I don't have tryouts.
I used to have tryouts, and sometimes I miss the good old days. You line up a bunch of nervous kids around the middle, detailing your expectations for the season and at tryouts. Then you do some technical drills to test skills, space them out with a lot of high energy conditioning to see who will tough it out and then let the kid compete at some point to see if you missed anything in drills. After a few nights of this have a meeting or post a list of who survived and earned the right to make the team. I don't do that anymore.
Now we have evaluation camp. Over a period of 10 -12 practice sessions we put in our entire offense. Anything we will plan on doing that year we work on, we mix this with skill drills that work on pieces of the offense and transition/competitive drills to keep energy high. During this time we do three levels of evaluation:
- Team Player
- Off Court Player
-Program
At the end of the sessions we announce teams for that year. Then we spend more time on individual skill development and defense.
Team Player and Off Court Player
This is an assesment of the players we have in terms of desirable basketball and program traits. We examine the following traits in every player and each coach ranks them out of 4:
-Atheticism (Agility, Verticality, Flexibility)
- Speed/Quickness
-Offensive Skills
-Defensive Skills
-Rebounding
- Leadership
- Hustle
-Intelligence (Decision Making, Application of Concepts, Ability to Adjust)
- Focus
- Complication Free (Drama, Laziness, Attitude)
- Size (Height, Length, Wing Span, Strength)
- Experience (Level of competition previous, Programs involved with, Camp/Club experience)
This takes several days or even weeks to determine, as we need time to see players in various settings. We need to talk to teachers, former coaches and other persons of influence in their lives to make all these determinations. In the end coaches will agree on a total score for each player.
Program
Once the numbers are set for each player the coaches will rank them from 1-x based on the numbers. We then decide who will make what team.
In our high school setting we generally follow this pattern:
- Best 8-10 kids based soley on the rankings make varsity. Then we fill in remaining roster spots (depending on team size) with any remaining grade 11-12's on the list from highest rank to lowest.
- Any left over 11 and 12's are met with and given opportunities to be involved with the program in other ways (managers, officials, work with minor program) etc.
- We now take the best remaining 9/10's to make up the JV team until the roster is filled. Any leftover players are given the same options as left over 11's and 12's.
In the time we've begun doing this we've been more successful at weeding kids out on their own and over timethen we had in shortened time frames of the past. Players who are able have a chance to show over time, and deficiencies become apparrent on and off the court after a few weeks, making decisions easier.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Love, Like, Parenthood, and Our Canadian Women's Basketball Team
I've just finished watching our Canadian women's basketball team play, their pre tournament and initial round robin games. I must say I've been incredibly impressed, proud, frustrated, disgusted and amazed every single game. These women remind me of a quote from the book "Parenthood" by Bill Cosby my mother would often reference to all of her children.
"I love you, that does not mean I have to like you right now!"
I love lots of things in the game of basketball: guts, toughness, big shot making, intensity, hustle, pressure defense, teamwork, pace, passion . . . the list could go on and on.
Watching their games I constantly saw things that made me love this women's team. I also saw things that made me want to throw heavy things through my TV/computer screen:
Things I loved:
- We were tough. We played physical and gritty for full possessions of in your face offense and defense fighting and reading screens over and over again. Battled on the boards vs. teams twice our size and backed down from no one at any point.
-Coach McNeill. Like most of my favorite coaches she is nothing like me, and is constantly amazing me. She was intense while being composed. In moments where I would have been losing my mind, she was not only having focused and reasonable dialogue with players but was getting immediate results from timeouts and subs. She was determined, tough, committed and focused. Her team took on these traits in every way.
- Defending off ball action. For being outsized and athleted in most games, our women shut down teams screening games and cutting to the rim. Most teams found players to make tough shots, long threes or broke us down off the dribble in transition in order to score. 5 on 5 stopping other teams stuff I was very impressed with our effort and understanding.
- Adjustments. I think of all the teams I watched Canada did the best job of adapting from quarter to quarter. We would correct mistakes, make new reads and find ways to compete to get back into ball games. My congrats to the coaching staff and players on staying mentally tough, while being creative through many tough games.
I didn't like you right then (but I still love ya'):
- Possessions took years. We were playing with such a small margin for error, I was dying for possessions where we could get a quick turnover or an easy look in transition. To the point when we doubled a wing entry or got a rare fast break layup you'd have thought we were winning the Super Bowl in my basement. I love fast paced basketball, and by my own admission my solution to just about every problem I face as a coach tends to be better ball pressure, and cleaner transition offense. So for me watching us work 20 seconds off a clock and end up with a contested shot, or forcing teams to take long threes late in the clock time after time (only to give up the o-board and repeat process) caused me no end of frustration. Just personal preference, and as I stated previously I've got huge respect and love for the Canada coaching staff who know much better than I what they need to do to win.
