributing in. Those gimmicks need to be taught in practice though, so the whole team is aware of what we're trying to accomplish, and they're prepared to cover for the weak link when he leaves to double. Otherwise you may end up with a lot of unwanted finger pointing.

[skan72]

What are some competitive drills you guys like running and the players seem to respond well to? It's, to me, very important to have competitive drills throughout every practice, especially ones where the players work their bags off, but they appear to appreciate them more because they worked their bags off and felt they improved.

[Rake2204]

What are some competitive drills you guys like running and the players seem to respond well to? It's, to me, very important to have competitive drills throughout every practice, especially ones where the players work their bags off, but they appear to appreciate them more because they worked their bags off and felt they improved.
Historically, our players have always responded well to 11-man, which is essentially a continuous 3 on 2 fast break drill. The setup can be seen here: http://www.coachesclipboard.net/11ManDrill.html

To add some extra grime to the drill, we often would not limit it to one shot per possession. This tends to create some solid fights inside as well as allowing my players to learn how to finish in traffic. The downfall of this drill is it sometimes allows players to run at their own pace.

To fix the pace issue, I also sometimes run a 3-on-2 drill with a defensive trailer. It sets up similar to the 11-man I mentioned. However, instead of four lines, there are only two (on each side of half court). It works like this:

1. Players will be split into two teams. One team will form the line on one side of half court and the other team on the opposite side. Each team will also have two defenders guarding a basket.

2. Three Offensive players begin a fast break toward the two waiting defenders (beginning about 60 feet away from the rim). Once the ball crosses half court, the defending team's line (at half court) will send a player to sprint to the half court circle then become a trailing defender (the sprint to the half-court circle is to not allow the defender to recover too easily).

This creates a 3-on-2 fast break with a third defender recovering from behind. It adds a sense of urgency to the fast break drills. Offensive teams are then pressured to convert quickly and efficiently, while the trailing defender must sprint to recover.

In this case, the play continues until a defensive rebound or turnover, then the three defenders push the other way and the 3-on-2 situation repeats itself. We usually race to 21, playing by ones. The losing team must then run full-court sprints to account for the difference in scores (if they lost 21-17, they'd run four sprints).

[Thorpesaurous]

I run the same drill Rake just mentioned at least once during my two practices a week. It's fun, it's great conditioning, and most importantly to me it teaches basic instinct. Scoring with an advantage is an absolute must in basketball. And understanding how to do it is something that can't be explained. You have to give kids a chance to do it, and reinforce on the fly.

I also frequently run a three man weave that falls back into a 2 on 1. The guy who gets the assist on the layup has to backpeddle into a defensive spot while the other two guys come back at him. Again, it's fast and competitive and reinforces instinct.

One drill I do to start every practice is a full court layup routine called the H drill. It's a line in each of the four corners, and two guys at the midcourt circle facing out. The two runners go from under the hoop, passes to the corner, gets it back, passes to midcourt, gets it back, and passes to bottom corner, gets it back ... layup. That last passer follows him and pulls the ball out of the net and starts follows suit. Each passer simply follows his pass to the next spot. I require 25 makes in a row from each hand, that's basically two per kid. When I'm going lighthearted, we'll do all reverses, or lobs, or try fancy passes. That stuff is always fun. But to get it competitive, we sometimes talk about one guy catching the other (the kids have never really figured out that they're all on one circuit, so for some reason one ball catching another is way more exciting than it seems like it should be to me). At the level I coach (again, middle school boys), running hard, catching on the move, good clean crisp passing, and finishing layups on the move at full speed, are legit skills to be worked on.

A couple more competitive drills.
We cut into bigs and smalls usually once a week. And one of the drills we do with our bigs after we go through the fundamentals is something I call the meat grinder. It's three on three in the paint in a triangle, high post and two low posts, and it's a freelance from them to screen for each other in the triangle. Hopefull I have two coaches with them to skip passes and enter the ball.

I also do a two line two on two fundamental set. Bigs on one line, guards on the other. We go through the whole basics of the pick and roll. Pick and pop, roll, slip, guard deek. Then the high hand off sets, that are pretty similar.
Once we go through the basics. We run it competitive, with the ball going out, and the next two guys in line following them out, and we run a quick 2 on 2 off of those principals. No pulling the ball out and dancing around, just run through sets instinctively.

[ZenMaster]

Historically, our players have always responded well to 11-man, which is essentially a continuous 3 on 2 fast break drill. The setup can be seen here: http://www.coachesclipboard.net/11ManDrill.html

To add some extra grime to the drill, we often would not limit it to one shot per possession. This tends to create some solid fights inside as well as allowing my players to learn how to finish in traffic. The downfall of this drill is it sometimes allows players to run at their own pace.

To fix the pace issue, I also sometimes run a 3-on-2 drill with a defensive trailer. It sets up similar to the 11-man I mentioned. However, instead of four lines, there are only two (on each side of half court). It works like this:

1. Players will be split into two teams. One team will form the line on one side of half court and the other team on the opposite side. Each team will also have two defenders guarding a basket.

