Basketball: "The Easy Way and the Hard Way" Practical Practice Ideas

"Regrets, I've had a few." - Frank Sinatra

There's no easy path to contending at any level. Strong organization and leadership assemble the talent then integrate technique and tactics. 

"Pragmatic thinking is also short-range thinking," wrote David Halberstam in The Best and the Brightest. If you have to win immediately, talent, schedule, and shorter roster (performance over development) are the formula. 

Admittedly, there's crossover because player development is pivotal at every level. You can't duck good teams for meaningful competition. Benefit from mentors. 

Learn what and how to teach translate at every level. Be efficient. 

• Practice at a high tempo for efficiency. 
• Play through contact is mandatory to advance. 
• Find a workout partner and drag a teammate into the top 10%.  

1. There is no shortcut to individual offensive skill. For long-term aspirations, learn to score at the basket, at the line, and beyond the arc. Write out and track your plan. 

"My GO TO and COUNTER are ___________." 

"I'm going to become a three-point shooter." How? "I'm going to take 'x' number of catch-and-shoot 3s, 'y' number of 3s off the dribble, and 'z' number off a fake and side dribble. Work from the corners, wings, and top. And track makes, how many consecutive, and personal best." The magic is in the work, the daily grind. 

2. Individual defense requires commitment, conditioning, and focus. All three can't assure offensive skill. The more a player understands an offensive player's intent, the better to develop individual defense technique. Contain the ball, show your hands (limit fouls), contest shots without fouling, deny cuts, close out without giving a drive.

Don't neglect your athleticism. Work on short area quickness. It pays dividends in multiple sports. 

 

3. Team offense and defense. Study adds to but can't replace playing. Small-sided games allow for more touches, analogous to futsal in soccer. 

Aaron Fernandez gave the definitive lecture on small sided games. Here's the link to my notes. I'm partial to Sideways (below). Plus you don't need ten players. 

Play 3 on 3 inside the split (line bisecting the baskets) every practice. Formations are the "lines on the page" for structure and teaching. 

Summary: 

- Does your ego demand immediate winning or development? 

- "Pragmatic thinking is also short-term thinking." - Halberstam

- Write out your plan.

- "My GO TO and COUNTER are ________________."

- Becoming a three point shooter. "Winners are trackers." 

- Don't neglect your athleticism to become a defender (short area quickness)

- Play small sided games like "Sideways" 

- Practice 3-on-3 inside the split using templates. 

Lagniappe. "First above all, to thine own self be true." - Act I, Scene 3, Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Be our best self. 

Lagniappe 2. The Iverson crossover. 

And the original...

 

Hate, Love, and Basketball

 

"Your actions speak so loudly that I cannot hear a word you say." 

Sport is a microcosm of society. Some say that "history doesn't repeat but it rhymes."

Buying a ticket entitles you to watch a game but not physically harass athletes. If you must heckle, boo, but racial hate crosses the line. Stereotypes and cliches exist because of history. Recent incidents prove that we don't live in a "post-racial" society. 

Boorishness toward NBA players (Russell Westbrook, Trae Young) is inexcusable. Banning irresponsible fans from NBA venues isn't enough. Mom used to say, "don't do something that will put you on the front page of The Metro section. Maybe she was on to something.  

Bill Russell experienced a variety of escalating abuses living in suburban Boston over five decades ago. When his trash cans were repeatedly turned over, Russell was told by police that it was raccoons. He applied for a gun permit and the raccoons wised up. Smart critters. 

Dee Brown was arrested at gunpoint in highbrow Wellesley in a case of mistaken identity in 1990. 

Celtics fans takes umbrage at Kyrie Irving's departure. We seem less agitated by Gordon Hayward's relocation to Charlotte. Apples and oranges? Players earned the right to play where and with whom they want. Does their treatment say more about them or about us? 

Irving may be mercurial, but is he very different than let's say, Kevin Love? Where's all the Hate toward Love? 

