Basketball: Zipper Options from SLOB; Lagniappe: Back Pivot Review

We see "zipper action" most often (not exclusively) on SLOB situations. We have many options off the zipper. 

Base action

Unzip: cutter option to reverse to basket

Refuse the zipper. 5 entry and staggered screen away. 

Backscreen lob for 5 instead of the zipper, 3 releases. 

Handback flare for 3 (Zipper flare)

Zipper into Screen-the-screener (pick-the-picker) for 3. 

This illustrates the "family of plays" theme that might allow players to understand execution easier. 

Lagniappe:



We didn't have a big turnout at workouts yesterday (not surprising in early July), but we spent a lot of time on footwork.

Teaching point reminders (I teach middle schoolers):

1) I use the term front pivot or back pivot, because the FRONT or BACK of your body leads. We can always expand terms later. 
2) Play low in athletic position to have better balance.
3) Protect the ball. When you pivot, defenders can more easily swipe the ball in the "strike zone" between the knees and chest. I encourage ripping low. Some players like to move the ball high, which can cause the player to elbow the defender in the face. This can lead to offensive fouls and worse. 
4) Read the defender. If they "open" a side (open the door, open the gate), go through. 

Basketball: FIBA Lecture Notes, Mike Brown on Flow

Our players have struggled to get into early offense mode when transition isn't available. We teach "freelance" out of small-sided games, but system 'flow' has worked offensive wonders with the uber-talent Warriors. Here are annotated notes from Mike Brown.

"...need to know where they need to go and what they need to do." 

"...everybody must box out" (doesn't want leakers)

"...we want deep outlets" (doesn't teach guards to go to shallow wings), usually via overhead or baseball pass (calls this "high outlet")

"bullet points...(staples)

• Pace with High Outlets
• Space (quadrants...doesn't want 2 players in quadrant unless screen, PnR, DHO)
• 0.5 (quick, intelligent decisions)...don't allow defense to load 

Goals in transition...two feet in the paint...to the rim or a catch-and-shoot 3

Interchangeable 1, 2, and 3 or 4 and 5

Ballhandler = "push man"...first look to 'big' ahead, if unavailable, then high PnR, calling DRAG...other players to space the weak side (if smalls ahead, option for catch 3s

DRAG, DRAG asks for both bigs to screen early and high, others space weak

If passed ahead to non-shooting big (rim runner) with small nearby, will run either DHO (above) or PnR

"Push man" can still call DRAG or DRAG, DRAG if smalls ahead

If big ahead, "Push man" can call QUICK to ask for "Step up PnR" (Action of 'big' depends on whether a shooter...POP...or not)

If big ahead (Rim Runner) can run nose to rim seeking postup in lane

Weak side SPACERS, high wing can call "THROUGH" to get CORNER to got THRU to opposite CORNER FILL

"Push man" with ball
Rim Runner
Weak side wing (spaced)
Corner Fill 
Trail big 

"Push man" can also "dribble at" corner fill (bottom of picture) into DHO who then dribbles toward trail big, setting up back cut to rim. 

If two bigs ahead but not passed, then wings flow to both corners, bigs cut to elbows, and Push Man may pass to elbow and use POST SPLIT action...devastating options with Curry, Durant, and Thompson as key cogs...with pin down on the weak side 

There's more, but this is far too much for young players to digest. We have to simplify this into a useable form. 

Podcast Notes: Offensive Concepts (Chris Oliver)

Chris Oliver interviews Bill Wuczynski, Boston College assistant.




Here are some highlights:

Value unstructured possessions (freedom)...go, flow, moving, and executing

Emphasizes the FLOW, "unstructured situations" including the play after the play (doesn't work)...dedicates 20 minutes of practice to this...tracked 23.6 possessions/game after misses (includes advantage situations, e.g. 5 on 4)

GO: After a steal, BC wants to score within 7 seconds (they believe in 'early and opposite' re: ball reversal)...a.k.a. "two-sided fast break"

MOVE: have to initiate offense with 4s and 5s because they don't have the wings of some of the elite ACC teams

EXECUTE: emphasis on finding mismatches or best player possessions

Unstructured play cannot be scouted

Winning with Less Talent: "You have to score...if you don't average over 71 points per game in the ACC, your odds of winning are less than 25 percent."