2. Three Offensive players begin a fast break toward the two waiting defenders (beginning about 60 feet away from the rim). Once the ball crosses half court, the defending team's line (at half court) will send a player to sprint to the half court circle then become a trailing defender (the sprint to the half-court circle is to not allow the defender to recover too easily).

This creates a 3-on-2 fast break with a third defender recovering from behind. It adds a sense of urgency to the fast break drills. Offensive teams are then pressured to convert quickly and efficiently, while the trailing defender must sprint to recover.

In this case, the play continues until a defensive rebound or turnover, then the three defenders push the other way and the 3-on-2 situation repeats itself. We usually race to 21, playing by ones. The losing team must then run full-court sprints to account for the difference in scores (if they lost 21-17, they'd run four sprints).


I ran this drill for the first time today:

http://hoopsplaybook.ca/transition/fig/swiss_3_on_3_converting1.png

http://hoopsplaybook.ca/transition/fig/swiss_3_on_3_converting2.png

If we scored we pick up our full court m2m, and if we missed we used these rules for transition defense: the closest team O player jams a defensive rebounder, another gets back to protect the basket (defensive balance or long safety), the third player is short safety and tries to pick up the team X player who gets the first pass (e.g., an outlet pass), then the long safety takes the player opposite.

It was great and I'm going to run it again tomorrow.

[code green]

We ran a pretty good rebounding drill we called "The Pit" in middle school. It was one-on-one, the defender would start in the paint, while another player would start at the foul line. A coach would intentionally miss a shot, and the defender had to box out his man for 3 bounces before he was allowed to go for the ball. If you lost the matchup, you had to face the next person until you won. It taught the little guys (me included :oldlol:) how to be scrappy enough to keep the big men away from the ball, and brought out a little bit of nastiness in everyone too.

We started and ended every practice the same way. After stretching and light jogs, each member of the team would shoot two free throws. If you missed one, the whole team had to run the length of the floor and back. Missed two, you ran a suicide. Then the next person would step up. We had some real ***** coaching us too...on Tuesdays they'd laugh it up and call it "Two for Tuesdays" where the penalties became a suicide for one miss and two suicides for two misses. If someone referred to it as "basketball practice" and not "track practice" those days, they'd take every ball out of the gym and basically make us do running drills for the rest of night. In 8th grade, we had practice at 8:00 in the morning the day after Thanksgiving. The bathrooms had 4 stalls in them and at one point they were all occupied by vomiting teammates....with another using the garbage can and another using the sink. The coaches were pissed at that kid because the principal made one of them clean the sink by hand. :oldlol:

We went 15-1 and lost in the semis my 7th grade year and went undefeated my 8th grade year. We literally ran every other team out of the gym. And even though our coaches rode the shit out of us, we saw their system working and respected the hell out of them.

[chips93]

We ran a pretty good rebounding drill we called "The Pit" in middle school. It was one-on-one, the defender would start in the paint, while another player would start at the foul line. A coach would intentionally miss a shot, and the defender had to box out his man for 3 bounces before he was allowed to go for the ball. If you lost the matchup, you had to face the next person until you won. It taught the little guys (me included :oldlol:) how to be scrappy enough to keep the big men away from the ball, and brought out a little bit of nastiness in everyone too.

We started and ended every practice the same way. After stretching and light jogs, each member of the team would shoot two free throws. If you missed one, the whole team had to run the length of the floor and back. Missed two, you ran a suicide. Then the next person would step up. We had some real ***** coaching us too...on Tuesdays they'd laugh it up and call it "Two for Tuesdays" where the penalties became a suicide for one miss and two suicides for two misses. If someone referred to it as "basketball practice" and not "track practice" those days, they'd take every ball out of the gym and basically make us do running drills for the rest of night. In 8th grade, we had practice at 8:00 in the morning the day after Thanksgiving. The bathrooms had 4 stalls in them and at one point they were all occupied by vomiting teammates....with another using the garbage can and another using the sink. The coaches were pissed at that kid because the principal made one of them clean the sink by hand. :oldlol:

We went 15-1 and lost in the semis my 7th grade year and went undefeated my 8th grade year. We literally ran every other team out of the gym. And even though our coaches rode the shit out of us, we saw their system working and respected the hell out of them.

wow, that sounds intense

[LakersReign]

Funny how you seem to have a lot of people on here who claim to be able to give "expert" opinions in regards to basketball, cuz they supposedly played for this team of that team, in high school or college. Or supposed coached this team and that team in college, suddenly have nothing to say in a topic like this. Pretty much proving they were flat out lying to begin with, which is no real surprise.