It's not confined to fans or to the NBA. Roberto Alomar spitting on umpire John Hirschbeck (1996) comes to mind. Alomar earned a five game suspension. 

Aristotle said, "we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act but a habit." If we want to be judged differently, then act better. 

Hate grows when we give it the oxygen, fuel, and heat to thrive. Just don't. Go to the Garden and cheer for the Celtics but don't love to hate. 

Lagniappe. I disagree with Dan Shaughnessy. "Boston fans stood tall at the Garden Friday night. They booed Kyrie Irving every time he touched the basketball. They delivered harsh chants in Kyrie’s direction. But nothing went over the line. After the big Celtics win and Irving’s subpar game, even the complex and sometimes loathsome Kyrie said, “It’s basketball. I’ve been in a few environments in my life. If it’s nothing extra, I’m cool with it.’’

Good. Let’s have more of the same Sunday when the Garden is full for Game 4. Boo Irving because he lied to you about staying here and quit on your team."

Be a fan not a curmudgeon. 

Basketball: Trapping - Doubling, Blitzing, Two-Timing Pros and Cons and the Curry '95'

Our core defensive philosophy is NO EASY BASKETS. As the English might say, "theory and practice." Harder than it sounds. 

Trapping is teamwork. It's more than two guys harassing one. Bad teams can't handle pressure and trapping. The best teams handle pressure so it's likely to be counterproductive if overused. Selective trapping against others to determine its effectiveness make sense. 

Good teams take advantage against traps by moving the ball (e.g. short roll) and creating mismatches. They also trap selectively in the primary trap zones (above).

I've shared that I do not trap the post because of a bad experience (my daughters losing a sectional title via flawed execution of that tactic). 

Our first decision is to decide when, where, and whom to trap. Do we trap the pick-and-roll? Do we trap the star to get the ball out of her hands or the weakest link looking to force turnovers? Do we trap on the pass or the first dribble? There's no 'set' answer. Pressure offense into making less efficient decisions. The math is the sum of winning individual possessions. 

Principles:

- NO EASY BASKETS.

- Don't foul. Don't turn advantage into disadvantage.

- Don't get split. 

- Don't get beaten up the sideline. 

- Force the pass over the outside shoulder. 

- "Put 'em in a glass box." 

- Read the passer's eyes. 

- To press and trap, you must be in great condition. 

- Offense: avoid the trap when possible including backdribble crossovers

- Offense: if trapped, consider dropping low and passing around and under

Selected thoughts from Herb Brown's "Special Situations"

- When? "On the pass, on the dribble, from behind when their back is turned."

- Don't let weak side players flash to the ball.

- "Leave the farthest man away from the ball free." 

- "Don't permitting a penetrating pass out of the trap."

- "MOVE ON THE PASS NOT ON THE CATCH."

- "Decide if you are going to trap once and retreat to man-to-man or again trap when they reach halfcourt."

- "Perhaps establish a rule that limits your trapping distance to six or eight feet."

- "Stay attached to the shooters." We can't allow shooters uncontested threes. 

Adapted from Herb Brown, "Special Situations" - protect middle, sideline, basket

Trapping offers increased gain and risk. With long, athletic players who anticipate, the benefits may outweigh risks. Don't confuse beating bad teams with pressure with good defense.

Summary: 

- Trapping offers risk and benefit.

- Know where, when, and whom you want to trap.

- It's not just about the trapper it's about the rotation.

- "Don't get split."

- "Put 'em in a glass box." 

- Use the edge of "primary trap zones." 

- Stay attached to shooters. 

Lagniappe. "The 95" is Billy Donovan's term for the 95 percent of the time when you don't have the ball. We can also interpret '95' as "9 to 5" - a full day's work. Steph Curry is the modern day Rip Hamilton in getting open with change of direction, change of pace, unpredictability, and use of angles. A lightning quick shot ready and release helps, too. He embodies the Pete Newell triad of footwork, balance, and maneuvering speed. 