Player development...BC can't compete with some ACC schools (Duke, Virginia, UNC, Louisville, for the same talent...coaches stay to work with players 1 on 1 

Make the defense shift (ball reversal); take advantage of 'unconnected defense' as everyone teaches loading to the ball

Recruiting...looking out of the box (hidden gems) as rankings aren't always right...they will have to find guys who really love the game (kids won't love the game if your staff doesn't)..."chip on their shoulder kids"...they had a kid whose only offer was BC, who is now their all-time leading freshman rebounder 

Basketball IQ...need players who can AND will run complex stuff.

Fit...don't want players who don't feel good about your process

Energy...will to improve and compete because talent level not equal to Dukes and Carolinas

Structure

They only run about 20 sets, evaluate by points per possession (they want to know what actually works for them)...has to get to at least 0.9 points/possession
Wants to know how often they get a quality shot or get fouled (constant editing)

Uncommit to actions disproven by their analytics

You can't always run your stuff. Have to adjust to some teams (e.g. Syracuse, Virginia)

Introduce new plays easily if your players know how to play

Has "families of plays"...wrinkles are simple

Importance of simple hand signals (hostile arenas, verbals won't work)

"Playcalls are playcalls." It's about the execution not deception.

Podcast Notes: How Coaches Improve, Guy Molloy with Chris Oliver

"Don Quixote" (1955) - Picasso

"Good artists borrow, great artists steal." - Picasso

Guy Molloy has coached in Australia and coached both men and women. Chris Oliver interviews coach Molloy in podcast number 3. This is a lengthy podcast (over an hour). Here are some highlights:

Coach Malloy divided shot clock segments into first, mid, and last eight seconds. He found that emphasis on the first eight seconds improved their transition game. This impacted their spacing as well. 

In the final eight seconds, he likes middle pick-and-roll and isolations at the elbow (hard to guard and leads to fouling). 

Preparing for international competition, he advises be good at transition offense, half court defense, and applying pressure. 

Even at national team level, players still need roles. With very talented players, they may find themselves in different roles. 

"No fluff." Be specific in your preparation (with less time to prepare, players need concrete planning, e.g. how we defend screen-and-roll). 

"Robust style." Need to be able to play against a variety of styles. But for him ROBUST implies physical and mental toughness. 

"Eyes down game." Many guards are impatient in using the strong post player. 

Coaching women versus men...coach as teacher, leader, CEO, motivator..."teaching is the heavy emphasis." He felt coaching women had fewer distractions and were more willing students. Also he felt that women were more willing to sacrifice for the team. 

"How do coaches improve?" We ask players to improve...he saw areas that he lacked and came up with eight areas...he found reading central to improvement 

1. Personal philosophy (most people haven't thought that through, personal values, read Stoic philosophy, self-reflect, hard to ask players to be under control when coach is out of his mind, Coach Molloy records his voice every session because he found that his language was not good enough-useless phrases, lack of specificity, verbosity)
2. Leadership and culture...ABC (always build culture/confidence)..."culture is the sea that we swim in"...123...know your priorities ("you can't do it all"). Players have to want to come back to the gym. 
3. "Signature style of play." Defines how you play...need consistency...wants to coach fewer parts of the game exceptionally well...
4. "What's your game knowledge?" Learn something new regularly. Study decision making. Can you coach "rank beginners?" Can you function in an interview, individual coaching, and team coaching? 
5. Teaching method. He studies his teaching (via recordings). To be a teacher, you need teaching methods. Discusses part-whole approach..."prompt, praise and correct, leave." Chris Oliver adds, "keep and add." 
6. Practice planning. First draft and edit. Have a core curriculum. "If it can't fit on one side of a paper then it's probably too much." 
7. Game coaching. "What's your plan B?" Plan A will fail. Find out how to be aggressive with different styles. 
8. Scouting. How much? What do you focus on? Core concepts...Coach Oliver asks how much does scouting matter? As a young player, I found it really helpful re: opponent (individual) tendencies. I've also seen inattention to scouting and game planning lead directly to defeat in a championship. 

Basketball: Platelet-Rich Plasma

PRP. Secret sauce, magic juice that is platelet-rich plasma. Or not? 



First, a commercial...

Sports injury, inflammation, loss of function, and pain are common events. The quartet of RICE - rest, ice, compression, and elevation help many injuries, but they don't fix everyone. 