[Rake2204]

Funny how you seem to have a lot of people on here who claim to be able to give "expert" opinions in regards to basketball, cuz they supposedly played for this team of that team, in high school or college. Or supposed coached this team and that team in college, suddenly have nothing to say in a topic like this. Pretty much proving they were flat out lying to begin with, which is no real surprise.
Well, I'd be quick to say there's a lot of knowledge about basketball to be had out there, and it doesn't all contribute to one's ability to coach. Further, one's coaching ability is not always directly related to how much a person may know about all aspects of basketball. For instance, this site mostly seems to contain discussion about NBA basketball - who's better than who, who's getting traded where, how neat a dunk was the night before, who the 6th Man of the Year was in 1989. I love that aspect of basketball and I wouldn't hold it against folks if that's the basketball they knew while remaining relatively inexperienced in the coaching world.

Coaching, particularly below the college level, is a craft in itself. I felt very confident in my basketball knowledge when I began my coaching career. However, coaching seems to be equal parts basketball knowledge and teaching skills. So again, a truly knowledgeable basketball follower won't necessarily be a good coach by default. As I've picked up about eight years of mid-level (sub-college) coaching experience, I can now watch the rookie coaches making the same mistakes I did, in spite of their vast college playing experiences and whatnot. Basically, knowing about something is just half the battle. Conveying that knowledge in an effective manner is the tough part. I still consider myself rather unseasoned as a coach to this point. I've got a long way to go if I continue my path.

On top of everything else, this is a relatively broad thread topic, so I wouldn't expect everyone to come in and just begin spewing basketball strategy left and right. I'm sure if someone provides another jump start (ex: What kind of drills would you best suggest for in-season conditioning maintenance?) there'd be more and more contributions.

Speaking of which, truly, what drills do you guys suggest for in-season conditioning maintenance? My mini-Rip Hamilton-built little brother has somehow managed to gain bad weight over the course of his season this year. He must change his diet. However, I'm also thinking practices may be a little too lacking in proper conditioning. Anything you guys do to improve your player's stamina in the day or two they get in between games without wearing them out?

[LakersReign]

Well, I'd be quick to say there's a lot of knowledge about basketball to be had out there, and it doesn't all contribute to one's ability to coach. Further, one's coaching ability is not always directly related to how much a person may know about all aspects of basketball. For instance, this site mostly seems to contain discussion about NBA basketball - who's better than who, who's getting traded where, how neat a dunk was the night before, who the 6th Man of the Year was in 1989. I love that aspect of basketball and I wouldn't hold it against folks if that's the basketball they knew while remaining relatively inexperienced in the coaching world.

Coaching, particularly below the college level, is a craft in itself. I felt very confident in my basketball knowledge when I began my coaching career. However, coaching seems to be equal parts basketball knowledge and teaching skills. So again, a truly knowledgeable basketball follower won't necessarily be a good coach by default. As I've picked up about eight years of mid-level (sub-college) coaching experience, I can now watch the rookie coaches making the same mistakes I did, in spite of their vast college playing experiences and whatnot. Basically, knowing about something is just half the battle. Conveying that knowledge in an effective manner is the tough part. I still consider myself rather unseasoned as a coach to this point. I've got a long way to go if I continue my path.

On top of everything else, this is a relatively broad thread topic, so I wouldn't expect everyone to come in and just begin spewing basketball strategy left and right. I'm sure if someone provides another jump start (ex: What kind of drills would you best suggest for in-season conditioning maintenance?) there'd be more and more contributions.

Speaking of which, truly, what drills do you guys suggest for in-season conditioning maintenance? My mini-Rip Hamilton-built little brother has somehow managed to gain bad weight over the course of his season this year. He must change his diet. However, I'm also thinking practices may be a little too lacking in proper conditioning. Anything you guys do to improve your player's stamina in the day or two they get in between games without wearing them out?


What I'm simply saying is, some posters on here like dmavs, and hurricanekid, who've been on here boasting about how they have some much supposed superior basketball knowledge, cuz they've supposedly coached or played either college or high school basketball. Now a topic like this is posted, and neither of them have even bothered to comment in it, while posting in other topics. So, it's not like they haven't seen this one, it's more like they're avoiding it for some reason. And that reason is most likely that they're lying about their supposed credentials in reference to basketball and don't want to post in this topic for fear of being exposed as a fraud. I have much respect for people that have the actual knowledge of the game, and zero respect for know nothing about anything internet geeks who have to come online and lie to make themselves look like big shots.

[Pushxx]

Coaching is a craft in itself. I consider myself incredibly knowledgable in the NBA, its history, and basketball strategy. That said, I always wish I had played on a school team for that full-time basketball atmosphere.

In the age 20-30 leagues I play in, I'm usually the best PG of the league. It's really fun to run a team. Unfortunately, it's an amateur league. It's not like there are daily practices. It's not even close to the same culture.

Still fun though. :D It's just not serious. Plus most basketball I've been able to play lately is just pick-up which is really hit or miss for good competition.

[skan72]

I haven't done a ton of practice plans this year, and I think that is part of the reason my team is having a tough time right now. We don't have the most efficient practices, usually when I don't have a plan.