Basketball: Bites at the Apple, Questions for Players, and a Versatile Layup Workout

"You only get so many bites at the apple."

Scarcity adds value. We value winning because winning is hard. It's supposed to be hard. Most teams never get a sniff at a championship. 

Focus and prepare to win or focus on better process, believing results take care of themselves?

"I have yet to come across someone who doesn't identify their best and worst results rather than their best and worst decisions." - Annie Duke, Thinking in Bets  

Develop a process to make better decisions, realizing skill and luck operate on a continuum. The process might include "premortem analysis" discussing what could go wrong and "after action review" examining what went well and didn't. 

“Hearing someone described as being able to “Fly by the seat of his pants” always suggests to me a leader who hasn’t prepared properly and whose pants may soon fall down.” - Bill Walsh, The Score Takes Care of Itself. 

Our organizational commitment to preparation cannot waver. In The Score Takes Care of Itself, Bill Walsh explains "Standards of Performance" and the need to hold ourselves to high standards at every level of the organization from answering the phone to striping the field. 

"Never confuse activity with achievement." - John Wooden   

Separate "practice" from "deliberate practice." Putting in time has less value than goal and skill-directed practice. For example, to become the closer, spend time daily working on closer skills. What's your GO TO and COUNTER crunch time move? 

Add to your 'bag of tricks'. 

"Resulting" means judging our process by the results. Reflect on outcomes but recognize that results don't always show the strength or weakness of our process.

Wayne Gretzky lost a highly attended "exhibition game" as a young player, 8-1. He took away the lesson that regardless of the game, the process demanded his full preparation and full effort. 

The player hungry to become a scorer answers questions:

• What's your shooting warmup? 
• What's your basket attack work out? Does it include finishing off either (or both) foot and either hand from either side (see Lagniappe).
• What's your shooting workout?
• How are you improving strength and conditioning? 
• What's your shooting workout? How are you measuring progress? 
• Do you have a ballhandling workout? 
• What's your footwork and pivoting improvement plan? 
• How are you improving your free throw shooting? 

Summary: 

- Scarcity adds value. 

- Focus on better process.

- Practice is not "deliberate practice." 

- What's your GO TO and COUNTER move in crunch time?

- Results don't always reflect the integrity of our process.

- Add to your bag of tricks. 

- As a player is practice finding solutions for your game? 

Lagniappe. Are you finishing well with options? "You can dunk it, you can bank it, or you can go home." Use the glass. "Get to your strong hand whenever possible." 

Add two free throws between each type of layup as enough element. Another approach is starting back to the basket via box drill layups. 

Basketball Friday: Cliches and Actions Usable Today Plus Skill Development

Playwright David Mamet tells us to take two actions each day, "one thing for our art and one thing for our business." Inaction is death. Read. Study. Write. Repeat. 

Basketball Friday shares concepts, a drill, and set play. 

Exceptional players and teams create advantages and subtract edges from opponents. They blend the "big picture" and "fine details." About a third of games are decided by two possessions or less, thus the power of now, full engagement each possession.

Imprint "core concepts" into young players. 

Multiple actions. "Great offense is multiple actions." 

Spain PnR. Blind pig. Split cuts. Elevator and more. Explore the possibilities while building skills to finish. 

High ball screen with read on to corner 3. 

Multiple efforts. "Great defense is multiple efforts." 

Ball containment. Help, rotation, and recovery. 

Coverage and protection. Defending the pick and roll well demands players to execute the coverage and trust the protection. Decide what you coverages you want (e.g. switch, fake trap, drop) and emphasize that "the ball scores" to help defenders. 

Fake trap. Show or hedge the ball screen? Coach Krzyzewski favors the term fake trap. 

Be aware that overly aggressive action (short of switch/doubling) invites the offense to slip the screen if the point guard passes well as the defender's shoulder is above the screen. 