Who? Who should get PRP? There's no consensus on the use of PRP. If you've ever had tennis elbow, you know it's painful and annoying. A controlled, blinded study showed modest benefit at 24 but not 12 weeks after injection. 

There is some data showing benefit in maturation of ACL graft repair, patellar tendinopathy, and some patients with meniscus (cartilage) injury.

Early knee osteoarthritis subjects receiving PRP had relative disease stabilization with short-term (one-year) followup. 

Much of what you'll read is the upside, anecdotes of NBA players (e.g. Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant) and how PRP got them back on the court. Also, when successful, PRP helps players avoid surgery, from which recovery takes longer. But some of these stories are promotional, for physicians or clinics who offer PRP at a hefty price. 

What? What makes it work? Platelets cluster at sites of injury to stop bleeding (but are also involved in contributing to circulation problems like heart attacks) and release 'growth factors' that promote healing. (You now know as much as most doctors about this.)

Why? Athletes and others want to be whole and able to return to competition or normal activity as soon as possible. PRP has been touted as a means to that end. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons summarizes its use. 

Where? Doctors have used PRP to treat joint, muscle, and tendon injury. 

When? This is the 64 dollar question. Patients hear that their favorite athletes got PRP treatment as part of their care. That inevitably leads to "why not me?" The first standard is "failure to respond to conventional treatment." Consideration then requires application for coverage and sometimes appeal of non-coverage (payment) by insurers. 

How? PRP therapy requires direct injection into a joint or tissue.

(from Shahid et al.) 

Payment for PRP injection therapy presents a moving target. Until a procedure is widely proven both effective and safe, insurers are conservative (don't pay). For NBA teams and players, the "relatively" small costs (thousands in players making millions) and relatively well-tolerated treatment makes dollars and sense. 

Note: I am not an Orthopaedic Surgeon and the information within is presented strictly for educational purposes. Contact your physician for management specific to your needs. 

Basketball: Flashcards to Enhance Learning

"Mark Twain said that Adam was the only man who, when he said a good thing, knew that nobody had said it before." - Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird 

Total freshness ain't possible. Does your favorite locker room have a new car smell or the scent of tape balls, sweat, Tuf-Skin, and a little bleach? I thought so. If that means anything to you, then don't pretend ignorance of orange slices, rat tails, and failed freshening of the world with Right Guard. Tactile and olfactory imagery etch our subconscious. 

Gorrammit, give me something I can use! Every first grader knows the values of flashcards,  as do medical students, and language schools. Andrew Cohen writes, "But there’s a reason that flashcards have been a preferred study method for hundreds of years: They friggin’ work!" How? They build neural connections...they change the brain.  

Let's use them to teach. 

Spacing and magnetic polarity. 

  

Spacing has "polarity" like magnets. Spacing should "repel" teammates on offense, while the ball "attracts" defenders.  

4 can't be serious. NEVER CUT TO AN OCCUPIED POST. 

More Alike Than Not. Horns, 1-4 High. 

The Packers could announce the "Power Sweep" and still execute it. Players shouldn't care about the "presnap read" because lines on the page don't write the sentence. 

I'll be back. The Terminator had no mercy. 

"Spread" or "50" or "5-out" or "Open" or "Area 51" or "Siberia." Players recognize the offense opening the middle for drives, give-and-go, back cuts. 

Triangle doesn't mean one way. 

The initial structure doesn't define the options. 

Formation Flexibility. 

Iverson cuts aren't the first available option off 1-4 high. But they flow nicely into multiple options. Or you can diagonal screen for your bigs. #StaggeredScreens

Iverson squared. 

Morph. Great Offense = Multiple Actions. 

Carla Berube's Tufts transformation of spread offense into backdoor action. 

Coach Auriemma's UCONN 'Horns' set runs through backdoor action, into a staggered screen for a perimeter shot, or into an elbow pick-and-roll. 

Ball Screen Deception

1-4 low transforms into a high pick-and-roll with a cross-screen chaser. Drink up. 

Horns into screen-the-roller (Spain PnR) action

If players can learn ecoutez et repetez they can learn flashcard offense. Build series of flashcards for sets, motion, BOBs and SLOBs, ATOs, Zone offense, and Game Winners. Only imagination limits the possibilities. 