- Make a jumper. We back screened as well and effectively as anyone at the tournament. The issue was eventually teams would load up on the paint and play under daring us to flare or pop and make shots. I have no idea what I found more frustrating the games where we would miss the majority of them, or the games where we had missed the majority of them before so we didn't shoot them and forced it into traffic for a turnover. The sun can't shine everyday, but even a broken watch is right twice a day (to mix a couple of metaphors.)
- Take it to the rack. Like most Canadian basketball fans, one of the most entertaining things for me to watch is Steve Nash circling and probing NBA defenses making individuals and teams look foolish. So you can imagine my feelings at watching us need to catch the right player, in the right matchup, in a late closeout (that rarely came because who closes out hard when you aren't making shots) in order to dribble drive the rim. In moments where I was dying for us to get an easy hoop we were forced to resort to waiting and reading on screens for match ups rather then just breaking people down.
- Breakout. I kept waiting for us to push the ball down, if not to fast break to at least get some action in transition before the longer defenses loaded up. I waited a lot. This is not a criticism of anyone on Team Canada, but as a fan I wanted to see us making some easy shots and plays to make runs. When we went on runs it was generally long stretches of great defensive stops and the opposition missing free throws, while we would show better offensive efficiency and make free throws.
In a nutshell I loved and continue to love our Canadian women's national team. I'm as proud of their effort and competitive spirit as I could be. The fan in me that grew up loving the "Bad Boys" in Detroit went crazy for our intensity. The fan in me that loves to fun and run and prefers "West Coast" NCAA to east coast, kept going crazy wanting us to score.
So conflicted.
"I love you, that does not mean I have to like you right now!"
I love lots of things in the game of basketball: guts, toughness, big shot making, intensity, hustle, pressure defense, teamwork, pace, passion . . . the list could go on and on.
Watching their games I constantly saw things that made me love this women's team. I also saw things that made me want to throw heavy things through my TV/computer screen:
Things I loved:
- We were tough. We played physical and gritty for full possessions of in your face offense and defense fighting and reading screens over and over again. Battled on the boards vs. teams twice our size and backed down from no one at any point.
-Coach McNeill. Like most of my favorite coaches she is nothing like me, and is constantly amazing me. She was intense while being composed. In moments where I would have been losing my mind, she was not only having focused and reasonable dialogue with players but was getting immediate results from timeouts and subs. She was determined, tough, committed and focused. Her team took on these traits in every way.
- Defending off ball action. For being outsized and athleted in most games, our women shut down teams screening games and cutting to the rim. Most teams found players to make tough shots, long threes or broke us down off the dribble in transition in order to score. 5 on 5 stopping other teams stuff I was very impressed with our effort and understanding.
- Adjustments. I think of all the teams I watched Canada did the best job of adapting from quarter to quarter. We would correct mistakes, make new reads and find ways to compete to get back into ball games. My congrats to the coaching staff and players on staying mentally tough, while being creative through many tough games.
I didn't like you right then (but I still love ya'):
- Possessions took years. We were playing with such a small margin for error, I was dying for possessions where we could get a quick turnover or an easy look in transition. To the point when we doubled a wing entry or got a rare fast break layup you'd have thought we were winning the Super Bowl in my basement. I love fast paced basketball, and by my own admission my solution to just about every problem I face as a coach tends to be better ball pressure, and cleaner transition offense. So for me watching us work 20 seconds off a clock and end up with a contested shot, or forcing teams to take long threes late in the clock time after time (only to give up the o-board and repeat process) caused me no end of frustration. Just personal preference, and as I stated previously I've got huge respect and love for the Canada coaching staff who know much better than I what they need to do to win.
- Make a jumper. We back screened as well and effectively as anyone at the tournament. The issue was eventually teams would load up on the paint and play under daring us to flare or pop and make shots. I have no idea what I found more frustrating the games where we would miss the majority of them, or the games where we had missed the majority of them before so we didn't shoot them and forced it into traffic for a turnover. The sun can't shine everyday, but even a broken watch is right twice a day (to mix a couple of metaphors.)
- Take it to the rack. Like most Canadian basketball fans, one of the most entertaining things for me to watch is Steve Nash circling and probing NBA defenses making individuals and teams look foolish. So you can imagine my feelings at watching us need to catch the right player, in the right matchup, in a late closeout (that rarely came because who closes out hard when you aren't making shots) in order to dribble drive the rim. In moments where I was dying for us to get an easy hoop we were forced to resort to waiting and reading on screens for match ups rather then just breaking people down.
- Breakout. I kept waiting for us to push the ball down, if not to fast break to at least get some action in transition before the longer defenses loaded up. I waited a lot. This is not a criticism of anyone on Team Canada, but as a fan I wanted to see us making some easy shots and plays to make runs. When we went on runs it was generally long stretches of great defensive stops and the opposition missing free throws, while we would show better offensive efficiency and make free throws.