Draw 2. Excellent players attract other defenders opening other players. 

Draw 2 demands VDE - vision, decision, and execution. 

Short roll. Blitzing the ball handler opens the roller. Spacing opens perimeter shooters for the pass. 

Dig. Provide distraction and diversion for the opposing post player. Be a pest.

Causing a turnover, a bad shot, or poor decision could make the difference between success and failure. 

Drill. 3 line Pick-and-roll (UCONN women) 

Alternate sides and alternate actions (e.g. drive, hit-the-roller)

Set Play. UCONN women 23 Reverse action go

Summary: 

- Multiple actions

- Multiple efforts

- Coverage and protection

- Fake trap

- Draw 2

- Short roll

- Dig 

Lagniappe. Everyone wants extended range. Do the work. 

Shot ready. Muscle strength. Specificity (practice). 

Basketball and Football

Sports share similarities and differences. Carlin’s classic “Baseball and Football” highlights the latter. There are even more. Baseball defense routinely puts the ball in play and games are untimed. 

What about basketball and football? 

The 'paint' is analogous to the Red Zone. 

Both have the ground (drive) and aerial (perimeter) attack. Screening and ball containment mimic blocking and tackling. 

Both sports value separation and nuanced ways to do so. Pick plays (rub routes) skirt legality challenging both defenses and officials. 

But screeners must be stationary in basketball...unless they're not. 

Brush screens live in that neighborhood. 

Coaching staffs in basketball grow to include offensive and defensive coordinators, quality control coaches, advance scouts, player development coaches, and video coordinators. 

The point guard and quarterback thrive or struggle according to their decision-making and accuracy. But the next generation point guards are scorers, too.

Strength of the entire roster plays a smaller role in basketball because everyone is a two-way player. 

Organizational mantras like the Heat's reminds us of Bill Walsh's Standard of Performance. 

Erik Spoelstra's above message is simple.

 

Scripted openings have moved to basketball from football. Both basketball and football have a myriad of playbook options. Maybe we should adopt some of the Joe Gibbs "3 core runs and 10 core passes" (from Mike Lombardi's Gridiron Genius) and disguise them via motion and formations. 

Both sports use the extra defender (sideline) and strategies like double coverage. And maybe "five out" is today's West Coast offense. 

Basketball defenders load to the ball while footballers rally to the ball. But the cost of a defensive mistake in football can be a high scoring play. Each team has six to ten times the number of possessions per game in basketball, while there's no equivalent to "three and out" in football. 

In the end, it's apples and oranges. 

Lagniappe.

Multiple options to execute off this:

1) Backscreen for guard off high post

2) Handoff back to guard after fake away

3) Illustrated option

4) High post fakes screen for corner and basket cuts

Basketball: Earning Respect

Learn about respect. Wayne Gretzky takes most pride not in his records but in his work ethic. Respect is earned not granted.

• Be on time, ready to go.
• Be the hardest worker in practice. Give your best in every rep. John Stockton was notorious for that, winning every sprint. 
• Be coachable. Listen and work to learn what is taught. 
• Bring your best version of caring, effort, and focus to games. Our best may not win but wins respect. 
• Be a great teammate. 

Cultivate winning habits of preparation

• Consistent study habits (as serious in class as on the court)
• Exercise, rest, and nutrition
• Skill development ("winners are trackers")
• Game study

Know our behavior impacts teammates. 

• Treat others with respect. 
• Accept praise graciously AND...
• Give credit to our family, teammates, and coaches. 
• Nobody misses the slacker who leaves a team. 

What basketball "disrespect" bothers me? 

• Too often boys teams waiting for a girls game to end disrupt the game, literally encroaching on the court during play. 
• Don't cross the line between "physical play" and "dirty play." 
• Disrespect of officials by coaches from the opening tap. In the last fifty games I coached, I doubt the officiating decided any. Our losses came from poor shot selection, turnovers, defensive errors, and sometimes mediocre or poor coaching. 
• Coaches seeming motivated by margin of victory above all else. Leaving starters in and pressing against deep reserves proves you're a coaching genius? 
• The killer S's - selfishness, sloth, softness. Represent. 

