Make practice hard so games are easier. Advantage-disadvantage drills are not new. Bobby Knight applied them. Our high school coach, Sonny Lane, introduced them to us over fifty years ago. Here are a few favorites:
1. Five versus seven full-court. Rotate players onto both sides. Add a constraint of no dribbling to increase the difficulty for offense. It's the epitome of the VDE - vision, decision, execution - application.
2. Three versus four half court (Carolina). A Sylvia Hatch drill. Breaking traps is an important skill to develop.
3. Three versus four press break. Solid teams and players must apply and defeat pressure.
The defense has the advantage of being set up and having a numerical advantage. You can allow or disallow the inbounder to run the baseline. I do not disallow dribbling after the pass in this drill.
Other forms of advantage-disadvantage drills worth playing:- UCONN (e.g. women practice against men)
- High school (girls practice against boys)
- Youth (practice against a higher grade level)
Lagniappe.
Using advantage-disadvantage drills can create variable game situations in which players learn to take advantage of advantages or eliminate advantages. In this video, a 2-on-3 defensive advantage leads to a number of teachable situations.https://t.co/aMP0leBqMp pic.twitter.com/1FCNlV4wTN
— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) October 8, 2023
Lagniappe 2. Kobe Bryant did his own thing with disadvantage.
Kobe Bryant wanted to get better with his left hand while in HS, so he went to a basketball camp, & ONLY used his left hand
— Jaycob Ammerman (@Jammer2233) October 8, 2023
He also only brushed his teeth with his left hand
Train Uncomfortable, to set a new standard of being Comfortable
How are you improving your weaknesses?
Lagniappe 3. Everyone wants to win. But as a developmental coach, that wasn't my top priority.
In working with youth, their development trumps winning games. The emphasis should be on putting them in situations where they compete & find solutions. Not memorizing plays & patterns. Winning is important but not more so than teaching how to play. Start with the ending in mind!
— Jon Beck (@CoachJonBeck) October 7, 2023