In a nutshell I loved and continue to love our Canadian women's national team. I'm as proud of their effort and competitive spirit as I could be. The fan in me that grew up loving the "Bad Boys" in Detroit went crazy for our intensity. The fan in me that loves to fun and run and prefers "West Coast" NCAA to east coast, kept going crazy wanting us to score.
So conflicted.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
How I Win?
I'm taking on a new challenge this year in moving to girls full time. This will mean not only CP and provincial teams with high end young women in the other seasons, but all winter with some much less committed (yet still lovable) JV girls in our school.
After having a pre-season meeting and sharing my expectations with the boys team I'd planned on coaching, I left the seniors with a message about "Sandpaper" (See previous entry.) Now that I'm changing gears and trying to build a new culture in our girls program I've given great consideration to the message I want to start off with to the ladies:
I only know one way to win - Create a culture of us against the world!
There are three things we need to do in order to live this attitude:
1. Be special.
2. Be emotionally honest (Vocally).
3. Be Hostile.
1. Be Special.
We need to earn the right to special, but also embrace and understand we are different. We can't act, want, and react to the world the way people who aren't on this team do. Cute boys, friendly girls, our parents, and our community are who we represent the best elements of, but they are not who we are. They make decisions and choices based on motivations that have nothing to do with selfless sacrifice to make you and your teammates the best. We need to be special. You can't make common/popular decisions. You won't be spending your time the same way as most people. Our interests, efforts and allegiances need to lie in very different places then the students you interact with everyday. You must work harder, sacrifice more, and have higher expectations for yourself then you can currently imagine. You will be more humble in public, and more arrogant about your abilities in private. We must not only be different, but better.
2. Be emotionally honest.
Winners don't mitigate. Mitigating is a social behavior we learn to share potentially unpopular ideas to superiors. We must be direct, honest and constant. We are a team, a family by choice not chance. If you can't say what you are thinking, and we can't take what you say and feel to make us stronger, then we won't amount to much anyway. On the floor and off the floor we need to be able to trust and anticipate each other. We can't do this unless we are constantly in each others ear about who we are, what we stand for and how we need each other to succeed. This not only requires the confidence to speak loudly about exactly what you need and feel, but the maturity to see and hear the truth from others with the focus of getting better.
3. Be Hostile
There is no such thing as a big game player. There are players and teams who in big games and big moments continue to achieve while others fall away simply because they can still play confidently in those moments. They can succeed where others fail because they've done it day in and day out in tougher circumstances then they face in the game. We need to be brutal. Our practices need to be more intense, more pressure packed, more physical and more competitive then any situation we could face. As soon as there is a ball and a score we need to play with the sibling rivalry that exists in families. You'll love each other once its over, but there is no way you are losing to each other or anyone else. You must compete ever second of every play, drill, and exercise as if not winning that moment will cost us a championship. This intensity and mild paranoia will breed frustration, focus that frustration into effort and aggression. Don't get mad, make us better.
After having a pre-season meeting and sharing my expectations with the boys team I'd planned on coaching, I left the seniors with a message about "Sandpaper" (See previous entry.) Now that I'm changing gears and trying to build a new culture in our girls program I've given great consideration to the message I want to start off with to the ladies:
I only know one way to win - Create a culture of us against the world!
There are three things we need to do in order to live this attitude:
1. Be special.
2. Be emotionally honest (Vocally).
3. Be Hostile.
1. Be Special.
We need to earn the right to special, but also embrace and understand we are different. We can't act, want, and react to the world the way people who aren't on this team do. Cute boys, friendly girls, our parents, and our community are who we represent the best elements of, but they are not who we are. They make decisions and choices based on motivations that have nothing to do with selfless sacrifice to make you and your teammates the best. We need to be special. You can't make common/popular decisions. You won't be spending your time the same way as most people. Our interests, efforts and allegiances need to lie in very different places then the students you interact with everyday. You must work harder, sacrifice more, and have higher expectations for yourself then you can currently imagine. You will be more humble in public, and more arrogant about your abilities in private. We must not only be different, but better.
2. Be emotionally honest.
Winners don't mitigate. Mitigating is a social behavior we learn to share potentially unpopular ideas to superiors. We must be direct, honest and constant. We are a team, a family by choice not chance. If you can't say what you are thinking, and we can't take what you say and feel to make us stronger, then we won't amount to much anyway. On the floor and off the floor we need to be able to trust and anticipate each other. We can't do this unless we are constantly in each others ear about who we are, what we stand for and how we need each other to succeed. This not only requires the confidence to speak loudly about exactly what you need and feel, but the maturity to see and hear the truth from others with the focus of getting better.
