Good Monday Morning.
OK. In just a moment I am going to talk about something in the game of basketball I just can't stand. I mean it. It drives me bonkers. If there was one thing I could change about the game it would be this.... (read below to find out what it is)
Weekly Tip: First Step with either Leg
Skill: Being able to take a hard first step move past a defender out of triple threat with either leg leading. In other words you have to be able to take this step with the open step or cross over step- depends on the pivot foot and how the defense is playing you. (open step is taking a step with the leg closest to the direction you are traveling. Cross over step is using the back leg furthest from the direction you are traveling)
Purpose: To be more dangerous and take advantage of the situation and what the defense gives you.
Drill: Practice driving to the hoop. from all spots around the 3 point line and within the 3 point line using the open step and the crossover step. Start in a good triple threat. You can use jab steps, pause steps, fake shots, or what ever other fakes you want. The goal is to you both the open step and cross over step and accelerate hard to the hoop. Perform 5 open step moves and 5 cross over step moves from going to the right and left. Perform this at 2-3 different spots on the floor. If there is a spot you generally catch the ball, definitely practice from that spot.
This is a lot of reps and it is what it takes to become great at the first step moves.
I Can't Stand It; The FLOP!
I am ready for it. I have no doubt I am going to catch some flack on this one but I have been against this "fake" defensive play since it made it's way into our game. The flop to me has hurt our game, has changed the outcome of games, has injured players on help side because they have been rolled up on by the Flopper, and it has made officials look terrible at times.
NBA coach and current analyst, Jeff Van Gundy, has said this many times and I totally agree with him. He says the Flop should be eliminated from the game. I believe technical fouls should be handed out when a player flops and causes a the offensive player to go down and potential injury could occur. The Flop has made the pure nature of defense look bad.
What ever happen to standing your ground and playing tough the entire play. How can 225 lb athletes get knocked to the ground by 170lb guards driving past them. This is when the official look literally incompetent when they call and offensive foul because of a flop.
Let me say this. I am 100% for taking a true offensive charge like a man or women. This is when you stand your ground and don't give and inch when a player is driving to the hoop and they plow into you- like it use to be and is suppose to be. If you get hit hard enough it causes you to fall back or get knocked back from the ground you are firmly planted at- that is taking a charge the real way.
I saw a game the other night where a player from the Utah Jazz, Kirilenko, flopped on Dirk Nowitski and it was so bad and obvious I was embarrassed for the defender. When a foul was called on Nowitski my initial reaction was to have a rule that suspends officials for such poor judgement. It may seem drastic but it needs to stop.
I mean no disrespect to the sport of soccer but all I can think off when I see these flops is a soccer player flopping down like they have been shot or something when a defender slightly bumps them. I don't like it and I blame the leagues and the officials for allowing it.
The other night an offensive low post player for Texas Tech was making a low post move and the defender bodied him up. When the move was made the defender threw his head and upper body back and his hips under the offensive player and flopped. This caused the offensive player to fall awkwardly on his back and injure himself. The official called it a CHARGE. I couldn't believe it. If the defender had played REAL DEFENSE it no one would have fallen and the offensive player would have been forced into a tough shot due to the defender standing his ground.
It has to stop. I can only hope you coaches out there would take it upon yourself to stop coaching it and allowing you players to use it. Make them play tough and stand their ground. They will make better defensive plays, get more rebounds, and not injure their own teammate in help defense by rolling up on their knee.
I can go on an on and I will come back to this again but I think I made my point. Regardless of if you agree with me or not- it is running the game and causing players to sit on the bench early or foul out when they should not have. Let's play REAL basketball again and stop this foolish soft play. The game is advancing in so many ways but like an anchor on a ship it is being dragged to a halt because of the FLOP.
Play Hard
Lee
PS: I know many of you are going to say; but Lee, it is part of the game and we are just playing within the rules. There are something that better judgement needs to prevail and this is one of them. Anyway- Love to hear your thoughts. Pass this on to others and lets hear their thoughts as well.