How important do other coaches or players or whatever think having a practice plan minute-by-minute is?

[amin89]

i was just wondering what kind of drills you guys ran for offense

[JMT]

I haven't done a ton of practice plans this year, and I think that is part of the reason my team is having a tough time right now. We don't have the most efficient practices, usually when I don't have a plan.

How important do other coaches or players or whatever think having a practice plan minute-by-minute is?

I think it's absolutely imperative to have not only a plan, but a backup for each practice.

Don't know how much practice time you have with your group, but to me it's never enough. I need to make sure that we maximize every minute of time together or I've cheated them out of the chance to perform at their best in game situations.

As so many have mentioned, there's a craft to the teaching side of coaching, knowing your players and having a feel for what works best with them on any given day. That's why I always have a backup plan going in as well. Some days you can sense that you don't have their fullest attention, or that something isn't clicking right (or is happening too easily) on the practice floor. That's where having that backup comes into play. It can really help to sharpen focus of both players and coaches when you can seamlessly shift gears and shake things up a bit. I find it brings new energy to the session.

Plan your work. Work your plan. Never mistake activity for achievement.

[Rake2204]

I haven't done a ton of practice plans this year, and I think that is part of the reason my team is having a tough time right now. We don't have the most efficient practices, usually when I don't have a plan.

How important do other coaches or players or whatever think having a practice plan minute-by-minute is?
JMT's pretty much on the money with this one. But I have to be forward and admit it's not something I've quite mastered as a coach, though I'm much further along in that regard than I was when I began.

To be bluntly honest, even though I'd played basketball my entire life and even though I'd played for numerous systems and played a part in many practices, in the beginning as a coach I'd sometimes draw a blank as to what I should do with my team. As such, I would often wing it. It actually didn't work out too poorly, but it's clear that was a sign of an inexperienced coach. I can pinpoint inexperienced coaches myself now by watching their hesitancy between drills. I know darn well they just made up the next drill on the spot.

Anyway, I believe in having a plan but I also believe in being flexible (which may have been another way of saying to have a backup plan like JMT said). There actually was a fair amount of good to come out of my "wing it" approach in the respect that I was throwing out what I thought we needed at that point. So it's always good to have that ability. However, always good to lay down an initial plan. Not necessarily typed and proof-read. Just something.

[KG215]

JMT's pretty much on the money with this one. But I have to be forward and admit it's not something I've quite mastered as a coach, though I'm much further along in that regard than I was when I began.

To be bluntly honest, even though I'd played basketball my entire life and even though I'd played for numerous systems and played a part in many practices, in the beginning as a coach I'd sometimes draw a blank as to what I should do with my team. As such, I would often wing it. It actually didn't work out too poorly, but it's clear that was a sign of an inexperienced coach. I can pinpoint inexperienced coaches myself now by watching their hesitancy between drills. I know darn well they just made up the next drill on the spot.

Anyway, I believe in having a plan but I also believe in being flexible (which may have been another way of saying to have a backup plan like JMT said). There actually was a fair amount of good to come out of my "wing it" approach in the respect that I was throwing out what I thought we needed at that point. So it's always good to have that ability. However, always good to lay down an initial plan. Not necessarily typed and proof-read. Just something.

This post squarely hits on where I'm at in this stage of my career. I'm currently still in college but "volunteering" at the high school my dad is a current assistant coach. He was the head coach there and another school for about 15 years before calling it quits. Then the school had to make some budget cuts and, unfortunately for the head-coach at the time who had only been there one year, was one of the faculty members they had to let go. So, they got my dad and an assistant football coach who used to be the junior high coach at the same time my dad was the senior high coach to take takeover. Anyway, since I want to be a coach they've let me come to practices when I can, and sit on the bench for games.

Moving on...the current head-coach is actually a very knowledgeable guy who really knows basketball. However, like at a lot of small schools (in Arkansas anyway) he has multiple coaching jobs. In the fall he's an assistant football coach and in the spring he's the head softball and junior high track coach. Meaning he coaches year round. I've noticed that at most practices he more or less "wings" it and the practices and players have seemed to struggle during games because of it. Comparatively speaking, this school has had the most talented team in the conference, and one of the two most talented teams in the region. Each year I feel neither team has ever fully lived up to its potential. They have won the regular conference championship by going 11-1. Last year, they lost in the district tournament finals which is just a conference postseason tournament, and lost in the regional tournament semi-finals. One of the reasons we lost in the district finals last year is because we were playing the second best team in the conference who just happened to also be the host school. We had a 16 point 3rd quarter lead and crumbled, losing by four.

