Steal from other domains. Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat core elements of cooking. "It was as if I’d been struck by lightning. It’d never occurred to me that salt was anything more than pepper’s sidekick. But now, having experienced the transformative power of salt for myself, I wanted to learn how to get that zing! every time I cooked. I thought about all of the foods I’d loved to eat growing up—and that bite of seaside cucumber and feta, in particular. I realized then why it had tasted so good. It was properly seasoned, with salt."
We share similar disciplines.
Fat (Flavor, core process)
Salt (Flavor enhancement, attention to detail)
Acid (Attitude)
Heat (Tempo)
Fat. Where's the flavor? What distinguishes our team from everyone else's? Currently, nothing. In the midst of our school's fifty plus game winning streak years ago, an opposing high school coach said, "Melrose has five girls running every play. That puts a lot of pressure on a defense." In a developmental team, that's the construct. In the pre-game huddle, I'd ask the girls, "how do we play?" "We play fast." We're working on it. Enjoy the process.
Salt. The Japanese have four thousand kinds of salt, thousands of ways to enhance their cooking game. Nosrat writes, "Salt has a greater impact on flavor than any other ingredient. Learn to use it well, and your food will taste good." Coaches teach nuances of offense, defense, and conversion. Teams blending size, athleticism, skill, and intellect become special talents. Exploit time and space.
Time and space as a DHO leverages back side cutting.
High ballscreen into corner back cut.
Acid. In your kitchen, acid appears in tomatoes, citrus, vinegar, apples, and other foods. On the court, acid is attitude. It might be as subtle as Steph Curry pulling up for a three in transition or as brazen as Marcus Smart's "bull in a china shop." In our last game, we had issues. Lack of acidity was one. Acid propels you to win one-on-one battles, get 50-50 balls, take charges, and rebound like demons.
Heat. Heat is tempo. Practice at high tempo. Laps, lines, and lectures are coolers. During games, adjusting the heat defines teams who can pull away, mount stirring comebacks, and shorten the game when needed.
Combine actions like chefs combine ingredients to cook special meals.
Lagniappe:
This is a better version of a drill we run most practices. We have the middle defender take three steps in. Here Coach Roy Williams calls the defender disadvantage.