PSS: When you get a chance check out http://www.basketballspeedinsiders.com/ and what is coming in 2009. It is going to be awesome Baby as Dicky V says.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Have A Wonderful Week!
Well, the count down is on. I want to wish you a great Holiday. I hope your basketball teams are doing well and you are enjoying the season. what can be better...the holidays are here and basketball is in full force.
Weekly Tip: Touch Shooting
Purpose: To grove a pure pattern of shooting and follow through
Action: Start our with all shots close to the hoop. Basically the low blocks, the short corner, and in front of the hoop. Then gradually work deeper and you warm up and feel comfortable.
The goal is to shoot 5 shots from each spot with the exact same routine. Hang the follow through each time so you know how to make corrections if needed. As you move deeper you begin to involve the legs more. try to groove a shooting pattern you can reproduce every time. Try to get at least 50 shots in.
Feel Comfortable In Un-Comfortable Times:
Have you ever noticed how well players shoot and dribble during warm ups? Notice how easy they dribble through the legs with either hand and shoot the ball so effortlessly. They look like they are First Team All-Stars.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter of a tight game. This same player seems like they don't even have a left hand if they are right handed. They dribble like it is their first day and they pick the dribble up at the first sight of defense. This is a common site.
What separates the great players from the not so great players is the confidence and comfort they posses in stressful times. They have so much confidence in their abilities they don't panic in the tight moments with basic skills like dribbling with the left hand. If they want to go to the basket by 2 defenders with 5 seconds on the clock and the game tied- they do.
The purpose of this is short article is two fold: first, young players need to drill and drill the basic skills of handling the ball so it is second nature to them. Secondly, unless they eventually play one on one, two on two, and five on five and use the skills in pressure situations they won't get comfortable. It is all about experiences. They have to know they are capable of doing it when the pressure is on.
Here is some advice. When working with players on skills, as they are getting comfortable with the basics put them in situations they have to use their skills against pressure. So, set up 2 on 2 situations where the player has to dribble to the left, if right handed, and force the defenders to help and trap. This will make the ball handler use the dribble correctly and learn to kick the ball to the open teammate quickly. Use this philosophy with many other skills. The goal is to put the athletes in difficult situations and make them react. This is a great time to coach the athletes on what to do. If their skills are not up to par it is a great time to tell them that. Let them know unless they get their skills to a higher level they will struggle in tough situations every time.
So don't just teach skills without having the players use them in live settings. You, as the coach, can set up drills that force what you want to see, but make it as live as possible.
Once again have a Great Holiday Season!
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: If you have friends that might like the information in this blog please pass it on. Have them check out www.BasketballSpeedInsiders.com to take a FREE ride in one of the best basketball memberships in the industry.
Weekly Tip: Touch Shooting
Purpose: To grove a pure pattern of shooting and follow through
Action: Start our with all shots close to the hoop. Basically the low blocks, the short corner, and in front of the hoop. Then gradually work deeper and you warm up and feel comfortable.
The goal is to shoot 5 shots from each spot with the exact same routine. Hang the follow through each time so you know how to make corrections if needed. As you move deeper you begin to involve the legs more. try to groove a shooting pattern you can reproduce every time. Try to get at least 50 shots in.
Feel Comfortable In Un-Comfortable Times:
Have you ever noticed how well players shoot and dribble during warm ups? Notice how easy they dribble through the legs with either hand and shoot the ball so effortlessly. They look like they are First Team All-Stars.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter of a tight game. This same player seems like they don't even have a left hand if they are right handed. They dribble like it is their first day and they pick the dribble up at the first sight of defense. This is a common site.
What separates the great players from the not so great players is the confidence and comfort they posses in stressful times. They have so much confidence in their abilities they don't panic in the tight moments with basic skills like dribbling with the left hand. If they want to go to the basket by 2 defenders with 5 seconds on the clock and the game tied- they do.