3. Be Hostile
There is no such thing as a big game player. There are players and teams who in big games and big moments continue to achieve while others fall away simply because they can still play confidently in those moments. They can succeed where others fail because they've done it day in and day out in tougher circumstances then they face in the game. We need to be brutal. Our practices need to be more intense, more pressure packed, more physical and more competitive then any situation we could face. As soon as there is a ball and a score we need to play with the sibling rivalry that exists in families. You'll love each other once its over, but there is no way you are losing to each other or anyone else. You must compete ever second of every play, drill, and exercise as if not winning that moment will cost us a championship. This intensity and mild paranoia will breed frustration, focus that frustration into effort and aggression. Don't get mad, make us better.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sandpaper - First Letter to This Year's Senior Boys
Everyone needs to embrace an attitude when they play basketball. For some people its their inner competitor, for others it is a persona, and for some it is the personality of their team or leaders. These individual and collective attitudes help to determine the make up of the team and contribute directly to results. Everyone competes hard at game time, you can see that in gym classes all over the world. The issue is you need to be able to bring the proper work ethic and attitude every time you train so you are prepared for game time.
This year I've decided to ask my seniors to adopt a persona in practice, off the court and at game time. For some of them it may be and extension of their basic personality but for others I'm sure it will be an exercise in trying adopt and embrace something larger then themselves.
I expect them to be our team's "SANDPAPER." What this means is no more complicated then looking at what sandpaper is and does then applying it to our team:
- Rough, gritty, tough. These are characteristics of any good piece of sandpaper. It also is exactly what we want our seniors to be and to bring to our team. In practice, in games, they need to be the ones setting the tone of playing with an edge of physicality, of being abrasive and intense (borderline hostile) to make sure we are at the right level all the time. They need to be the ones making sure "whatever it takes" is level and expectation every possession.
- Sand paper shapes with pressure, abrasion, and friction. Our seniors need to be making sure we are adopting the shapes, form and behaviors that we need on and off the court. They need to be the ones in people's ears, getting people out to train and lift, and getting on people that aren't doing what it takes. If someone isn't doing what it takes with their training, in the classroom or on the floor the seniors are the ones that need to make sure that a change is happening. We are only as strong as our weakest link and seniors need to be making sure that toughening, shaping and focusing their teammates is a 24-7 job.
- Sand paper is dependable, durable and you know exactly what you are going to get from it. Our senior leaders cannot be seen as weak or uncommitted. They need to be the first ones in, last ones out and the ones giving the most consistent effort, intensity and focus. They also can't be emotionally distant or labile; they need to be the rock that holds an even line through everything. They need to set the tone of efficiency and focus.
- Sand paper only works through force. Our seniors need to be the ones exerting the effort to help shape us. It is not just about them and their development it has to be about the making their teammates better, by actively doing whatever it takes to succeed at every moment. They need to exert active energy all the time in the name of meeting our goals. They cannot bystanders, mitigators or simply along for the ride they must be the driving force.
This is what it takes. It is what we need. You need to be our team's "SANDPAPER!:
This year I've decided to ask my seniors to adopt a persona in practice, off the court and at game time. For some of them it may be and extension of their basic personality but for others I'm sure it will be an exercise in trying adopt and embrace something larger then themselves.
I expect them to be our team's "SANDPAPER." What this means is no more complicated then looking at what sandpaper is and does then applying it to our team:
- Rough, gritty, tough. These are characteristics of any good piece of sandpaper. It also is exactly what we want our seniors to be and to bring to our team. In practice, in games, they need to be the ones setting the tone of playing with an edge of physicality, of being abrasive and intense (borderline hostile) to make sure we are at the right level all the time. They need to be the ones making sure "whatever it takes" is level and expectation every possession.
- Sand paper shapes with pressure, abrasion, and friction. Our seniors need to be making sure we are adopting the shapes, form and behaviors that we need on and off the court. They need to be the ones in people's ears, getting people out to train and lift, and getting on people that aren't doing what it takes. If someone isn't doing what it takes with their training, in the classroom or on the floor the seniors are the ones that need to make sure that a change is happening. We are only as strong as our weakest link and seniors need to be making sure that toughening, shaping and focusing their teammates is a 24-7 job.
- Sand paper is dependable, durable and you know exactly what you are going to get from it. Our senior leaders cannot be seen as weak or uncommitted. They need to be the first ones in, last ones out and the ones giving the most consistent effort, intensity and focus. They also can't be emotionally distant or labile; they need to be the rock that holds an even line through everything. They need to set the tone of efficiency and focus.