Lagniappe: 

Excerpt from Thinking Volleyball by Mike Hebert. Coach Hebert took his talented University of Minnesota volleyball women (30-4, 11th ranked in US) to Japan to train and compete against several Japanese university teams. Despite a huge edge in size and athleticism, the Gophers went 0-42 in sets, but did go 8-3 against HIGH SCHOOL competition.

"Sherry pressed onward. “If your players practice 8 to 10 hours a day, when do they go to class and study?” she asked. “This is not my problem,” he answered without flinching.

This approach to volleyball works for the Japanese. It fits their culture. They are notoriously dedicated to their work. There is little room for failure. There is great attention to detail. Everything we witnessed during our visit confirmed these observations. The long hours in the gym, the elite level of skill acquisition, the tolerance of severe physical punishment following failure, and the unconditional team loyalty expressed by everyone in the program—all of this gave us a rare look into how Japanese culture shapes the way their volleyball program is designed."

"Americans, first and foremost, are independent. They are motivated by individual challenges. Once joining a team, they have to be trained to behave as a team, where group goals are more important than individual goals. This will not come naturally. If and when they do commit to a team goal, it is sometimes done begrudgingly, and they expect to be rewarded for such a concession of individual freedom on their part. Teaching skills to an American team can be very difficult because each of the players will want to do it his way. American players often resist sameness and group discipline. It can be hard for Americans, who are so independent, to trust each other when adversity strikes. The challenge for coaches of Americans is to orchestrate a team concept in an environment that so fiercely protects a self-first mode of thinking."

Basketball: Fault Lines, What Do We Say and How? Plus Double Lagniappe

It's always our fault. Always. Years ago I coached a player who was really, really fast...at least running. She outran the ball, a lot. That recalls Pete Newell teaching maneuvering speed. How fast can you play under control? One memorable Sunday, the player committed fourteen turnovers in fourteen minutes. She wasn't alone. I don't even remember who we played, just how poorly. I almost needed psychotherapy. 

But when a player commits a peck of turnovers, I remember the adage: "one mistake, bad play, two mistakes, bad player, three mistakes, bad coaching." 

To borrow a literature analogy, we know coaching involves both writing and editing. That means getting it down, then fixing it up. The editorial process takes heart. Driving the bus doesn't entitle us to run down the passengers. Shakespeare penned, "The quality of mercy is not strained..." 

We own shot selection, as in Jay Bilas' advice, "It's not your shot, it's our shot." 



If they won't listen to Bilas, they might listen to Ben Rector. Drive.

Players want to get better not to get blame. 

At the youth level, fundamentals outweigh results. Players need regular encouragement, like casino action rewards gamblers or golf satisfies the duffer with periodic attaboys. "Way to go," "great effort," or "I believe in you" always beat "just don't." 

Coaching is not criticism. That said, how many of us like criticism and relish correction? We all effect others. Curiosity, gratitude, laughter, or rage...some people willfully enrage others. In itself, that might make us curious or angry. Our inner voice answers, "I never looked at it that way," "so cute," or "die, biatch, die." Instead of gratitude for constructive criticism, "thanks for sharing," we think, "you are not my friend." But friends can say, "you need to work on your breath." 



Words matter. We could say, "you cannot be serious" to a player or "let's do it this way." "You really hustled, but" affects us differently than, "you really hustled, and..."  When Atul Gawande hired a mentor to oversee his surgery, he wrote about music teacher Dorothy DeLay, "She expanded their sense of possibility." How can we transform ourselves, improve our learning, our teaching, our positive effect on others? How can we embrace our faults and work with them? 

Reflection. Latish Sehgal writes, "Regularly analyze and observe your own actions." Some coaches film the bench during the game, assessing body language and behavior. How many of us film and examine OUR body language and responses? 



"This is who we are and that is who we are not." Edit both the inner voice and how we respond during stress. We can always be better. 

Play to a song in your heart. It's YOUR song. Katy Perry's Fireworks or Roar share a very different vibe than Yes and No. Motley Crue's Without You contrasts with their Don't Go Away Mad, Just Go Away. 

Lagniappe: (from Coach Liam Flynn)

Having problems guarding the Mid PNR coupled with off ball misdirection? Try 'zoning up' off ball to keep your defensive 'shape', crowd driving and rolling lanes, and to be engaged for subsequent actions after the PNR. See here defenders stay with their players vs misdirection: pic.twitter.com/6filWwKIKq

— Coach Liam Flynn (@coachliamflynn) July 4, 2018

Diagrammatically: 

This would require scouting and adjustments against the mid-PnR with zoning action away from the ball to cover the roller. And it gives up ball reversal for possible three-point shots. We choose our poison. 

