"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...