How Long Should A Drill Be??

Hey, Huddle Up, Lots of Good Coaching To Do...

Here is your Weekly Tip By TJ:

Skill: shooting

Drill: shot fake

Action: -spin the ball to yourself, catch it
and square up to the basket

- look at the rim and begin into your
shooting motion

- fake taking a shot by showing the ball
as if you are going to shoot and use
your head and your eyes to sell the fake
(look up at the rim and nod your head up
in the air)

- following the fake, dribble the ball in
for a lay-up


Workout : 5 head fakes into a lay-up on the right side
then repeat the drill 5 times on the left side,
5 more times starting on the right or left and
and then finishing the lay-up down the
the middle of the lane

Basketball Seminar and Tele-Coaching Update:

I am preparing to have the first tele-coaching seminar in the near future. I am working hard to have a great guest on the call with me so you get outstanding information for each event.

Also, I am in the process of working toward securing a facility for the 2 day Basketball Speed Seminar. It is going to be awesome and I can't wait to bring it on.

So keep focused on any information you receive coming from Basketball Speed Insiders Membership Club- you don't want to miss a thing.

The Seasons are underway!

There might be a few high schools around the country still waiting for their initial tip off to the season but for the most part the leather is hitting the wood floor all around the country and world- YES!

I am anxious to keep my eye on many players this year. There is one in particular that I will be supporting more than the rest. My nephew Jimmer Fredette will be a big impact player as a sophomore for BYU this year. He saw quality minutes last season and played a big role in their first round game against Texas A&M in the NCAA tourney.

Jimmer is a powerful athlete and has a high basketball IQ. He is an example of an athlete that worked hard to achieve his goal of being a D-1 player. He started working with me when he was 6 years old and just learned how to move each year. When he was older, I started pushing him to a new level of training because he was physically and mentally ready. He not only scored over 2,400 points in high school, but he was also a first team All-State wide receiver in football. When he was younger, he was a powerful baseball player as well.

So if you happen to catch a BYU game this season, keep an eye out for Jimmer- I will be.

How Long Should A Drill Be?

One of the keys to being a good coach is knowing how to practice. It is about understanding what you need to accomplish and how to do it. But the most important aspect of this statement is knowing how to adjust according to the age and ability level you are presently coaching.

One of my pet peeves is when a coach runs a drill for too long. This seems to occur more at the younger level but is often seen at the high school level as well.

The reasons for drills run too long is poor preparation in planning and organizing the drill. In other words, the athletes are not properly organized so the drill can move smoothly. Also, when a coach constantly stops the drill to instruct when only a couple players are having difficulty. This shouldn't happen. The players having difficulty should be pulled aside and given attention, but if all the players are stopped each time, it slows down the learning and the momentum of the drill and practice can be lost. Finally, when the coach really doesn't know what they are attempting to accomplish with the drill, it can take on a life of its own and never do what it was meant to do. I mentioned this before where it is important to know what your team and individual players need. Don't go after the fancy looking drills that some college or pro teams run just because it looks cool. Be specific to your teams needs. This will help.

I personally feel each drill should have a time allotted to it. But don't start the time until you have clearly demonstrated and instructed the team on how the drill is going to work and the purpose of the drill One of the biggest mistakes is not letting the players know what the drill is meant to accomplish. Once the drill is underway you should be coaching them at crucial times; when you see effort is down, when players are out of position, if a player is making the same mistake over and over. But keep the verbal cueing specific and to the point. Don't just yell for the sake of yelling. Be positive and praise good effort and execution. This helps breed success.

The important factor to remember is you will not make a drill or the execution of a drill perfect the first time. You want to do it in stages. Knowing this, you can allot for shorter time frames at each drill but be really focused and concentrated during the allotted time. If you go too long, you risk the loss of concentration and sloppiness creeping in.

Be prepared to finish each drill with a short assessment of what was good and what needs improvemed.

As a rule of thumb, I personally feel half court drills should be shorter than full court drills only because they take longer to develop. But this might not be the case all the time. If you are working half court on a drill that involves many aspects of the game like; defensive rebounding, out letting the ball, as well as a defensive focus on pressuring the ball or trapping... then it might take longer. But if your half court drill is skeleton defense on how to play the passing lane and shift with the ball- this should not be a long drill.

Ok, Hoopsters. I hope this helps you and I can't wait for you to get the upcoming interviews and information. Remember, play hard but have fun- It's a great game.

Play Hard,

Lee

PS: If you have not taken advantage of the FREE month of Basketball Speed Insiders yet- get up off the bench and join the club. Go to http://www.basketballspeedinsiders.com/ and try it out.