"I didn't see that coming." If basketball is important to you, "every day is player development day." And if 'the magic is in the work' then unrequired work defines you.
Yes, you have to play as the lonely slog at Camp Driveway won't get you over the hump. But an integrated program of athletic and skill development, film study, and mentoring offers a better chance.
What's on your basketball "bingo card?"
Imagine the possibilities.
1. Get 50
2. Box drills
3. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence."
4. You can't put regular gas in a high performance car and get high performance.
5. Jump rope
6. Beat the Pro
7. Attack the rim
8. "Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care." - Shakespeare
9. Handles
10. Watch video
11. Makes 3s (catch and shoot, side step, off the move)
12. Weight room
13. 8 x 220s (basketball is a sprinting game)
14. Wing series
15. 1-on-1
16. Emergency shots and Closing
Comments:
3. Find a mentor, be a mentor.
4. Coaching girls, I've been reluctant to discuss weight and diet with concerns about contributing to eating disorders.
7. Find at least four ways to score. It's hard to envision a scorer who gets nothing at the rim.
9. I want players to focus on completing moves within two dribbles and to get to the rim on one dribble from the three-point line by high school.
11.I don't think everyone merits a green light to shoot from three. Demonstrate competence in practice to earn the right.
12.Notes from a podcast with Cory Schlesinger
15.To win one on one battles, you have to practice them
16.Invest five to ten minutes of your workout on emergency shots (off balance, fallaways, one footers, and closer actions)
Lagniappe. An individual or team who cannot run or defend the pick-and-roll will struggle against complete teams.
Lagniappe 2. Dave Love discusses the need for more 'positive energy' while shooting.
Lagniappe 3. "People change best by feeling good, not by feeling bad." - BJ Fogg in Tiny Habits
We've heard it said differently:
"Negative attitudes will never create a positive life."
"You catch more flies with honey than vinegar."
"Nothing great is ever accomplished without enthusiasm."
It's hard to maintain our "why" without support not criticism...more carrots and fewer sticks.