- Sand paper only works through force. Our seniors need to be the ones exerting the effort to help shape us. It is not just about them and their development it has to be about the making their teammates better, by actively doing whatever it takes to succeed at every moment. They need to exert active energy all the time in the name of meeting our goals. They cannot bystanders, mitigators or simply along for the ride they must be the driving force.
This is what it takes. It is what we need. You need to be our team's "SANDPAPER!:
Friday, August 27, 2010
The Best 5 Basketball Books , you may not know about.
Its summer and that means some extra time for reading. I'm sure like all basketball fans, my love of the game transcends other aspects of my life. In my case when it is time to read, I very well may read a book about basketball to get my mind off teaching and coaching basketball.
I'm not talking about coaching handbooks, or drill lists, or manuals (although I've got a shelf of those too). I'm talking about some good inspirational basketball thoughts and stories. So here is my current list of top 5 basketball books you may want to check out for the first time or even again in no particular order:
Values of the Game - Bill Bradley
A collection of thoughts and essays from former pro, princeton grad and US senator Bill Bradley on the values and lessons learned through basketball. Great thoughts, stories and memories from some of the greats of the game past and present while focusing on the character lessons players, coaches and any basketball fan should be embracing.
To Hate Like This is to Be Happy Forever [A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the DUKE-NORTH CAROLINA RIVALRY] - WILL BLYTHE
The title really says it all. An in depth, laugh at loud, "Oh my god! Really . . " and thought provoking look at college basketball's greatest rivalry. I sports writer from a die hard Tarheel family takes a year of to examine everything that makes this rivalry transcend school and region to be an internationally notorious one. He goes through a whole season watching games, meeting coaches, interviewing die hard fans and following every aspect of the rivalry possible, backdropped by his family's personal relationship in this saga.
Transition Game: How Hoosiers went Hip Hop - L. Jon Werthem
Basketball was born in Springfield Mass. Its home and heartbeat has always been the state of Indiana. This book examines how factors that are changing our world (gloablization, multiculturalism, etc) have done the same to the game of basketball in the state of Indiana. It is a warm walk down memory lane following the history of the state of Indiana, the state of the game, and the state of the world through interlaced stories of familiar basketball faces and legends up to contemporary day basketball in Indiana.
Eagle Blue: A Team, a Tribe, and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska - Micheal D'Orso
Coaches, players and fans all seem to think that no other place has quite the problems or has to deal with issues that their team has to overcome. Try being the coach in Fort Yukon. This book follows a year in with the basketball team in Fort Yukon, Alaska. Fort Yukon is a small native community above the arctic circle deep in the Alaskan wilderness. The only way to travel is snowmobile, getting to games means a plane trip which may or may not be cancelled by -50 degree weather, kids growing up with the struggles and pressures of trying to be regular teenagers in toady's world, members of their tribes culture/heritage and working to try to win a state championship. This book has everything you could ask from a story of a team for a season to bring some perspective to your own world of basketball.
Winning Sounds Like This: A season with the women's basketball team at Gallaudet University, the world's only university for the deaf. - Wayne Coffey
What most people love about sports (in particular basketball) has something to do with the pressure, overcoming adversity, seeing life lessons played out in a microcosm, and the thrills of the unexpected. Well imagine trying to win at a NCAA university in the capital city of the United States, and by the waty - your team is all hearing impaired. A wonderful story of a season with some of the most special athletes, coaches, playing high level basketball at arguably the most unique university and culture in the world. If you need to know what basketball, winning, and the power of sport really are - read this book!
(Honorable mention should go to The Last Amateurs. A story following a season in the the only Division 1 basketball conference that does not offer sports scholarships.)
I'm not talking about coaching handbooks, or drill lists, or manuals (although I've got a shelf of those too). I'm talking about some good inspirational basketball thoughts and stories. So here is my current list of top 5 basketball books you may want to check out for the first time or even again in no particular order:
Values of the Game - Bill Bradley
A collection of thoughts and essays from former pro, princeton grad and US senator Bill Bradley on the values and lessons learned through basketball. Great thoughts, stories and memories from some of the greats of the game past and present while focusing on the character lessons players, coaches and any basketball fan should be embracing.
To Hate Like This is to Be Happy Forever [A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the DUKE-NORTH CAROLINA RIVALRY] - WILL BLYTHE
The title really says it all. An in depth, laugh at loud, "Oh my god! Really . . " and thought provoking look at college basketball's greatest rivalry. I sports writer from a die hard Tarheel family takes a year of to examine everything that makes this rivalry transcend school and region to be an internationally notorious one. He goes through a whole season watching games, meeting coaches, interviewing die hard fans and following every aspect of the rivalry possible, backdropped by his family's personal relationship in this saga.
