I wear multiple hats including doctoring and coaching. With COVID-19 cases surging both locally and nationally, I don't see my senior citizen self coaching soon.
But if I did, what lessons emerged? How will you coach differently to create advantage?
"Every day is development day" equates to "you own your paycheck (minutes)." Players, you own your offseason growth as a person, academically, athletically, and basketball skill. If you haven't touched a ball since the season ended, I can't help you. If you read my 2400+ posts, it won't help you if you ignore your body and the ball. Fitness and technique are perishable skills.
Limit the numbers game. Last season we played with thirteen players. Developing players prioritizes practice. I love practice. Get every player a lot of touches and at least 125-150 shots/practice. During a game, many shots for a player might get her into the teens.
Parents invest time and money in their children and many view minutes as return on investment. It's hard enough to divide 160 minutes (5 x 32) among twelve players and worse with thirteen.
Prevent fouls. Excessive fouling comes from many sources - lack of concentration, poor technique, ignorance of bad shots, poor coaching (we own that). I will emphasize how much avoiding bad fouling helps the team.
Practice more individual defense . Our individual defense, especially containing the dribble wasn't acceptable. Whatever the reasons, it merits more time and training.
Add another small-sided game (SSG). Sideways from Aaron Fernandez.
This meshes well with the configuration of our gym and available baskets.
More practice against pressure. We had only three hours of practice per week and with Monday holidays and New England winter it's always less. But investing at least 15 minutes/practice to combat pressure is necessary.
Scrimmage more. Most of our fifteen minute scrimmage came within O-D-O (offense-defense-offense) which practiced three possession games starting with special situations (e.g. BOB/SLOB). This led to a lot of ATO and special situation success but perhaps less efficient half court defense.
Provide more feedback after games. Learn more from games, especially regarding turnovers and shot selection. This requires either video or stat tracking which requires manpower.
Enhance competition. Women's college teams practice against men's units. At the middle school level, that's not practical. UCONN's women's practice men's squad understands the line between playing hard and injuring the women. At the high school level, practice against boys would challenge athleticism and toughness.
I don't feel entitled to encroach on players' time outside of official practice. Offering videos or books to study differs from mandating it. The best players gravitate to more information and more coaching.
There's a gradual shift underway in commitment to basketball relative to other sports (soccer, volleyball) and activities. It feels like basketball is losing, just like baseball is losing to lacrosse.
Share changes you plan to make in your coaching.
Lagniappe: Spread Flex
Lagniappe 2: Sustainable concepts create sustainable edges. Coach Daniel examines the "downscreen into PnR" and its nuances.