- Michael Jordan

Summary:

• Be on time.
• Be the hardest worker.
• Be a great teammate. 
• Cultivate great work habits. 
• Study the game.
• Give credit to others. 

Lagniappe. We love shooting drills. "Double jeopardy" from TeachHoops.com

Lagniappe 2. Play "16" without a rebounder. The core skill is making consecutive shots from eight spots to advance. 

• Make 2 consecutively and move to next spot. Max two minutes.
• Make 2 consecutively at each spot and complete course in the minimum time (track)
• Make 2 consecutively in the fewest possible shots (16) and keep track of your PB (personal best) until you get to sixteen. 

Lagniappe 3. "It's not life or death losing a hockey game when you're nine years old." - Wayne Gretzky, MasterClass

Lagniappe 4. Find mistakes in victory to achieve more next time. 

Your Assistant’s Notebook

“Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence.”

As an assistant to a strong coach, take copious notes. Lawrence Frank was Coach Knight’s manager. Dean Smith served Phog Allen. Gregg Popovich coached under Larry Brown.

Culture builds off relationships. Few teams thrive with bad culture, with disrespect or dismissive attitudes. Positivity and collaboration go further. “I can go faster alone but we go farther together.”

Different Philosophies win. Find an approach suiting your temperament and teaching ability. Regardless of philosophy, prioritize player development. Value we add to them returns to us. Nobody regrets too much talent. What is our mentor’s favorite drill? In his MasterClass, Usher says to study your mentor’s mentor. He studied James Brown and Gene Kelly.

Teams assume the identity of leaders. We radiate poise, discipline, and toughness or disorganization and fragility. Choose wisely.  

Imagine that we are assistants of a “team of coaches.” Much as Lincoln formed a cabinet of a “team of rivals” including Stanton, Bates, and Seward, we can learn from Newell, Wooden, Spoelstra, Snyder and many more. 

Learn every day, compiling techniques and tactics and refine based on what works for us. 

• What was the most valuable lesson coach taught?
• What non-negotiables belong?
• What does our team need now?
• How can I become better today?
• What enduring lessons will stick for our team?

Everyone can improve our understanding of the big picture and the details. Pencils out. 

Lagniappe. We can’t know too much about the pick-and-roll offense and defense. 

Basketball: Why Did We Win? Why Did We Lose?

Mike Lombardi explains that Al Davis asked after every game, “why did we win” or “why did we lose?” Davis wanted the authentic causes not “they scored more than we did.” Problem solvers seek the truth not superficial answers or excuses (we got a bad call). “What did we not expect” or “how could we prepare better?”

Commit to excellence. Lombardi says there are three levels of players - the bought in, the undecided, and the selfish. We can’t win without enough of the former and with too many of the latter two. 

Match our habits to our goals. Stick to fundamentals. Review our assignments individually and as a team. Know the keys to success in this contest. Get proper nutrition and rest. Study the game daily.

Don’t cheat the drill.  Few players go ‘full tilt full time’ and their ethos separates them. That translates to excellence in the classroom, too.

Do well what we do a lot. Match offense and defense to available players. We haven’t run a dribble drive system because we haven’t had enough of those skilled athletes. Former Carleton coach Dave Smart says teams must excel in the half court, in the pick-and-roll, and in transition defense.

Use checklists. Take advantage of symmetry. Apply and withstand pressure. Seek and deny quality shots. Value the ball and force turnovers.

Simplify. In Gridiron Genius Lombardi explains that the (then) Redskins had 3 core runs and 10 core passes in their thirteen page playbook. Coach Joe Gibbs used motion and shifting to disguise intent. Simplicity ruled leading to three championships. Simplicity promotes consistent execution.