Transition Game: How Hoosiers went Hip Hop - L. Jon Werthem
Basketball was born in Springfield Mass. Its home and heartbeat has always been the state of Indiana. This book examines how factors that are changing our world (gloablization, multiculturalism, etc) have done the same to the game of basketball in the state of Indiana. It is a warm walk down memory lane following the history of the state of Indiana, the state of the game, and the state of the world through interlaced stories of familiar basketball faces and legends up to contemporary day basketball in Indiana.
Eagle Blue: A Team, a Tribe, and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska - Micheal D'Orso
Coaches, players and fans all seem to think that no other place has quite the problems or has to deal with issues that their team has to overcome. Try being the coach in Fort Yukon. This book follows a year in with the basketball team in Fort Yukon, Alaska. Fort Yukon is a small native community above the arctic circle deep in the Alaskan wilderness. The only way to travel is snowmobile, getting to games means a plane trip which may or may not be cancelled by -50 degree weather, kids growing up with the struggles and pressures of trying to be regular teenagers in toady's world, members of their tribes culture/heritage and working to try to win a state championship. This book has everything you could ask from a story of a team for a season to bring some perspective to your own world of basketball.
Winning Sounds Like This: A season with the women's basketball team at Gallaudet University, the world's only university for the deaf. - Wayne Coffey
What most people love about sports (in particular basketball) has something to do with the pressure, overcoming adversity, seeing life lessons played out in a microcosm, and the thrills of the unexpected. Well imagine trying to win at a NCAA university in the capital city of the United States, and by the waty - your team is all hearing impaired. A wonderful story of a season with some of the most special athletes, coaches, playing high level basketball at arguably the most unique university and culture in the world. If you need to know what basketball, winning, and the power of sport really are - read this book!
(Honorable mention should go to The Last Amateurs. A story following a season in the the only Division 1 basketball conference that does not offer sports scholarships.)
Friday, July 30, 2010
Poker and Post Defense
Playing poker with people tends to be fairly telling about their personalities. Who is playing the percentages, who is betting aggressively early, who is playing tight, who is bullying, etc? One of the most important elements of the game is recognizing and understanding your opponent. You look for "tells" and watch how they play certain situations to make decisions later.
When we look at the game of basketball coaches try to find common elements to identify the way teams and coaches do things by picking out certain traits.
One of the things I key in on as a coach is what the other team does to defend posts. In my experience, almost to a team:
-If they play behind they think they are bigger. stronger and can bullying us off spots. They play tough contain to pressure m2m and try to make individual stops, and make you shoot contested shots over the primary defender. Rotation is likely to be help late at the rim or edge of the key with shot blocker.
- If they play 1/2 or 3/4 around high side they are a team that funnels to help in the middle or influences non dominant. They will probably help across (more hands in the middle) allowing you to skip and trying to recover. They will active wing defenders and want their bigs to stay at home.
- If they 1/2 or 3/4 around low side then they are a ball pressure to contain team influencing sideline and baseline and will probably double down if the post catches. They will also help earlier and rotate by dropping down. They tend to be more team oriented defensively with athletic active bigs.
- If they front the basketball, they are probably a high ball pressure team. Relying on early traps/help on baseline penetration and with combination rotations to cover passing lanes and traps. They are probably undersized and fast.
It sounds silly but its true. Same as you read the player guarding the screener when attacking with screens, I look at the way teams defend post play to determine their defensive philosophy and what we want to do. I'm sure teams do the same to us.
What they should see when they look at our post defense:
- Post defenders should be full front. I arm length's away (measured by a locked out inside arm fist first into the high hip). Low stance with active feet and outside hand up as high as possible. If teams try to seal or lock it down we simply give ground out. On a reverse we have enough space with the arm's length to step or sprint free without getting pinned.
Why do we defend this way:
- We are a ball pressure team looking to force traps/run and jumps so this technique keeps us closer to the ball, prevents any pass except a lob into an immediate trap and gives us the space we need to sprint free in rotations without getting locked/pinned.
I know that a lot of coaches worry about the lob, reverses or rebounding when fronting. I respect their feeling but disagree. The lob and reverse are both taken away with good on ball pressure to make the ball bounce. I've never really felt like is has hurt us on the boards but we tend to hit and go with all five anyway so our activity level either works for us or not regardless of positioning.
FYI in poker I also bet almost anything and will go all in much more often then anyone else in the game pushing the pace. Your personality is your personality, I guess.
When we look at the game of basketball coaches try to find common elements to identify the way teams and coaches do things by picking out certain traits.
One of the things I key in on as a coach is what the other team does to defend posts. In my experience, almost to a team:
-If they play behind they think they are bigger. stronger and can bullying us off spots. They play tough contain to pressure m2m and try to make individual stops, and make you shoot contested shots over the primary defender. Rotation is likely to be help late at the rim or edge of the key with shot blocker.
