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.