Five out, Horns, 1-4 high, or 1-3-1 easily convert to a high ball screen to either side. The initial formation doesn’t define the play choice.

Fundamentally solid players execute many actions from similar formations.

Don’t give away games. Bad shots, turnovers, defensive mistakes, missed free throws, and poor transition kill dreams. 

Don’t anchor to losing actions. Have a fallback plan. We can’t overcome injuries and underperformance by wishful thinking. Anticipate what can go wrong via permitted analysis. 

Lagniappe. Old post about shell drill, a defensive staple. It’s much more than vanilla.

Basketball: Screening Tips from Herb Brown’s “Special Situations”

Herb Brown’s “Special Situations” is an under appreciated gem. Here are a few of his screening tips...some are well known... these are points I recalled from the chapter. Why care? Because if you can’t score or defend screens (per Quintal Snyder), your boss finds a new coach.

1. Better to be late than early coming off the screen. Don Meyer taught players to say, “wait, wait, wait.”

2. Call for a ball screen by holding the ball over your head.

3. Teach players to read defender actions 

4. If you see your defender’s back, cut behind the screen.

5. If the screener’s defender gets their shoulder above, the screener should slip to the basket.

6. Spacing is critically important to the screen game. 

7. Proper body position including bent knees and pivoting to dissipate force are essential to screening.

8. Don’t put the ball on the floor before the screener arrives to reduce the chance of offensive fouling. 

9. Remember the screener is the second cutter.

10. Be aware to rescreening if the defender goes under the screen.

11. The screener should relocate to make themself available.

 

Lagniappe. Ball screen breakdown 

Lagniappe 2. Slapping’ Glass. Wow.

Basketball: Coaching Roses the Lasso Way

Raising roses isn’t easy. They require the right amounts of sunlight, water, feeding, and pruning. Even the finished product challenges us, so beautiful and yet prickly.

I haven’t coached many “roses” as middle school girls want to please, work hard, and usually listen. But how do we reach the outliers?

Apple TV’s Ted Lasso shares clues with his insight through homespun humor.

“You may be one in a million, you are also one in eleven.”  Greatness is scarce, but exceptional teammates add special value. Emphasize accountability to the team not only to your ego.

“Be a goldfish.” The goldfish’s ephemeral memory allows it to “never take anything personally,” one of The Four Agreements. Life is too short and too hard to carry grudges and excess baggage. Never having won a championship doesn’t define someone as a loser. Stockton, Malone, Marino, Yastrzemski and more never won rings. 

“It’s about helping these young men be the best versions of themselves.” We older coaches can only hope that these players turn out well. “Old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit.”

“I forgive you.” After Rebecca apologizes for undermining Ted in every way, including returning his star player, Ted graciously forgives her. Forgiveness lays the groundwork for healing. Forgiveness, sacrifice, and humility are hard.

“Be curious not judgmental.” Ted quotes Walt Whitman. We learn why Ted’s aptly named star (Tartt) acts out and understand Ted’s compassion for him. We may not understand all the reasons why a person is disagreeable, but we don’t have to reciprocate in kind.

Lagniappe. Commentary adds color. If only Ian Darke could broadcast one of our games. “That was an ambitious try.”

Basketball: Pop Quiz (Popovich)

Basketball Friday examines the game through a different lens. Renaissance man Gregg Popovich has a unique background. Walk through a multiple choice examination about the Spurs coach. 

1. Popovich is a graduate of: 

• Pomona College
• Air Force Academy
• Pepperdine

2. Among his early career choices were:

• College administrator
• CIA operative
• Librarian

3. Popovich's first head coaching job was at:

• Claremont-McKenna
• Pomona-Pitzer 
• Air Force Academy

4. Popovich has a degree in:

• Russian language
• Soviet Studies
• Engineering

5. Popovich won how many NBA championships?:

• Four
• Five
• Six

6. Popovich helped his players celebrate:

• Bastille Day
• Eddie Mabo Day
• Nelson Mandela Day

7. Well-known Popovich quote:

• "Pound the body."
• "Pound the rock."
• "Rock the house." 

