If I coach again, here are some of the areas that I will work on: Motion: During the course of the season – due to combination of complicated school rules and players’ health – numbers fluctuated. Also, it seems as if I personally gravitated towards small-sided games that emphasized pick and roll play. In game situations, we did not involve all five players as much as we would have liked until the middle of the season. I think that more passing and cutting will be harder to defend while also energizing more players. Ball Pressure: The season started later than …
Spring Basketball Workout #6
Emphasis: footwork, explosivess, core strength & stability, ballhandling Summary: This is a variation of my first spring workout. By repeating many similar drills & exercises, I hope to reduce coach-centered instructional time so I can focus on individual feedback. Referring to the same basic drills reinforces the teaching points so that the players can practice them on their own. I extended the time of the workout to allow more time in the weight room & on the stairs. Reflection: Establishing habits is tricky. I had to give more feedback than I had hoped to regarding defensive positioning & communication. Even …
Spring Basketball Workout #5
Emphasis: agility, ballhanding, decisions under pressure, shooting Summary: I wasn’t happy about the last practice so I thought that I would emphasize three elements in every section to keep the workout focused: athletic abilities, shooting and deliberate play. You have to shoot the ball, but you also need to play defense and make decisions so I did not want to neglect those areas. For a Friday afternoon, I added extra time for the game situations. Reflection: The training group was small. I kept the same structure but let the players decide on the points of emphasis. We did creating an …
Spring Basketball Workout #3
Emphasis: explosiveness, core stability, full-speed ballhandling, shooting at game speed Summary: It’s important to encourage students to stay hydrated when the temperature is this warm. Drink beyond thirst. Since I had already covered the Athletic Abilities routines earlier, I felt comfortable raising the intensity level in order to establish a tone for the workout. Every workout component should have a high Rate of Perceived Exertion, from the personal fitness exercises to the ballhandling and shooting drills. Reflection: I feel that there could be a little more work done individually between sessions to maximize the intensity level of these workouts. Little …
Spring Basketball Workout #2
Emphasis: upper body strength, footwork, finish at the rim, recovery & regeneration Summary: After a false start last week, the players organized a second workout today. We began the session with some footwork exercises and went into the weight room to do some sport-specific upper body exercises. Afterwards, we tried to get to the basket & finish at the rim. The defense endeavoured to pressure the ball & close out shooters. Reflection: Two more players would have been better to keep things moving but the Rate of Perceived Exertion was accurate. Players seemed to enjoy the workout although some reminders …
Spring Basketball Workout #1
Emphasis: footwork, core stability, dribbling against contact, stay hydrated Summary: Today, I was able to get into the gym & weight room with six players today. In the weight room, we did some stairs, core stability & sport-specific exercises with the medecine balls. In the gym, we were able to get some reps dribbling against contact & playing full-court. Reflection: Thanks to the players who came out and put work in. I didn’t quite get to the end of the plan that I had created because instructing some core exercises for the first time took more than anticipated. I think …