Double lagniappe:

SLOB, ZIPPER...HANDBACK...FLARE...DRIVE 

Basketball Drills for Moving Without the Ball

"But in a little while it may strike you as a small miracle that you have someone in your life whose taste you admire (after all this person loves you and your work), who will tell you the truth and help you stay on the straight and narrow, or find your way back to it if you are lost." - Anne Lamott, in Bird by Bird

Coaching demands truth-telling. Basketball opportunity is surreal for many players. Don't waste it. 

Melting Watch (1954), by Salvador Dali 

Dali called his paintings, "hand-painted dream photographs." As the founder of surrealism, releasing "the creative potential of the unconscious mind," Dali explored new artistic dimensions. Do we blend established truth and subconscious thoughts? 

"Movement kills defenses." Playing without the ball informs your success. Basketball is a game of cutting and passing...a line the players get tired of hearing. Players help their teammates with coordinated movement of themselves and the ball. I won't include drills specifically designed for transition. 

Shivek Drill (pass and cut, everyone shoots)...Israeli National Team coach Arik Shivek gets movement with passing and cutting in this versatile drill. Players have to score off the give-and-go, shoot off the catch, and attack the closeout. 

Four-on-four half court, no dribbling...(self-explanatory). 

Run into the pass...teaches multiple types of footwork and decision-making. 1 can set up the give-and-go with a step away or 'run' into the pass by 'crossing over' with the inside foot, using momentum to get the front cut over x1. 

Zig-zag into one-on-one...zig-zag to half court, then pass and cut into give-and-go into one-on-one basket attack. 

Two-on-two side and top (one side of split, one dribble maximum)...offensive and defensive drill...

Hot potato...2 second rule (use it or lose it)...can play 3-on-3 or(better) 4-on-4 half court. Only requirement is 2 seconds to pass, shoot, or drive...priority on player and ball movement. After two seconds, whistle blows, player must drop ball and convert offense to defense

Basketball: The Thumb on Your Face

”It’s as plain as the nose thumb on your face.”

Growing up over fifty years ago, we had a family friend, who literally seemed to have a thumb growing out of their face. I’m sure that it was some kind of benign tumor. But it begged the question, “why not do something about it?”

Times were different. My youngest sister watched me play basketball; I didn’t watch her play. How dumb was that?

We all have that thumb on the face, the quirk or habit that needs repair or that others say in camera “why doesn’t he fix that?”

Maybe we have a purpose to our ‘short’ rotation or long one. Why doesn’t he take a timeout? Some coaches challenge their team to “figure it out.” Momentum be damned. Why don’t they do traditional layup lines? Why this, why that?

Last season I had a team of inexperienced sixth grade girls, but with some parents (unbeknownst to me) who had played college or pro (European) basketball, college hockey, or were elite high school athletes in gymnastics or track. One family traced lineage to the former state education commissioner. But they never publicly shamed me or called for the ‘thumb’ to be amputated. I’m sure that defines their dignity more than mine.

We lost a few horrific games. If I’d been carrying those ball bearings of Captain Queeg or Thomas Edison, I’d likely have thrown them or at least put my eyes out. But thanks to the flanking admonitions from Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success (faith and patience, or a secular belief and time), we improved and finished with a nine game winning streak. The coach didn’t score one basket, collect a rebound, or take any charges...thumb or no thumb.

Players should look for the thumb, too. Don’t catch and reflexively dribble. Turn off the ‘my turn’ shot clock in your head. Don’t stand, don’t lollygag in transition and always read the defense and setup your cuts...or everyone sees that thumb growing bigger. “Why not do something about it?”

Lagniappe:

Sideline out of bounds action from Chris Oliver...we’re too young to make many threes but we could set up the drive, too.

And happy birthday to my youngest sister...

The Language of Basketball*

“There’s a word for that in English...YOUNEVERKNOW.” - Joaquin Andujar

Memorizing has gotten a bad rap. We hear how it wastes time and isn’t a substitute for understanding.  But every trade or language brings its own vocabulary. And tools spring up...like the website memrise.com to help. 

Basketball has its language and coaches are like Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland, “a word means just what I choose it to mean.”  How can we teach the language? There isn’t one way, anymore than there’s one way to learn English.