This year, we rolled through the regular season again but lost in the district semi-finals by one in 2OT, to the host school. It didn't help that our 6'6" starting center got sick the day of the game and didn't play. But that's a bunch of excuses. I feel if we were adequately prepared we still should have won the district tournament and probably the regional tournament each of the last two seasons. We coasted through the regular season mostly because we were simply the most talented team. Instead of beating the bottom half of the league by 20-30 like we should have, we normally beat them by 10-20, and instead of beating the upper half of the league by 7-10, we normally squeaked out wins at home and on the road. We never worked on important things like late-game special situations, running offensive sets for repetition purposes, etc. and it usually showed in games as we would let early 4th quarter double-digit leads (even against the other top teams in the conference) turn into single digit nail-biters. It was especially frustrating this year seeing a team from our conference, who we beat by 25 and 15 in the regular season, win the regional tournament.

Basically, I said all of that to say this: I'm a firm believer in that having a well-planned minute-by-minute daily practice schedule is important. When I was in high school our coach always had a to-the-minute practice schedule and usually made 10-15 copies of it and put them in the locker room for us to look over before practice. In season we spent the last 30 minutes of practice running through our offensive sets dry and against the scout team, and did the same thing with our defense against the scout offense running our upcoming opponents sets and special plays, and ALWAYS had a gameday walk-through.

At the school I'm at now, though, we rarely did those things and never had a gameday walk-through. It has done nothing but reaffirm my belief of the fact that you can NEVER be over-prepared for a game. We were always adequately prepared in high school for our opponent and we had run our late quarter/half/game plays and special situations so much in practice that it was second nature in games. There's been rare occasions where I've been allowed to run a drill or go over something in practice the last two years with a day or two to prepare. I thought I knew enough to just go into the drill and wing-it which was a mistake. I quickly learned that if, as a coach, you can't confidently instruct a drill or go over something with your team, they will tune you out and not get the most out of practice.

[JellyBean]

[QUOTE=skan72]We run the Read & React. Easy to modify, put the layers in you want, play to your team's strengths, etc. I also feel it teaches the kids to really be basketball players. They learn the right habits through this offense. Just my 2

[skan72]

As far as individual skill development and helping players translate all that practice time to real game situations I've really started to get into Taylor Allan's stuff at Basketball Renegades. I love his ideas, for individual development, of micro- and hybrid-drills.

A lot of coaches still preach about being in the gym for hours and hours, putting up 500 shots. Personally, I think it's more about efficiency, game-intensity, and game applicable practice. I don't think, but I may change this opinion as I test out different workouts, that a player needs to be on the hardwood for more than 1.5-2.5 hours a day if they come with a plan and are going at game speed for those 1.5-2.5 hours.

[jbot]

is stretching good...yea or nay?

[Goliath Uterus]

is stretching good...yea or nay?


Of course.

[jbot]

Of course.
well, just read an article about whether or not it does any good. some say yes (which seems to make more sense) but others say it can lead to things like muscle fiber tears and such. i think it was a Slam article.

[skan72]

well, just read an article about whether or not it does any good. some say yes (which seems to make more sense) but others say it can lead to things like muscle fiber tears and such. i think it was a Slam article.

Working out and playing ball can also lead to injuries, but you're better off working out with proper technique, playing ball, and stretching properly than not. Most believe dynamic stretching should now be done prior to exercise, followed by static stretching after to help prevent injuries, muscle stiffness, etc.

[WillyJakk]

When I hold team practice, we run the offense and defensive sets the entire practice. I want to give these guys actual game situations that they'll face. I show them many different options they can do once they get the ball in the actual offensive set. Tedious but effective.

When I hold training, we strictly do physical workouts and skills development. I feel it helps their psyche and gives them confidence when they improve physically and skill development consists of properly boxing out and or properly sealing off a man on a PnR or PnP, catch & shoot off screens or dribble shoot off screens, and one of the most important things I do is show guys what exactly an open shot is cause most tend to think an open shot is when they are completely alone which is only partially true.

Also it's a challenge getting some of my team to distinguish between an open shot and taking a more difficult closer shot that's being challenged.

They feel if it's challenged but they're closer it's a better shot.

I wanna give 'em the :biggums: but they are still learning.

Btw, I hate most drills as they are hardly EVER applicable to an in game situation, like silly ass close out "ball ball ball" drills, I see kids become so focused on saying "ball ball ball" that in the meantime they're getting the shit shook outta them cause they're programmed to scream "ball" while pumping their feet at the same time that they never actually focus on guarding the guy.

[Thorpesaurous]

When I hold team practice, we run the offense and defensive sets the entire practice. I want to give these guys actual game situations that they'll face. I show them many different options they can do once they get the ball in the actual offensive set. Tedious but effective.

When I hold training, we strictly do physical workouts and skills development. I feel it helps their psyche and gives them confidence when they improve physically and skill development consists of properly boxing out and or properly sealing off a man on a PnR or PnP, catch & shoot off screens or dribble shoot off screens, and one of the most important things I do is show guys what exactly an open shot is cause most tend to think an open shot is when they are completely alone which is only partially true.

Also it's a challenge getting some of my team to distinguish between an open shot and taking a more difficult closer shot that's being challenged.

They feel if it's challenged but they're closer it's a better shot.

I wanna give 'em the :biggums: but they are still learning.

