There is one thing that drives me nuts as a coach, it is when players don't lead their teammate when they are cutting to the basket or going on a fast break. The pass gets thrown behind them. It is a sure way to turn the ball over or at least miss an easy scoring opportunity. Here are a couple drills I like to use to get the players thinking about "Leading" the pass.
1. Bowling for basketballs- This drill might seem elementary but you will be amazed at how poorly players judge the speed at pass needs to be thrown at. The coach will be on the baseline and the team will be at 1/2 court. Each player has a ball and so does the coach. The coach will roll his or her ball along the baseline. The players must roll their ball and try to hit the coaches ball. The goal is to read the speed of the coaches ball and lead it with their ball. I constantly see players roll the ball way to late or way behind. They don't understand touch or assessing the speed. This is why when a teammate goes backdoor the pass ends up behind them.
2. The second drill is one of my favorite passing drills. Have 2 lay up lines. The line on the left will have the basketballs. They start the drill by dribbling toward the top of the key. The opposite line will make a quick out fake and then immediately go backdoor. The passer must make a quick hard bounce pass so the cutter has to hustle to make the catch. I want the pass hard and out in front. This teaches the cutter to use great hands but also teaches the passer to get the ball out in front and make the cutter catch up to it. The first couple times doing this drill the ball will get thrown out too far but eventually both the passer and cutter will adjust.
Obviously there are many drills to work on passing to cutters and you should use the ones that make the most sense to your situation. The goal is to teach players to get the ball in front by judging the speed of the cutter or player in front so they can run to the ball. Never pass behind unless it is a tactic and expected.
Play Hard
Lee
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Training The Best!
I had an unbelievable weekend. I spent the day in New Hampshire at the Reebok headquarters working with some of the top high school basketball players in the state. I can't tell you much about the big project but it was a blast.
Basically I was asked by my good friend and top level strength coach David Jack, who is spear heading the big program, to come in and teach these players on the court basketball speed techniques. They were great! they players really learned as they went through the process. When we first started out they were not getting into the key positions to elicit great speed and quickness, but with constant prodding and poking they finally got it and they just took off.
You see, if you want results you have to coach for results. I didn't just give them a drill and ask them to complete the drill. I gave them a SKILL and asked them to execute the skill with precision and effort. Many times the players might be slightly off on the execution of the skill but because they used great effort they pulled the skill off. Now I can clean up the technique, but if they don't give me effort I never get a true read as to how they skill should look for each individual.
To give you and example I taught them the lateral speed skills of the shuffle and crossover. I than tagged that together with the hip turn and shuffle or crossover. The final touch was to make live drills where they had to use the skills in conjunction. WHAT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TEACH AND ASSESS THE PLAYERS LIVE MOVEMENT.
By the end. They players moved real well, had a better understanding of how to make self-corrections, and they gained a ton of confidence in their ability. It was fantastic!
So, if you are serious about getting basketball results and on court speed results than simply know your stuff and coach the dickens out the players. You will love what you see.
Play Hard!
Lee
Basically I was asked by my good friend and top level strength coach David Jack, who is spear heading the big program, to come in and teach these players on the court basketball speed techniques. They were great! they players really learned as they went through the process. When we first started out they were not getting into the key positions to elicit great speed and quickness, but with constant prodding and poking they finally got it and they just took off.
You see, if you want results you have to coach for results. I didn't just give them a drill and ask them to complete the drill. I gave them a SKILL and asked them to execute the skill with precision and effort. Many times the players might be slightly off on the execution of the skill but because they used great effort they pulled the skill off. Now I can clean up the technique, but if they don't give me effort I never get a true read as to how they skill should look for each individual.
To give you and example I taught them the lateral speed skills of the shuffle and crossover. I than tagged that together with the hip turn and shuffle or crossover. The final touch was to make live drills where they had to use the skills in conjunction. WHAT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TEACH AND ASSESS THE PLAYERS LIVE MOVEMENT.
By the end. They players moved real well, had a better understanding of how to make self-corrections, and they gained a ton of confidence in their ability. It was fantastic!
So, if you are serious about getting basketball results and on court speed results than simply know your stuff and coach the dickens out the players. You will love what you see.
Play Hard!
Lee
Monday, June 15, 2009
Move To Create Passing Lanes
Congratulations goes out to the Lakers. They were chosen by many at the beginning of the season and they were up to the task. Could they do it again???
Have you ever heard the saying "Don't get caught being a spectator". Well this basically means don't stand around and watch your teammates create while you do nothing.
Part of making penetration so dangerous is when the ball handler has options. Great defensive teams are able to control the ball handler and not allow easy passing off penetration. Great offensive teams force the defense to help on the ball handler and when they do- find the open man.