- If they play 1/2 or 3/4 around high side they are a team that funnels to help in the middle or influences non dominant. They will probably help across (more hands in the middle) allowing you to skip and trying to recover. They will active wing defenders and want their bigs to stay at home.
- If they 1/2 or 3/4 around low side then they are a ball pressure to contain team influencing sideline and baseline and will probably double down if the post catches. They will also help earlier and rotate by dropping down. They tend to be more team oriented defensively with athletic active bigs.
- If they front the basketball, they are probably a high ball pressure team. Relying on early traps/help on baseline penetration and with combination rotations to cover passing lanes and traps. They are probably undersized and fast.
It sounds silly but its true. Same as you read the player guarding the screener when attacking with screens, I look at the way teams defend post play to determine their defensive philosophy and what we want to do. I'm sure teams do the same to us.
What they should see when they look at our post defense:
- Post defenders should be full front. I arm length's away (measured by a locked out inside arm fist first into the high hip). Low stance with active feet and outside hand up as high as possible. If teams try to seal or lock it down we simply give ground out. On a reverse we have enough space with the arm's length to step or sprint free without getting pinned.
Why do we defend this way:
- We are a ball pressure team looking to force traps/run and jumps so this technique keeps us closer to the ball, prevents any pass except a lob into an immediate trap and gives us the space we need to sprint free in rotations without getting locked/pinned.
I know that a lot of coaches worry about the lob, reverses or rebounding when fronting. I respect their feeling but disagree. The lob and reverse are both taken away with good on ball pressure to make the ball bounce. I've never really felt like is has hurt us on the boards but we tend to hit and go with all five anyway so our activity level either works for us or not regardless of positioning.
FYI in poker I also bet almost anything and will go all in much more often then anyone else in the game pushing the pace. Your personality is your personality, I guess.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Mismatches
I have a friend who used to coach with me. He grew up in the US attending a private school in Tennessee where he played football and basketball as a 5'7 vs larger division 1 prospect athletes. Every now and then we will lace up our sneakers and play in some pick up basketball. Now I pity the first big guy who takes the yells "Mismatch" and tries to back him down in the post. Mostly because after school, but before becoming a teacher, this guy was a carpenter and is crazy strong for his size. This results in forearm shots to big guys ribs, backs and thighs that tend to leave them regretting trying to go get an easy layup.
As my coaching evolves I find myself coming back around to things. My latest re discovery is the idea of the mismatch.
As a concept based offensive coach I am constantly amazed at the assumptions I make about kids understanding of the game. Mismatches are a huge one. We are trying to break down the other teams defense to get someone a 1 on 1 they can win, to create a 1 on 0 for us to score. As simple as that sounds, you would like to believe that players would then immediately find the easiest way to beat someone (our best matchup taking advantage), but you would be wrong. Kids limited understanding of mismatches does not seem to extend beyond physical size into skill vs skill or situational concepts.
We'll feed undersized basket cutters heading into a wall of posts. We'll have an average ball handler trying to break down an athletic defender. We will pass up pull up jump shots at 8 feet by our best players, only to see them fire tough passes to post players (who can't handle) at 12 feet who will end up in a close out situation. The decision making is mind boggling.
I think this is a result of 3 problems:
Problem 1
A lack of exposure by today's youth players to pick up ball that honed most of the previous generation's game. Playground players just found the weak link, or the chucker , or someone's little brother and attacked that whenever anything got meaningful. Today's kids have grown up in such a structured sport environment where everyone gets to play, and we should all get a chance, that some of the innate primitive instinct to find the weakest in the herd and take them down has been lost. They have accepted we (the coaches) know what we're doing so they blindly do what they think we see as the right thing regardless of situation to succeed.
Problem 2
Over developed sense of self and others. Today's athlete has grown up empowered, aware of their rights, empathizing with the feelings of others, and learning to respect their environment and those in it. Bullying, judging, taking advantage of others, disrespect and selfishness are all looked down upon and to be avoided. (Yet those traits are exactly what attacking a mismatch is all about.) Confidence in themselves as people may give them a false sense of confidence in their game, but more importantly their sensitivity and respect of others doesn't allow them to mercilessly and eagerly attack and exploit other individuals naturally. In fact in the rare cases where youth coaches get players who will, in most cases they are told to share the ball and given some speech about being a better teammate and giving everyone a chance.
Problem 3
Coach as sage. Adults run their houses, their schools, their recreation, their sports, their free time, their structured time - we run just about everything their is to run in the lives of young people. (hmmm and kids seem to have bad instincts in a lot of on and off the court situations). We then also take players and too early structure their play. Particularly on the court coaches will recognize an advantage and set up plays or their whole system around this advantage. Players then execute the system because coach said so without understanding why, they don't see what they are dong as exploiting their advantages it is just how they play. Then when they go to another team or level with different strengths they either struggle because they can't adjust or the coach makes the adjustments for them again.