Btw, I hate most drills as they are hardly EVER applicable to an in game situation, like silly ass close out "ball ball ball" drills, I see kids become so focused on saying "ball ball ball" that in the meantime they're getting the shit shook outta them cause they're programmed to scream "ball" while pumping their feet at the same time that they never actually focus on guarding the guy.


What age do you coach.

I sort of agree with what you say about some drills. I guage my drills by wheather or not I can give my kids an quality answer to the question of "why are we doing this?" To me that's what makes or breaks a coach of kids is how well, how often, and how accurately he answers that question, wheather he's asked or not. You should constantly be explaining to kids why, that's what'll make them really digest what you're teaching.

[WillyJakk]

What age do you coach.

I sort of agree with what you say about some drills. I guage my drills by wheather or not I can give my kids an quality answer to the question of "why are we doing this?" To me that's what makes or breaks a coach of kids is how well, how often, and how accurately he answers that question, wheather he's asked or not. You should constantly be explaining to kids why, that's what'll make them really digest what you're teaching.

10th Grade & Under AAU.

Most of the kids are underclassmen (8th/9th graders) who play up so they'll be
more adjusted to the speed of the Varsity level HS game.

I'm always explaining (I'm sure to the point that they turn a deaf ear to me) why they're doing what they're doing, in hopes that they'll learn from it. Most cases they do.

Instead of face up defense, I teach my guys to play their man to his weak hand (which helps us force to's) simply because most guys their age (sometimes even to the professional levels) can't dribble as well w/ their off hand, ie., play a lefty to his right, play a righty to his left. There are some instances where lefties like to go right (like Manu) and some righties like to go left (like Durant) and some guys can just flat out handle the ball w/ both hands so we make adjustments accordingly.

Once gametime comes, they're usually on the bench saying "Oh, I see what you sayin', he can't go left, make him go left" and like clockwork the kid they're guarding starts turning over the ball.

The hardest part is getting guys to use their minds cause most of the game is all mental, once they do they'll be better players.

Anyway, back to the drills thing, I just think things like 3 man weave are useless cause there is never ever a situation in an actual game where guys will fastbreak in that fashion unless you're playing the Harlem Globetrotters.

I detest and stay away from things that are not actual basketball game related. I teach my guys to close out w/ poise, not "ball ball ball", and some don't get it now cause of how they were and are still being taught but the ones that get it tell me and show me all the time cause I see their game expanding.

What age group do you coach?

[thesnowman22]

You must do drills, but I quit the 3 man weave because all it does is teach passing on the move, which is a no-no.

Our first 45 minutes are always fundamentals- ballhandling, shooting, jump stops, zig zag, pass thru the defense, free throws, sprints, water break. Every day. After they do this every practice, they get sick of it, but they become much better ballhandlers and develop habits, which is what you need to be doing.

I scream "jump stop" and "dont pass on the move" all the time, but I also practiced it daily. Saying it helps, but actually doing it helps more.

Also do Shell drill every day, and other drills like setting screens, boxing out, out of bounds plays, 5 on none offense, deny the wing, etc. Do a lot more half court stuff than fullcourt, tho as the season goes along I do more.

[Thorpesaurous]

I coach 7th and 8th grade Catholic Youth Organization. We play in leagues and tournaments of all shapes and sizes though. We're limited to kids in the parish, and then 4 kids who aren't parish members, so long as the live within the parish district. So we're not exactly the cream of the crop, but we do have tryouts, so we're absolutely playing in a competitive manner. We've been very good for the past the 8 years that I've been involved. Winning the state 6 times, and even getting a New England title a couple years ago.

I teach a chop down close out, which is probably the same thing as you're poise approach. Short steps cut down on one's reaction time to changing directions.
I do still warm up with a tight weave, three lines all within the key. I find that at that age things like passing and catching and moving are still all things that can be worked on. And I do occasionally do a full court three man weave that comes back as a two on one, which is really more of a full court fast break drill, it's just an element to get us into it.

[Thorpesaurous]

10th Grade & Under AAU.

Most of the kids are underclassmen (8th/9th graders) who play up so they'll be
more adjusted to the speed of the Varsity level HS game.

I'm always explaining (I'm sure to the point that they turn a deaf ear to me) why they're doing what they're doing, in hopes that they'll learn from it. Most cases they do.

Instead of face up defense, I teach my guys to play their man to his weak hand (which helps us force to's) simply because most guys their age (sometimes even to the professional levels) can't dribble as well w/ their off hand, ie., play a lefty to his right, play a righty to his left. There are some instances where lefties like to go right (like Manu) and some righties like to go left (like Durant) and some guys can just flat out handle the ball w/ both hands so we make adjustments accordingly.

Once gametime comes, they're usually on the bench saying "Oh, I see what you sayin', he can't go left, make him go left" and like clockwork the kid they're guarding starts turning over the ball.

The hardest part is getting guys to use their minds cause most of the game is all mental, once they do they'll be better players.