Let me share with you a great drill for your offense to practice.
Penetrate and Slide:
Have the guard start at the top middle of the court. He or she will penetrate down the right side of the lane roughly just inside the right elbow and perform a jump stop. The wing player must slide toward the corner with the feet squared up preparing to catch and shoot.
Perform this drill several times with no defenders. The goal is to get the wing player to move as the ball handler is driving into the lane. The wing players man will be the first line of help side defense- so when he or she helps the ball gets kicked out to the open wing (the problem with most players is the stand still and watch the ball handler and don't create a passing lane).
One you have practiced this several times with no defense start by adding a defender on the wing player. Then add a defender on the ball handler as well. Adding a defender will make the offense be more protective of the ball and learn how to find the open lanes- practicing the drill without the defense allows the offense to time up the movement.
Now I want you to take this same drill and move it all around the court. In other words, have the ball handler penetrate from the wing toward the middle (not baseline) and kick it to either a top of the key player or wing player. You want to teach the different options the off ball offensive players have to get open. Many times the player should slide to the open spot going in the same direction as the ball handler. But sometimes that is not where the passing lane will be open- so the off the ball player must slide back and not go with the offensive player. This makes a more difficult pass for the ball handler due to having to pass back against the grain- but you have to work on this option.
The goals of the drill are to teach your offensive players move to create passing lanes and to teach teammates to work together and create trust in each player that they will be where they should be.
Let me know how this works out and if you have any additional drills to help create passing lanes. I am sure the readers would love to learn more.
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: I know it is summer and your team may not be together at the time but why not hold open gym and work with any players that show up. Success is contagious and once you start getting a little success with some players the rest will want to join in
Have you ever heard the saying "Don't get caught being a spectator". Well this basically means don't stand around and watch your teammates create while you do nothing.
Part of making penetration so dangerous is when the ball handler has options. Great defensive teams are able to control the ball handler and not allow easy passing off penetration. Great offensive teams force the defense to help on the ball handler and when they do- find the open man.
Let me share with you a great drill for your offense to practice.
Penetrate and Slide:
Have the guard start at the top middle of the court. He or she will penetrate down the right side of the lane roughly just inside the right elbow and perform a jump stop. The wing player must slide toward the corner with the feet squared up preparing to catch and shoot.
Perform this drill several times with no defenders. The goal is to get the wing player to move as the ball handler is driving into the lane. The wing players man will be the first line of help side defense- so when he or she helps the ball gets kicked out to the open wing (the problem with most players is the stand still and watch the ball handler and don't create a passing lane).
One you have practiced this several times with no defense start by adding a defender on the wing player. Then add a defender on the ball handler as well. Adding a defender will make the offense be more protective of the ball and learn how to find the open lanes- practicing the drill without the defense allows the offense to time up the movement.
Now I want you to take this same drill and move it all around the court. In other words, have the ball handler penetrate from the wing toward the middle (not baseline) and kick it to either a top of the key player or wing player. You want to teach the different options the off ball offensive players have to get open. Many times the player should slide to the open spot going in the same direction as the ball handler. But sometimes that is not where the passing lane will be open- so the off the ball player must slide back and not go with the offensive player. This makes a more difficult pass for the ball handler due to having to pass back against the grain- but you have to work on this option.
The goals of the drill are to teach your offensive players move to create passing lanes and to teach teammates to work together and create trust in each player that they will be where they should be.
Let me know how this works out and if you have any additional drills to help create passing lanes. I am sure the readers would love to learn more.
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: I know it is summer and your team may not be together at the time but why not hold open gym and work with any players that show up. Success is contagious and once you start getting a little success with some players the rest will want to join in
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Defend For Offense
In the monthly CD I wanted to share some information I feel is important for coaches to understand. Many new coaches are growing up in a fast pace game with high pressure defense and denial. This is great for those teams that have the athletes to pull it off, but how about everyone else?
I feel too often we create bad situations for our team because we over pressure in the passing lanes. We ask our players to do too much; things they are not capable of doing. Let me share my thoughts on how I feel defense should be played for most teams.
1. Play hard on the ball if capable. If the ball handler is much quicker then back off and be active with hands to disrupt passing lanes.
2. All defenders off the ball (1, 2, and 3 passes away) should be totally committed to help the ball. When they play in the passing lane they are more subject to back door cuts, back picks, and unable to help on penetration.
3. Think "keep the ball in front, away from the lane". This approach allows you to get rebounds and get out and run- if you like to run.
One of the big problems I see with teams to over-pressure beyond their capability is they get their big men in foul trouble because they are always having to help out against explosive and quick guards and forwards.
Many coaches think it is lazy defense and easy to coach. It is just the opposite. To get players to be disciplined enough to always be aware of the ball, be in the appropriate spot to help defend, and to stay in great rebounding position isn't easy.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this post.