8. Spurs SLOB: 

9. During the 2005 playoffs, Popovich asked players whether anyone knew the winning word of the National Spelling bee. He had to explain the contest three times. 
One of the players asked, "where are the bees?" Who was he? 

• Beno Udrih
• Manu Ginobili
• Tony Parker

Lagniappe. Spurs shooting drill. 

Quiz answers. All the multiple choice answers are B. All of the SLOB plays shown are Spurs plays. 

Lagniappe 2. Popovich notes. Like Belichick, he wants to coach professionals not problems. He doesn't want to overcoach. "“Sometimes being quiet and letting the player play is much more important than trying to be Mr. Coach and teach him this or teach him that."

Lagniappe 3. Do players understand defense time (early versus late offense) and space (depends on personnel)? What are their rotations? Popovich believes in 4 on 4 simulations. 

Lagniappe 4. "What's the best book to give my players?" Here's a list from Zak Boisvert. 

Basketball: Ten Ways to Use Advantage-Disadvantage to Create Edges

Goliath made David. He didn't make David better. David practiced firing a stone over sixty miles per hour with deadly accuracy.

Use "advantage-disadvantage" to build skill and resilience. Don Meyer said, "make practice hard so games are easy." A few examples:

1. Numbers game, 5 vs 7. We lost a high school game to three time state champion Lexington. Coach Lane said, "you lost because it said Lexington on their jerseys," not because they were better. "We will not lose to them again." So we practiced, 5 against 7, full court, no dribble, until the rematch at their place. And you could hear a pin drop when we walked out with an eighteen point win. 

2. Constraint department. Change the rules during practice. You can only score with your non-dominant hand. Play dribble tag with every third dribble a crossover. Only points in the paint count during a scrimmage. Made baskets have live rebounds. 

3. Play up. The UCONN women (and other women's teams) drill and scrimmage against an all-men's team. And that team would win the Women's National Championship. 

4. "Less, equal, better." Teach lesser competition, compete against equal, and struggle against superior players. Frank Shamrock calls it the plus, minus, equals system. Wayne Gretzky scored one goal as a six year-old playing his first year of youth hockey. His teammates were eleven. 

5. "Change your environment." Wear a weight vest to disadvantage yourself. I attached a tennis racquet to a six-foot step ladder to simulate shooting over a defender. I put masking tape on the bottom of my glasses as a youngster to dribble with my head up. I wore gloves shooting during the frozen winter after shoveling the driveway.

6. Fatigue factor. Don't practice free throws fully rested. Shoot three, run a sprint. Repeat. Make it real. 

7. Change the equipment. Wayne Gretzky practiced stick handling with a tennis ball on the ice to enhance control of a bouncing object.  Kyrie Irving practiced dribbling a ball in a plastic bag. 

8. Raise your standards. Practice free throws and only count swishes. Change Bill Bradley ("Beat the Pro") from having to make 11 of 14 to win (1 point for a score, Bill gets three for your miss) to 15 of 17 to win. 

9. Add a nightmare. We had "pressure free throw" practice where your partner could say anything or do anything (without interfering with your shot). High school boys, you can only imagine. 

10. Beat your PB (personal best). Whether it's shooting drills or an athletic standard, compete against your best. Raise your vertical. Lower your 3-cone drill time. Be quicker in the hexagon agility drill. 

Summary: 

• Numbers game
• Constraint department
• Play up
• Plus, minus, equals
• Change your environment
• Fatigue factor
• Change equipment
• Raise your standards
• Add a nightmare
• Personal best

Lagniappe. Review what went wrong. Be the adults in the room. 

Lagniappe 2. Gretzky's Dad believed he could teach anticipation. 

Watch video and work to anticipate what happens next.