Anyway, back to the drills thing, I just think things like 3 man weave are useless cause there is never ever a situation in an actual game where guys will fastbreak in that fashion unless you're playing the Harlem Globetrotters.

I detest and stay away from things that are not actual basketball game related. I teach my guys to close out w/ poise, not "ball ball ball", and some don't get it now cause of how they were and are still being taught but the ones that get it tell me and show me all the time cause I see their game expanding.

What age group do you coach?



I also teach a directional defensive approach, although mine is more geared toward where the help is coming from and understanding what our whole defensive approach is. I have calls for traps in different spots that sometimes require funnells to the middle, other times to the baselines, and other times only to one baseline corner, so everyone is supposes to funnell to that side until it gets there.

Even if it doesn't work, my feeling is that getting kids to think about the game as a whole is a great approach. However it's still critical to devote time to individual skills. I wish I had more practice time.

I actually have this theory that kids today are better fundamentally, but have a much lesser feel for the scope of the game as a whole. And I think it's the result of the cheap and readily available hoops with the wheels. Kids shoot all the time. They'll even play horse, or double bounce, or rough, or even an occasional one on one or two on two with their neighborhood buddies. But the culture of heading up to a playground and fitting in, playing a role, and communicating seems to be worse than it was when I was a kid.

[JellyBean]

You must do drills, but I quit the 3 man weave because all it does is teach passing on the move, which is a no-no.

Our first 45 minutes are always fundamentals- ballhandling, shooting, jump stops, zig zag, pass thru the defense, free throws, sprints, water break. Every day. After they do this every practice, they get sick of it, but they become much better ballhandlers and develop habits, which is what you need to be doing.

I scream "jump stop" and "dont pass on the move" all the time, but I also practiced it daily. Saying it helps, but actually doing it helps more.

Also do Shell drill every day, and other drills like setting screens, boxing out, out of bounds plays, 5 on none offense, deny the wing, etc. Do a lot more half court stuff than fullcourt, tho as the season goes along I do more.


Interesting take on the 3-man weave. I coach JV girls and the weave has been a staple in my practice plans for three years now. I think that with the weave, when properly completed, is a thing of beauty and helps to teach where/how to operate on the fastbreak. And yes, I did try the 5- man weave...once! :facepalm That was my first year of coaching what a hot mess.

I do use the ball handle method of 15-20 mins everyday working the handles. I always stress at the end of the season what skills players need to work on and ball handling is tops. And as you know, only a few come back the next year with improved handles.

Last weekend we had a short skills intro where we worked on post and perimeter drills to help improve footwork; up and under, jab series, and swing series.

[coachrb]

I think it is always a good thing when coaches share ideas and philosophies about coaching basketball.

My background is in NCAA Division I men's basketball as a head and assistant coach at 7 different universities.

My business, CoachRB.com, provides extensive resources, advice, articles, video, and my experiences to help serious coaches improve their craft.

Feel free to post any questions that I may be able to help you with.

Also, access my web site, http://coachrb.com
thanks,
Randy Brown
CoachRB

[JellyBean]

I think it is always a good thing when coaches share ideas and philosophies about coaching basketball.

My background is in NCAA Division I men's basketball as a head and assistant coach at 7 different universities.

My business, CoachRB.com, provides extensive resources, advice, articles, video, and my experiences to help serious coaches improve their craft.

Feel free to post any questions that I may be able to help you with.

Also, access my web site, http://coachrb.com
thanks,
Randy Brown
CoachRB

Thanks, coachRB. I agree. It is always a good idea when coaches are sharing ideas and philosophies about coaching basketball. It helps knowing that someone has covered some ground before you so you can bounce ideas around and grow. Also thanks for letting us pick your brian and allowing us to seek advice.

Quick question(s) 1). What is the best way to deal with fans and parents unrealistic expectations for the team and the parents child's playing time? Fans seem to think that we are going to go 20-0 every season, which would be nice if we had the talent. Some parents want their child to play 32 minutes ( I coach high school JV girls baskebtall) when they can barely play 2-3 minutes. What is the trick to dealing with these unrealistic expectations?

My 2nd question (and this is open to anyone) deals with rebounding. What drills can I use to help my players improve their rebounding, getting thougher in the paint, and remembering to blockout when going for rebounds?

Thanks again.

[Maga_1]

Thanks, coachRB. I agree. It is always a good idea when coaches are sharing ideas and philosophies about coaching basketball. It helps knowing that someone has covered some ground before you so you can bounce ideas around and grow. Also thanks for letting us pick your brian and allowing us to seek advice.

Quick question(s) 1). What is the best way to deal with fans and parents unrealistic expectations for the team and the parents child's playing time? Fans seem to think that we are going to go 20-0 every season, which would be nice if we had the talent. Some parents want their child to play 32 minutes ( I coach high school JV girls baskebtall) when they can barely play 2-3 minutes. What is the trick to dealing with these unrealistic expectations?