I suggest we use multiple techniques like flash cards, visualization, video, and student presentations.

Spacing. What does spacing mean to the player? Chuck Daly said, “spacing is offense and offense is spacing.” I love chiasmus and Chuck Daly, but both are abstract to twelve year-old girls. Our first drill is often dribbling around the three point line, the SPACING LINE. Supplement with good and bad spacing videos. Teach good spacing but force execution with limited spacing in practice, like soccer futsal. 

Transition. “Basketball is a sprinting game, not a running game.” We don’t have to use the word CONDITION if we drill sprinting like the Hoiberg Drill.

Build vocabulary from simple to complex. FOOTWORK. The natural “face up” move is the front pivot. Early in every offseason workout we practice reverse pivoting into driving, imprinting the unnatural attack mode.

CUTTING. Think about introducing advanced teaching with video of Dwayne Wade or Rip Hamilton. 

From the two-man game to more complex actions, expand the vocabulary with imagery players can apply. What we know is so far off what they know Here are just a few simple offensive concepts  they can apply:

Screen the screener
Screen the roller (Spain pick-and roll)
UCLA cut
Flex cut
Iverson cut
Spread pick-and-roll
Two decision offense
Reverse action
Floppy
Loop
Hammer

*I don’t have all my tools so apologies in advance...

Basketball: New Eyes

Who wouldn’t want to learn better? What can we do to learn better? Practice makes permanent.

Learning grants us to new eyes, to reevaluate what we know. I reread Stephen King’s On Writing and recast his scaffold into situations, narration, and dialogue NOT plot, characters, and dialogue. Hardly a subtle difference. Narration builds the characters, not the other way around. Execution defines players and teams not vice versa.

Neuroscience shows focus, spaced repetition, sleep, exercise, and meditation enhance learning. 

I recently discussed the Pomodoro Method as a way to increase focus. Multitasking is a myth as the fastest computers cycle between processes.

Spaced repetition reinforces neural connections better than single crash study sessions. Study works best in the divide and conquer mode.

Sleep impacts neural processing in multiple ways. We grow more neurons, more synaptic connections, remove toxins, and consolidate memories. Sleep really knits up the raveled sleeve of care. Professional franchises like the Celtics and Red Sox have “sleep rooms” in recognition of the vitality of sleep.

In Search Inside Yourself, Men’s Tan reviews that meditation increases brain density on MRI in learning and memory centers and decreased density in the amygdala, the emotional reaction center.

Exercise also builds more neurons. A recent study showed that an hour of exercise twice weekly helped increase brain volume. 

The New York Times has a light review on learning.

Lagniappe: 

Chris Oliver podcast explores what coaches need to know. 

Basketball and the Pomodoro Method, Learn Better

“Moving a university is like moving a cemetery; you’re not going to get any help from the inhabitants.”

Education changes behavior. The better we teach, the more change we can effect.

Distractions defeat discipline. “A man distracted is a man defeated.” Francesco Cirillo developed the Pomodoro Method to increase productivity with a template of periods of high focus separated by short breaks. The method, typically 25 minutes of study and 5 minute breaks, imposes study rigor and recognizes limited attention spans. Pomodoro method details are discussed in this video. Coursera.org presents an exhaustive eleven hour free course on becoming a better learner. There is also a Coursera app. Many apps are available for Pomodoro.

Learning about learning courses teach better study. Barbara Oakley describes herself as an unsuccessful early learner. After finishing high school, she joined the Army, learned Russian and later became an engineering professor with an interest in learning styles.

For example, she says re-reading has less value than reading and reproducing (writing) what you learned. These techniques add to the Feynman technique of naming, describing, researching, and simplifying a topic.

Oakley describes the fallacy of distinct learning systems which has been disproven by study. Capable learners can learn with visual, auditory, and kinesthetic means.

Chunks are related pieces of information, ideas, or concepts that are building blocks on the construction of mastery. They exist in many disciplines from science to sports, dance, and music. Learning how to assemble and extend chunks is central to growth.

We teach chunks by combining spacing, screening, cutting, and passing. Set small groups up (e.g. one side of the split) and challenge them to create. Start with constraints (e.g. no one-on-one, limiting dribbling) and see what actions they build.

Lagniappe:

Radius Athletics shares examples of Cognitive Bias in coaching. It’s hard to be objective about our teams and our abilities.