When my daughters played, we had "family free throws" in the driveway. Shooting one at a time, while alternating the shooter, the object was to see how many consecutive we could make. It's harder than you might think, taking turns and shooting only one. We maxed out at 33. You can do better.
Winnacunnet (NH) girls' high school basketball had an amazing run with seven state titles and five consecutive championships, led by Coach Ed Beattie. They finished each practice with each player sinking two consecutive free throws...meaning twenty-four in a row.
Drill: Plus 4, minus 4. (Shooting)
Concepts:
1. Build better habits. Borrow James Clear's trio (Atomic Habits) of pick, stick (to the habit), and check (keep a chart).
2. Handwashing. We're in a new era. Stay healthier with proper hand washing. "24 seconds" of soap and water disrupts the lipid (fatty) cover on the coronavirus. "Don't cheat the drill" and "don't brief the hand washing."
3. Get tougher. Pick a "toughness skill" to review each practice from Jay Bilas' Toughness list. My favorites for players are:
"It's not your shot, it's our shot."
"Set up your cut."
"Get on the floor." Good teams don't believe in 50-50 balls. They're ours.
Play: 23 Bury, Screen the Screener
Two guard front with the point guard "burying to the corner" and the two-guard setting cross-screen, screen-the-screener action.
Lagniappe: Coronavirus Testing
“The Skinny About Testing”
What’s the truth about testing?
- Testing is the first domino in tracing, isolation (of cases), and quarantine (of exposed)
- There are a variety of testing types for acute illness, molecular testing looking for nucleic acids and immunoassay seeking viral proteins.
- The sensitivity of detecting the COVID-19 virus with molecular testing is superior at this point but still limited. We've had negatives retesting positive.
- The public face of testing is “anyone can get a test.”
- The reality is that the volume of tests available is still limited such that symptomatic patients, providers, and first responders have the best access.
- “Mass testing” from centralized labs such as MIT’s Broad Institute offers the chance for high volume, low cost throughput...think FEDEX for testing.
- Before public health officials can adequately trace and contain the virus, capacity has to increase dramatically.
- False negative tests (negative tests in patients with the disease, proven on repeat test-ing) can promote “false confidence” among patients.
- Neither of these acute tests define whether or for how long immunity is conferred. More complex testing to show “neutralizing antibodies” (after recovery) would be needed. Early studies from China suggest neutralizing antibodies (video).
- False positive tests (e.g. abnormal tests in patients without disease) creates false “immunity tickets.”
- Some argue that testing is not critical, but White House personnel are regularly tested, beyond the availability anywhere else in America.
Antibody tests (for prior disease) may not be accurate without adequate specificity (no disease and tests negative). In populations with a low frequency of disease (5 percent above), a positive test is more likely to be false positive than true positive.
Remember the words of Sherlock Holmes, “I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."
Remember the words of Sherlock Holmes, “I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."