Slow It Down When Needed..

I hope this blog finds you ready for a great week!

Boy, what a big upset in college men's basketball. North Carolina went down to a gritty Boston College. I think it is the best thing for NC. Their goal is to win the national championship not to go undefeated so now the pressure is off until March Madness begins- great win B.C.

Weekly Basketball Tip: Supermans for rebounding

Purpose: To improve explosive jump and teach players to go get the ball at its highest point.

Action: Start a couple feet inside the foul line (closer for young players), use an underhand toss with the ball off the backboard. Take one big gather step and jump off two feet. Reach high with both hands and grab the rebound as high as you can. Land in a good landing position and protect the ball by chinning it (put the ball under the chin- chest high with elbow out). Pivot to the outside and if you have a partner snap out an outlet pass. If you do not have a partner dribble out.

Perform: 6-8 rebounds on each side so you get the pivot move after the rebound. Make sure all landings are good.

Slow It Down When Needed

No, no, I am not talking about slowing the offense down. I am talking about slowing the coaching of a new skill or a skill the athletes seem to be missing the point with.

Let's look at a basic skill coming out of the triple threat position- "The Swing and Go Move." This is when a player catches a pass and gets into triple threat, swings the ball aggressively from one side of the body to the other (this can be swung low or high depending on how the defense is playing you), and immediately drive past the defender. The key to beating the defender is to take a strong first step, drive right off the defenders shoulder, and push the ball out in front.

OK. When coaching this to players that don't naturally get it (you will have some players that naturally perform this skill well) break it down into steps. The first step is the triple threat and protect. The purpose of this is to protect the ball by getting it off to one hip and turning the opposite shoulder in front of the ball. If the players don't protect the ball it will get easily knocked out of the offensive players hands. The second step is to teach the "swing". The ball should be swung hard across to the other side of the body and the Non-Pivot foot needs to step past the defender as the ball is swung. So the swing and step should work together. If the defender steps back then use a rocker or step back step. The third step and final step is to step hard past the defender shoulder to shoulder, get the guard arm out to fend off the defender, and push the ball out in front.

I think this is best done if you have a defender play token defense (just stand in front of player). This will give a reference point of how to swing the ball and where to step.

You as the coach need to stop the player when they get out of control, if they don't swing the ball hard, if they loop around the defender rather than stay on their line to the hoop, or don't push the ball out in front. Keep emphasising each part and make the player reproduce the pattern correctly each time.

As I said earlier, if you have players that do this well you can move on with them or have them practice another step in the "Jab Series" (pause step, rocker step, step back, crossover step). Not that it is a bad thing to review the step, but don't over coach it to players that have a natural Swing and Go.

You should take this principle of slowing it down to get the best result with any skill. I like to do this with young shooters. If they don't understand how to hold the ball in the shot pocket, bring the ball up through the shot, and release the ball with proper follow through it is good to break each phase down.

This has helped me with young and older, more experienced, players over the years.

Love to hear your thoughts.

Play Hard,

Lee

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