Like most basketball coaches, I'm a bit of a basketball junkie. Like most former stage performers, I'm a bit of talker when you get me going. So when you combine these things you end with someone that will go and talk/coach basketball anywhere, anytime. If you give a kid who wants to learn, a 1 armed monkey and some chairs then we'll be in the gym doing skills work, small sided games and 3 person action by the time we're done. So when I was asked to speak to some younger teams in our school and association before they went off to provincials you better believe that I was all over it.
In a nut shell my talk revolved around how impressed I was at the time and improvements that they had already made this season and that hopefully they would continue to improve once off season rolled around. I focused primarily on things that they could start doing tonight and do for their rest of their careers that would make them immediately better players.
Without further ado the 3 ways to make yourself a better basketball player right now:
1) When you play talk more, when you are being coached talk less!
The human relationship with noise is a bizarre one. (If really want your mind warped watch Ted Talk: Julian Treasure - 4 Ways Sound Affects us.) In basketball context the soundscape we want when playing is one that inspires energy and confidence. When was the last time you were surronded by people and not saying anything that you felt energetic and confident? On the floor you must communicate. The noise brings energy to yourself and the group, the communication inspires confidence in your own actions and decisions of your teammates, and if nothing else it will be very different for an opponent probably not used to playing against a team constantly chattering. On the flip side when you are being coached you need to listen. Not hear, but listen actively. You can't actively listen when your mouth is moving. Trust that your coach knows what they are on about and try to process how to do what they are asking. If at all possible even shut off the part of your brain that is talking inside your head telling you that "you can't", or "you don't understand", or "it will be too hard" or " hey he's cute - I could really go for a ham sandwich". Listen to what your coach is telling you without judgement comment or reaction. Be coached and then go try to execute. Talk more when playing, talk less when being coached.
2) When you don't have the ball and its not being passed to you, still move as fast and aggressively as you would to get the ball or when you have it.
It is a movement game. The hardest part for players to learn and become great at is moving without the ball. The easiest first step is learn to play at game speed without your reward. Thinking, supporting, talking, reacting, sprinting and exploding is what we do in basketball. It is a complex combination of athletic acceleration and deceleration combined with simultaneous social and cognitive function. Its not just repetitive motion. You cannot have the carrot movitivate you to haul the cart. Being a great basketball player and teammate requires pursuit of excellence in all things at all times. You must learn to move with the belief that movement helps the team, not helps you get the ball or helps you score. Defense, rebounding, cutting and spacing all too important for the ball to dictate your activity level. Once you've mastered constant movement (hands, feet and mouth) then work constant movement and execution at game speed. Your teammates don't become competent ball carriers playing against defense that isn't game intensity. You don't learn to cut and read screens standing or jogging. Learn to move as hard and fast properly without the ball as you do to get it or with it.
3) Only take good shots! Bad shots are contagious. Put your bad shot germs on the ball and everyone needs to take ones to get a shot.
You know what a good shot is, and contrary to a former players firm belief it is not a shot you can get off. I can toss some orangutans the ball and they can get shots off. I wouldn't consider that a good shot for the team. If you only ever take shots you can make, when you are open, ready and on balance. Not only will you make more (good for us) you eliminate misses and bad plays (good for us). As a bonus when you only take good shots you are passing up bad shots to get teammates better ones. That means they don't have to take bad shots to get their turn. Bad shot germs on a ball are contagious once you do it, now everyone on your team has to just to get shots or to make up for your bad shots. If you want to be a better basketball player fall in love with easy plays and good shots. You'll score more, you'll be more efficient, the team will play better and be more efficient.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Age Class Provincials and Things I have to accept.
This weekend is our age class provincials. As we've worked up to this since the end of high school season it is always interesting to see what transpires. The 4-6 add on to the end of a close to 20 week high school season always shows you a lot about what sort of kids you've got and what their preparation and mind set is/was.
Some things I've noticed and some things I'll have to accept this weekend.
1) I got what I asked for. The most committed kids in the age class from both our high school varsity and jv teams have come out to train and practice with us. This means that everyone who is there wants to get better and is at some level working to make that happen. Sometimes 14-15 year old girls don't know how to work as hard as they can, or believe they are working hard when they aren't but they all show up and give what they feel is their best effort. What I have to accept is that this means from a pool of 21 possible kids. We've got 9. The 8 age appropriate girls from the varsity team were joined by only 1 JV player as the rest decided it wasn't for them, was too hard for them or they needed a break. No hard feelings if we aren't deep enough to play the way we want or aren't sharp early because of I lack of 5 vs 5 competitive drills in practice, then it is our own doing. We wanted committed hard working kids that wanted to be here. TUrns our you get what you ask for.
2) We have been training all our kids to make reads and play inside a concept based framework with reads and options. It allows us more time to work on skills and small sided competitive drills and games to train those skills. It also allows me to feel like going into this weekend we've a greater depth of skilled kids than everyone else. Our 6-9 are as skilled and knowledgeable as our starters so we should be relatively interchageable without a great loss. What I have to accept is that as part of a process without identified scorers/shooters etc and a less structured offense, we will occaisionally experience paralysis on offense other people won't have. When everyone knows who is supposed to shoot it and what your next action always is on offense even less skilled players can confidently execute. For us trying to mesh our reads with confidence issues in 14-15 year old females and my desire for them to work it out on the floor in situations means: I have to accept that regardless of our superior fire power we will still have stretches where we take bad shots or make bad decisions because kids learning and experimenting make mistakes.