My 2nd question (and this is open to anyone) deals with rebounding. What drills can I use to help my players improve their rebounding, getting thougher in the paint, and remembering to blockout when going for rebounds?

Thanks again.


Talking in my personal experience from what i see my father planning for his practices there is some good drills to explore. This is my favorite one.

- 12 players exercise. Put two teams of 6 players. Each team with their one basket. Then put 3 players shooting and 3 rebounding. When one of the players grab 10 rebounds (even with made baskets) switch that player for the shooting position with the one who shoot worst %.
a) They will work to grab boards to shoot.
b) The shooters will work to not go get boards, improving %.

[JellyBean]

Talking in my personal experience from what i see my father planning for his practices there is some good drills to explore. This is my favorite one.

- 12 players exercise. Put two teams of 6 players. Each team with their one basket. Then put 3 players shooting and 3 rebounding. When one of the players grab 10 rebounds (even with made baskets) switch that player for the shooting position with the one who shoot worst %.
a) They will work to grab boards to shoot.
b) The shooters will work to not go get boards, improving %.


Thanks, Maga. I will try this drill out this season. Two more months. I can't wait until the season starts!!!:banana:

[JellyBean]

Hey fellow coaches. I am looking for some ideas for a team theme this year. Something that will fire up the players and our fan base. Any ideas?

[Thorpesaurous]

So my best friend's oldest son just turned 7 this past summer. And after buying him the best hoop I could get my hands on, the adjustable full glass backboard retractable rim, and spending the summer and fall horsing around with him and his brother, who just turned 5, I was asked if I'd help coach them in our town youth center league.

Our team is the Under 8 league, and we're all 7 or 8, with the exception of Jake who just turned 5 beginning of December. Mike turned 7 in the summer. They're both monsters, like off the charts size wise.

We've got 10 kids. A very shy young black kid Brandon, is bone thin, but taller than Mike. Mike is our second tallest, and a beast. Casey is Mike's best friend, and he's no small guy, plus he's a very good ballhandler and passer already, and his brother is a 6-8 baseball prospect. After that we Gio, who's probably never gonna be great, but he's a scrappy little bastard that I'd go to war with every night.
And my prized jewel. Dakota is good size, probably the fourth biggest on the team. He played football for me a summer ago, and he's okay there. But he's got two older brothers and a father who all love basketball. And he can really handle the thing. And I've become completely obsessed with accelerating this kid's development into a HS level PG even at 8.
It's becoming an issue because I'm not even using him the same in practice as other kids. He's getting more detailed instruction. And I'm using him in drills differently from other kids, which I know isn't fair, but this kid could be really good, and I feel like I can help him. His parents and I have already started talking about working out in the summer, in a casual kind of way, like getting pick up games with the right kids.

We're really good. 4-0 so far, with none being close. When we started we were told double digit games wouldn't be common. That hasn't been true. 18-25 seems pretty good. But we're averaging 38. We're even running a fast break, which is just crazy.

We get allmost no practice time. An hour a week, usually on half a court only. I walked in with almost no idea how to coach kids this age. We started with just layup lines. Horseshoe drills. Shoelace pattern passing. We do a little zig zag dribbling. Now we're up to some pattern dribble pass shoot drills. This past practice we even split it to three lines and did some reaction decision making, with me and my buddy jumping on players and making the ball handler decide what to do.
Defensively we're not allowed to press or double team, and a 2-3 zone is almost all we can do. Offensively, we've talked to our players about week spots in the zone. The high post. And we work on moving without the ball to spots on the wings. We do a lot of flash and go work without the ball. Mainly it's a lot of "get open".
We're insanely positive. It's been a lot of fun. But if anyone has any ideas on what else to do coaching at this level, please chime in. I'll take any advice I can get. This is different than anything I've done before.

[IGOTGAME]

Got courtside seats for Georgetown v. St. Johns tomorrow! Plus, gonna meet John Thompson III.

Any prospects in this game? Things I should ask John Thompson III?

[JellyBean]

Got courtside seats for Georgetown v. St. Johns tomorrow! Plus, gonna meet John Thompson III.

Any prospects in this game? Things I should ask John Thompson III?

Yeah, get his take on the changing landscape of college basketball. With our (UConn alumni here) biggest rivals leaving the Big East, what's his take on the impact college football is having on college basketball over the next 4-5 years.

Thanks and enjoy the game.

[IGOTGAME]

Yeah, get his take on the changing landscape of college basketball. With our (UConn alumni here) biggest rivals leaving the Big East, what's his take on the impact college football is having on college basketball over the next 4-5 years.

Thanks and enjoy the game.
damn didn't see this before the game. Would have asked him. Seemed like a nice guy. They just cut St johns to pieces too.

[JellyBean]

damn didn't see this before the game. Would have asked him. Seemed like a nice guy. They just cut St johns to pieces too.

Holy crap! The Hoyas ran St. John's out of the building. The Big East just won't be the same without the classic matchups like the Hoyas/St John's/Cuse.

Hope u have fun at the game.