The purpose of this is short article is two fold: first, young players need to drill and drill the basic skills of handling the ball so it is second nature to them. Secondly, unless they eventually play one on one, two on two, and five on five and use the skills in pressure situations they won't get comfortable. It is all about experiences. They have to know they are capable of doing it when the pressure is on.
Here is some advice. When working with players on skills, as they are getting comfortable with the basics put them in situations they have to use their skills against pressure. So, set up 2 on 2 situations where the player has to dribble to the left, if right handed, and force the defenders to help and trap. This will make the ball handler use the dribble correctly and learn to kick the ball to the open teammate quickly. Use this philosophy with many other skills. The goal is to put the athletes in difficult situations and make them react. This is a great time to coach the athletes on what to do. If their skills are not up to par it is a great time to tell them that. Let them know unless they get their skills to a higher level they will struggle in tough situations every time.
So don't just teach skills without having the players use them in live settings. You, as the coach, can set up drills that force what you want to see, but make it as live as possible.
Once again have a Great Holiday Season!
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: If you have friends that might like the information in this blog please pass it on. Have them check out www.BasketballSpeedInsiders.com to take a FREE ride in one of the best basketball memberships in the industry.
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Strong Will Survive
Hello,
Only a couple weeks remain and 2008 will be in the books. I am so looking forward to 2009 and all the events that will come with it. I hope you are preparing yourself for a great 2009 as well.
Weekly Tip: Condition with the Ball:
Skill: Handling the basketball with great control under fatigue
Drill: Full court dribbling
Execution: Each trip up and back equals one repetition. You will perform 5 repetitions. Start off by doing a right hand up and left hand back dribble at a high controlled speed, go into crossover dribbles up and back, then spin dribbles, followed by pull back dribbles (at the foul lines, and 1/2 court stop and perform 2 pull back dribbles and then go forward), and finish with around the back and through the legs combo. So, you will perform each of these dribbles up and back to make one set. You will take a 2 minute break and shoot foul shots and perform again. Your goal is to work up to 5 sets. Initially you may need to only perform 2-3 sets and gradually add. The key is to go hard all the time.
The Strong Will Survive:
If you look at today's player you can obviously see that most of them spend quality time in the wt room. It is so important to have strength in the game of basketball. You are able to defend better, dribble past defenders with great control, rebound better, and of course shoot better.
The real key to strength for a basketball player though is to have usable and applicable strength. In other words if the strength you have in the wt room can't be applied will on the court then it won't help you.
When basketball concentrate on developing size and not really focusing n movement that is when they get in trouble. In other words; bicep curls are not a bad exercise and do serve a purpose of elbow and shoulder health but if they are only being performed to improve the size of the bicep the exercise won't help basketball players. But if the player performs squats with dumbbells, go into a bicep curl on the way up from the squat and finishes with a push press... now the player will get some use from this exercise. It is a total body combination lift that's emphasis is on strength through the movement pattern.
I think of someone like Rip Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons. He is not a big man but he is a strong player on the court. He uses his strength to get open and to get shots off quickly. His strength allows him to defend well and stay healthy.
When you are working on strength be sure that it has a purpose, or I should say a few purposes. First, to stay healthy. Second, to increase physical play and be able to hold your own, and thirdly, be able to use it to help your style of play.
Get Strong, Get Better, Get Results.
Play Hard,
Lee Taft
PS: Make sure you pass this blog along to friends who will benefit from the information. Plus, If you and your friends want to get monthly information delivered to your door go to www.BasketballSpeedInsiders.com and take a FREE ride for one month to check it out.
Only a couple weeks remain and 2008 will be in the books. I am so looking forward to 2009 and all the events that will come with it. I hope you are preparing yourself for a great 2009 as well.