3) I have to accept that we have defensive issues. Between the amount of time we spend on footwork and skills on offense. I know that our defensive attention to detail has not been as high, but long term once we have every understanding and exceuting offense will become a matter a training and reps while defense can then work on reads as well. Short term we are soft. I want us playing in your face pressure, rotational team defense. Every instinct they've gotten from mini and middle school experience says back off and contain to keep in front. I want them talking and sprinting taking chances on charges and free balls. They are comfortable sliding and letting players catch and shoot. I want players forced to attack non dominant, they just don't want to get beat. Its not that they don't want to do what I ask, its in the moment their fear and experience tells them one thing that is in opposition to what I am asking. THey just don't have the competitive reps over time yet to make that happen. I have to accept that we aren't as talented defensively as I would have hoped but that hopefully playing with energy and as a team at game time will be enough.
4) We may lose to teams who spent more time on tactics then we did. We haven't played since high school season ended and have spent time training footwork and movement skills on offense. We are ready to pass and cut, talk, twist and screen, dribble drive and shoot it. We are also ready to contest, work the ball and run at it with multiple defenders. I have to accept that we may not handle the first 2-3 zone we see with discipline or we may turn the ball over a ton if someone has a well prepped half court or full court zone trap. I don't want this to be a chess game. I want skilled kids to make decisions so that in the long term (most of these athletes I'll have for another 3-4 years) we have kids who can make plays not run plays. Short term there is a reason tactics work.
I'm still confident. We've got kids who can score at this level. We've got interchangeable pieces. We've been doing things the right way. I continue to believe there is no such thing as overacheiving you get exactly what you earn. No short cuts, no easy ways out. We'll bring it and see what happens.
Some things I've noticed and some things I'll have to accept this weekend.
1) I got what I asked for. The most committed kids in the age class from both our high school varsity and jv teams have come out to train and practice with us. This means that everyone who is there wants to get better and is at some level working to make that happen. Sometimes 14-15 year old girls don't know how to work as hard as they can, or believe they are working hard when they aren't but they all show up and give what they feel is their best effort. What I have to accept is that this means from a pool of 21 possible kids. We've got 9. The 8 age appropriate girls from the varsity team were joined by only 1 JV player as the rest decided it wasn't for them, was too hard for them or they needed a break. No hard feelings if we aren't deep enough to play the way we want or aren't sharp early because of I lack of 5 vs 5 competitive drills in practice, then it is our own doing. We wanted committed hard working kids that wanted to be here. TUrns our you get what you ask for.
2) We have been training all our kids to make reads and play inside a concept based framework with reads and options. It allows us more time to work on skills and small sided competitive drills and games to train those skills. It also allows me to feel like going into this weekend we've a greater depth of skilled kids than everyone else. Our 6-9 are as skilled and knowledgeable as our starters so we should be relatively interchageable without a great loss. What I have to accept is that as part of a process without identified scorers/shooters etc and a less structured offense, we will occaisionally experience paralysis on offense other people won't have. When everyone knows who is supposed to shoot it and what your next action always is on offense even less skilled players can confidently execute. For us trying to mesh our reads with confidence issues in 14-15 year old females and my desire for them to work it out on the floor in situations means: I have to accept that regardless of our superior fire power we will still have stretches where we take bad shots or make bad decisions because kids learning and experimenting make mistakes.
3) I have to accept that we have defensive issues. Between the amount of time we spend on footwork and skills on offense. I know that our defensive attention to detail has not been as high, but long term once we have every understanding and exceuting offense will become a matter a training and reps while defense can then work on reads as well. Short term we are soft. I want us playing in your face pressure, rotational team defense. Every instinct they've gotten from mini and middle school experience says back off and contain to keep in front. I want them talking and sprinting taking chances on charges and free balls. They are comfortable sliding and letting players catch and shoot. I want players forced to attack non dominant, they just don't want to get beat. Its not that they don't want to do what I ask, its in the moment their fear and experience tells them one thing that is in opposition to what I am asking. THey just don't have the competitive reps over time yet to make that happen. I have to accept that we aren't as talented defensively as I would have hoped but that hopefully playing with energy and as a team at game time will be enough.
4) We may lose to teams who spent more time on tactics then we did. We haven't played since high school season ended and have spent time training footwork and movement skills on offense. We are ready to pass and cut, talk, twist and screen, dribble drive and shoot it. We are also ready to contest, work the ball and run at it with multiple defenders. I have to accept that we may not handle the first 2-3 zone we see with discipline or we may turn the ball over a ton if someone has a well prepped half court or full court zone trap. I don't want this to be a chess game. I want skilled kids to make decisions so that in the long term (most of these athletes I'll have for another 3-4 years) we have kids who can make plays not run plays. Short term there is a reason tactics work.
I'm still confident. We've got kids who can score at this level. We've got interchangeable pieces. We've been doing things the right way. I continue to believe there is no such thing as overacheiving you get exactly what you earn. No short cuts, no easy ways out. We'll bring it and see what happens.
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