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: If you are a coach and are looking for away to have 24/7 access to important information on coaching athletes, speed skills, strength, nutrition and a lot more go to www.SpeedInsiders.com
I feel too often we create bad situations for our team because we over pressure in the passing lanes. We ask our players to do too much; things they are not capable of doing. Let me share my thoughts on how I feel defense should be played for most teams.
1. Play hard on the ball if capable. If the ball handler is much quicker then back off and be active with hands to disrupt passing lanes.
2. All defenders off the ball (1, 2, and 3 passes away) should be totally committed to help the ball. When they play in the passing lane they are more subject to back door cuts, back picks, and unable to help on penetration.
3. Think "keep the ball in front, away from the lane". This approach allows you to get rebounds and get out and run- if you like to run.
One of the big problems I see with teams to over-pressure beyond their capability is they get their big men in foul trouble because they are always having to help out against explosive and quick guards and forwards.
Many coaches think it is lazy defense and easy to coach. It is just the opposite. To get players to be disciplined enough to always be aware of the ball, be in the appropriate spot to help defend, and to stay in great rebounding position isn't easy.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this post.
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: If you are a coach and are looking for away to have 24/7 access to important information on coaching athletes, speed skills, strength, nutrition and a lot more go to www.SpeedInsiders.com
Monday, June 1, 2009
Assess For Motivation And For Fun
Well, the NBA finals are set and it isn't who I thought. I really wanted to see Cleveland and Lakers face off but nonetheless it should be a great finals.
I am sure the Cavs will go back and assess their current situation and address their limitation this off season. Assessing situations is what allows us all to make decisions on the next step or action plan. Tonight is the first night of summer open gym for the girls basketball, and I am going to start off with fun assessments for 2 reasons:
1. I want the girls to see areas they can work on over the summer to improve their game.
2. The girls really like doing tests and seeing how well they can do.
The results of the tests don't really matter to me at the age I am working with, but it motivates them and makes for a fun session.
I could choose any number of exercises to test but I am basically going to use fun and simple tests the kids will enjoy. Here are some samples of what i will use. I will even use tests the girls want to try- remember, it is about them in the first place:
1. 555 shuffle- I will set up a 5 yard area and have the players shuffle this distance 3 times.
2. 20 yard sprint- simple and to the point.
3. M-ball through- the girls will sit and use the upper body chest pass for distance.
4. Full court slalom dribble and back- Each cone will be at roughly 45 degrees and 15 feet apart. The girls must dribble up and back through the slalom.
5. 5-10-5 test- great for change of direction and learning to use the hips.
Again, I am not after the numbers. I am trying to build excitement and a program. By having testing that is fun and the girls like to do, they will enjoy the day and learn what they can work on.
What ever you do don't make a big deal out of poor scores or great scores. Just let them make up and enjoy the process- they will figure it out on their own.
Love to hear your thoughts.
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: I know basketball season is still a long ways away but you have the perfect opportunity to build your game now. Check out www.BasketballSpeed.com and www.BasketballSpeed2.com so you can get a great head start.
I am sure the Cavs will go back and assess their current situation and address their limitation this off season. Assessing situations is what allows us all to make decisions on the next step or action plan. Tonight is the first night of summer open gym for the girls basketball, and I am going to start off with fun assessments for 2 reasons:
1. I want the girls to see areas they can work on over the summer to improve their game.
2. The girls really like doing tests and seeing how well they can do.
The results of the tests don't really matter to me at the age I am working with, but it motivates them and makes for a fun session.
I could choose any number of exercises to test but I am basically going to use fun and simple tests the kids will enjoy. Here are some samples of what i will use. I will even use tests the girls want to try- remember, it is about them in the first place:
1. 555 shuffle- I will set up a 5 yard area and have the players shuffle this distance 3 times.
2. 20 yard sprint- simple and to the point.
3. M-ball through- the girls will sit and use the upper body chest pass for distance.
4. Full court slalom dribble and back- Each cone will be at roughly 45 degrees and 15 feet apart. The girls must dribble up and back through the slalom.
5. 5-10-5 test- great for change of direction and learning to use the hips.
Again, I am not after the numbers. I am trying to build excitement and a program. By having testing that is fun and the girls like to do, they will enjoy the day and learn what they can work on.
What ever you do don't make a big deal out of poor scores or great scores. Just let them make up and enjoy the process- they will figure it out on their own.
Love to hear your thoughts.
Play Hard,
Lee
PS: I know basketball season is still a long ways away but you have the perfect opportunity to build your game now. Check out www.BasketballSpeed.com and www.BasketballSpeed2.com so you can get a great head start.
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