SOLUTIONS
- We as coaches must model and teach more and more. The only way to ensure a kid knows anything is to make sure they learn it from you.
- Coaches need to improve their players understanding of the game and the reasons behind "What-Why- When".
- Youth basketball needs less plays and more concepts and opportunities to play. Structured freedom to play, rather then smaller less skilled versions of elite level games.
- Players must be praised for using and reading a mismatch properly regardless of the outcome, while players who attack in bad situations, times and places must understand this regardless of how it worked out at this level.
- Kids must be encouraged to shoot more often and improve their shooting. This will stretch the floor making one on one matchups and skills more important then running structured offenses to get your kids who can finish closer to the rim to score and succeed more often.
- Every kid must have the skills to exploit their advantage. If they are being guarded by the worst on ball defender, they must be able to handle. If they are being guarded by a sagger they must be able to shoot.
- Do not use a punishment/reward system to motivate understanding. Punish/Reward returns are only high for basic physical tasks. When dealing with basketball IQ and exploiting advantages players must be given autonomy and freedom of creativity while being given feedback to improve.
As my coaching evolves I find myself coming back around to things. My latest re discovery is the idea of the mismatch.
As a concept based offensive coach I am constantly amazed at the assumptions I make about kids understanding of the game. Mismatches are a huge one. We are trying to break down the other teams defense to get someone a 1 on 1 they can win, to create a 1 on 0 for us to score. As simple as that sounds, you would like to believe that players would then immediately find the easiest way to beat someone (our best matchup taking advantage), but you would be wrong. Kids limited understanding of mismatches does not seem to extend beyond physical size into skill vs skill or situational concepts.
We'll feed undersized basket cutters heading into a wall of posts. We'll have an average ball handler trying to break down an athletic defender. We will pass up pull up jump shots at 8 feet by our best players, only to see them fire tough passes to post players (who can't handle) at 12 feet who will end up in a close out situation. The decision making is mind boggling.
I think this is a result of 3 problems:
Problem 1
A lack of exposure by today's youth players to pick up ball that honed most of the previous generation's game. Playground players just found the weak link, or the chucker , or someone's little brother and attacked that whenever anything got meaningful. Today's kids have grown up in such a structured sport environment where everyone gets to play, and we should all get a chance, that some of the innate primitive instinct to find the weakest in the herd and take them down has been lost. They have accepted we (the coaches) know what we're doing so they blindly do what they think we see as the right thing regardless of situation to succeed.
Problem 2
Over developed sense of self and others. Today's athlete has grown up empowered, aware of their rights, empathizing with the feelings of others, and learning to respect their environment and those in it. Bullying, judging, taking advantage of others, disrespect and selfishness are all looked down upon and to be avoided. (Yet those traits are exactly what attacking a mismatch is all about.) Confidence in themselves as people may give them a false sense of confidence in their game, but more importantly their sensitivity and respect of others doesn't allow them to mercilessly and eagerly attack and exploit other individuals naturally. In fact in the rare cases where youth coaches get players who will, in most cases they are told to share the ball and given some speech about being a better teammate and giving everyone a chance.
Problem 3
Coach as sage. Adults run their houses, their schools, their recreation, their sports, their free time, their structured time - we run just about everything their is to run in the lives of young people. (hmmm and kids seem to have bad instincts in a lot of on and off the court situations). We then also take players and too early structure their play. Particularly on the court coaches will recognize an advantage and set up plays or their whole system around this advantage. Players then execute the system because coach said so without understanding why, they don't see what they are dong as exploiting their advantages it is just how they play. Then when they go to another team or level with different strengths they either struggle because they can't adjust or the coach makes the adjustments for them again.
SOLUTIONS
- We as coaches must model and teach more and more. The only way to ensure a kid knows anything is to make sure they learn it from you.
- Coaches need to improve their players understanding of the game and the reasons behind "What-Why- When".
- Youth basketball needs less plays and more concepts and opportunities to play. Structured freedom to play, rather then smaller less skilled versions of elite level games.
- Players must be praised for using and reading a mismatch properly regardless of the outcome, while players who attack in bad situations, times and places must understand this regardless of how it worked out at this level.
- Kids must be encouraged to shoot more often and improve their shooting. This will stretch the floor making one on one matchups and skills more important then running structured offenses to get your kids who can finish closer to the rim to score and succeed more often.
- Every kid must have the skills to exploit their advantage. If they are being guarded by the worst on ball defender, they must be able to handle. If they are being guarded by a sagger they must be able to shoot.
- Do not use a punishment/reward system to motivate understanding. Punish/Reward returns are only high for basic physical tasks. When dealing with basketball IQ and exploiting advantages players must be given autonomy and freedom of creativity while being given feedback to improve.
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