Weekly Tip: Condition with the Ball:
Skill: Handling the basketball with great control under fatigue
Drill: Full court dribbling
Execution: Each trip up and back equals one repetition. You will perform 5 repetitions. Start off by doing a right hand up and left hand back dribble at a high controlled speed, go into crossover dribbles up and back, then spin dribbles, followed by pull back dribbles (at the foul lines, and 1/2 court stop and perform 2 pull back dribbles and then go forward), and finish with around the back and through the legs combo. So, you will perform each of these dribbles up and back to make one set. You will take a 2 minute break and shoot foul shots and perform again. Your goal is to work up to 5 sets. Initially you may need to only perform 2-3 sets and gradually add. The key is to go hard all the time.
The Strong Will Survive:
If you look at today's player you can obviously see that most of them spend quality time in the wt room. It is so important to have strength in the game of basketball. You are able to defend better, dribble past defenders with great control, rebound better, and of course shoot better.
The real key to strength for a basketball player though is to have usable and applicable strength. In other words if the strength you have in the wt room can't be applied will on the court then it won't help you.
When basketball concentrate on developing size and not really focusing n movement that is when they get in trouble. In other words; bicep curls are not a bad exercise and do serve a purpose of elbow and shoulder health but if they are only being performed to improve the size of the bicep the exercise won't help basketball players. But if the player performs squats with dumbbells, go into a bicep curl on the way up from the squat and finishes with a push press... now the player will get some use from this exercise. It is a total body combination lift that's emphasis is on strength through the movement pattern.
I think of someone like Rip Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons. He is not a big man but he is a strong player on the court. He uses his strength to get open and to get shots off quickly. His strength allows him to defend well and stay healthy.
When you are working on strength be sure that it has a purpose, or I should say a few purposes. First, to stay healthy. Second, to increase physical play and be able to hold your own, and thirdly, be able to use it to help your style of play.
Get Strong, Get Better, Get Results.
Play Hard,
Lee Taft
PS: Make sure you pass this blog along to friends who will benefit from the information. Plus, If you and your friends want to get monthly information delivered to your door go to www.BasketballSpeedInsiders.com and take a FREE ride for one month to check it out.
Monday, December 8, 2008
What Kind Of Speed?
Hello BBall Fan!
I hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to a super week ahead. I know for me, every time I have basketball practice I get excited. I always have been a practice coach. I love working the game during practice. I hope you do to. Have a great week of hoops.
Weekly Training Tip: Lateral Speed
Skill: Lateral Speed and Quickness
Drill: 555 Shuffle
Purpose: The purpose of the 555 shuffle drill is to increase lateral speed and change of direction ability. This is a great drill for coaches to evaluate the movement ability of the players. You want to see a smooth but powerful action. The power leg (rear leg) drives hard while the lead leg pulls at the same time. You want to see the hips level and when the player changes directions you want a quick change of direction with no hesitation or "swaying" of the shoulders. You should see a nice wide plant leg of the outside leg.
How to perform: You can mark off a 5 yard area or simply use the foul lane. The athlete starts with both feet outside the right land and shuffles across to the other foul lane line having just the outside foot cross. Immediately change direction and go across the starting line with the outside foot, change directions and finish crossing the opposite line.
Perform 3 sets starting on the right and 3 sets on the left. Alternate each time.
What Kind Of Speed?
A common question I get is what kind of speed training would I use for basketball? An example is the weekly tip above. Doing drills such as UCLA's or 17's are not an example of a speed drill. They are examples of metabolic or conditioning drills.
When you want to improve your players ability to be more explosive and quick in all directions you have to train them with skill training. Take a speed skill like lateral speed or retreating speed and train it. Break down what it looks like and how far you want the athlete to cover and do multiple reps at 100% effort. Remember you are training the nervous system to fire more efficiently so you have to train it at the speeds you want it to fire the muscles.
If I want to improve my offensive players to be more explosive in their first 3-4 steps I will design a drill that replicates what I want. I then talk about body position and how I want them to start and finish and then go with it. The key is to not go over 7-10 seconds and give a decent rest so they can go 100% effort with close to full energy again. Otherwise I am training more conditioning.
Now, Conditioning is incredibly important for basketball. I some cased with certain athletic teams I might concentrate more on conditioning (more on that in a moment) because they are already fast on the court. Remember...You must evaluate your team and see what they bring to the table and then design a plan of action.
Conditioning. I am not going into a big conditioning talk for this article but most of my conditioning for basketball players is done with the ball in hand and where they must make basketball decisions. Example; Have them perform one on one full court or half court but not stopping or breaks for a pre-determined time. Or 3 man weave drills. I will use UCLA drills and other drills on occasion but I want to combine basketball playing with conditioning as much a possible.
Back to speed. The next time you run a practice allot 3-4 minutes to devote strictly to speed and quickness. You will be glad you did.
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: If you have friends that would enjoy this blog please forward it to them. Also, Let them know about www.BasketballSpeedInsiders.com so they can get the latest information on basketball development.
I hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to a super week ahead. I know for me, every time I have basketball practice I get excited. I always have been a practice coach. I love working the game during practice. I hope you do to. Have a great week of hoops.
Weekly Training Tip: Lateral Speed
Skill: Lateral Speed and Quickness
Drill: 555 Shuffle
Purpose: The purpose of the 555 shuffle drill is to increase lateral speed and change of direction ability. This is a great drill for coaches to evaluate the movement ability of the players. You want to see a smooth but powerful action. The power leg (rear leg) drives hard while the lead leg pulls at the same time. You want to see the hips level and when the player changes directions you want a quick change of direction with no hesitation or "swaying" of the shoulders. You should see a nice wide plant leg of the outside leg.
How to perform: You can mark off a 5 yard area or simply use the foul lane. The athlete starts with both feet outside the right land and shuffles across to the other foul lane line having just the outside foot cross. Immediately change direction and go across the starting line with the outside foot, change directions and finish crossing the opposite line.
Perform 3 sets starting on the right and 3 sets on the left. Alternate each time.
What Kind Of Speed?
A common question I get is what kind of speed training would I use for basketball? An example is the weekly tip above. Doing drills such as UCLA's or 17's are not an example of a speed drill. They are examples of metabolic or conditioning drills.
When you want to improve your players ability to be more explosive and quick in all directions you have to train them with skill training. Take a speed skill like lateral speed or retreating speed and train it. Break down what it looks like and how far you want the athlete to cover and do multiple reps at 100% effort. Remember you are training the nervous system to fire more efficiently so you have to train it at the speeds you want it to fire the muscles.
If I want to improve my offensive players to be more explosive in their first 3-4 steps I will design a drill that replicates what I want. I then talk about body position and how I want them to start and finish and then go with it. The key is to not go over 7-10 seconds and give a decent rest so they can go 100% effort with close to full energy again. Otherwise I am training more conditioning.
Now, Conditioning is incredibly important for basketball. I some cased with certain athletic teams I might concentrate more on conditioning (more on that in a moment) because they are already fast on the court. Remember...You must evaluate your team and see what they bring to the table and then design a plan of action.
Conditioning. I am not going into a big conditioning talk for this article but most of my conditioning for basketball players is done with the ball in hand and where they must make basketball decisions. Example; Have them perform one on one full court or half court but not stopping or breaks for a pre-determined time. Or 3 man weave drills. I will use UCLA drills and other drills on occasion but I want to combine basketball playing with conditioning as much a possible.
Back to speed. The next time you run a practice allot 3-4 minutes to devote strictly to speed and quickness. You will be glad you did.
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: If you have friends that would enjoy this blog please forward it to them. Also, Let them know about www.BasketballSpeedInsiders.com so they can get the latest information on basketball development.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
.gif)