I’ve been thinking about effective pre-practice and pre-game routines and how players can maximize their preparation. A good routine should prevent injury, raise heart rate and mentally prime the athletes. It should be dynamic and challenging, not static and predictable. Take initiative to get better by creating a routine that can be practice during pre-practice, pre-practice and afterwards. Good Pre-Practice Routines… Recreate Games Take shots or perform moves that you use in games or manifest themselves in the offense that the team runs. If drills do not mimic competitions, they will not prepare athletes. Select a weakness that impacts your …
Pin Down Series Drills
When there is sufficient time and space, shooting percentage skyrockets. Use pin down screens to free shooters so they can take high percentage shots. Ray Allen Series (Pin Down A) Learning Goal: Learn how to use pin down screens away from the ball. Points of Emphasis: Stay low & balanced when cutting, using the screen & catching the ball. The cutter starts under the basket and prepares to use the screen. The cutter goes to the left side and curls around the cones in order and receives a pass. After shooting, the cutter goes to the other side and executes …
Transferring the Summer to the Season
Summer’s over, student-athletes are back in classes and high school practices will soon be underway. Many players spent a lot of hours working on their game, training and putting up shots. The next step is to transfer that hard work to the court and turn workouts into wins. Push Others to Get Better After working out throughout the summer, you have become a better player. But you are only one player and basketball teams demand rosters consisting of twelve athletes. Raise the level of those around you by showing teammates how to work out and encouraging them to join you …
Rebounding Drills
Rebounding is a skill & tactic that is neglected in basketball practices. Practices include ballhandling, shooting and defense but sometimes stop short of completely finishing the possession. Among the Four Factors, rebounding accounts for twenty percent of basketball success. Coaches can help by allowing game situation drills to continue beyond one shot, until the defense secures the ball, and by regularly practicing rebounding drills. Drill should instruct individual rebounding techniques & small group tactics for team rebounding. McHale Rebounding Drill (Rebounding Phase A) Learning Goal: Rehearse skills & techniques for offensive & defensive rebounding. Points of Emphasis: Assume a low …
Defensive Drills
Here are some drills that can teach a progression of defensive skills, expanding beyond the ubiquitous Shell Drill. 1-on-4 Defensive Skills (Defense Phase A) Learning Goal: Improve major defensive skills each player should know. Points of Emphasis: Ensure players use proper technique while playing defense at high intensity. At one basket, players take turns playing defense. The defender starts with the ball & initiates the drill by passing to an offensive player on the wing. The defender closes out & shifts positions as the ball is swung, finishing by taking a charge as the last player drives. The defense works …
Transition Drills
As more leagues adopt F.I.B.A. rules & shot clocks, playing at full-speed becomes a indispensable skill on the court. Teams that can attack the basket before the defense has set up & play downhill will generate high percentage scoring chances. Five Man Fast Break (Phase A) Learning Goal: Pass, dribble & score in transition. Point of Emphasis: Move the ball down the court from the first pass to the three-point line in under four seconds. Squads of five players go up & down the court six times (three trips there & back). One of the posts grabs the ball as …
Pick and Roll Drills
In F.I.B.A. play, offenses often go to a pick & roll situation as the shot clock winds down. The action can also be used in transition & half-court offensive systems. Players must not only master the dribbling, passing, screening & finishing techniques but also understand how to read the defense & make sound decisions. Two-Player Game (Phase A) Learning Goal: Understand the basic techniques & tactics required for the two-person game. Points of Emphasis: Move without the ball & dribble at game speed. Two players start in each corner and the remaining players start in the centre jump circle. The …
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 …
Finishing at the Rim
These drills help players finish at the rim at game intensity. Coaches should monitor the drills to ensure random practice, solid fundamentals & an appropriate Work:Pause ratio to develop explosiveness (1:4). Three Cones (Phase A) Learning Goal: Perform explosive ball moves in sequence with either hand. Points of Emphasis: Footwork when cutting, driving & finishing. Set up three agility poles or pylons in a row. The first player curls around the top cone using an outside foot pivot as they receive a pass (outside hand pass). At the first cone, they use a ball move to beat one defender; at …
Dribbling against Contact
These drills help dribblers handle the ball against a physical defender. The drills were also posted on Canada Basketball’s GamePlan site. Create Contact (Phase A) Learning Goal: Execute ball moves & draw contact. Points of Emphasis: Stay balanced & low, drop hips, explode through pads. The ballhandler self-passes the ball outside the arc and catches the ball in a balanced stance, squaring up & looking at the rim. A coach stands in the key with a blocking pas. The player pounds the ball twice to start the drill. The dribbler executes a ball move and drives their inside shoulder into …
Post Move Workout
I was at a Toronto Triple Threat workout to work with bigs and put in some of these drills. I also put the drills online on Canada Basketball’s Game Plan Site. Post Move Building Blocks (A) Learning Goal: Develop footwork for basic post moves. Point of Emphasis: Keep the ball high. Rip through above head. These are five basic post moves that are part of every Team Ontario practice. Perform each move three times from both sides of the court Players pass the ball to the coach on the wing and establish position inside. If coaches are unavailable to pass …
Duke’s First Practice
Mike Krzyzewski talks about building a team culture with the 2014-15 Duke Blue Devils. Concerns for the coach included developing leadership on the court, planning and periodization with only ten scholarship players (which later became eight) and creating a team identity after a summer spent training in smaller groups. The team is seen working on fundamentals – such as a variety of passes and footwork – and defense, two excellent building blocks for any team. Even on the first day, the team is shown getting after it on double teams in the post and downing and hedging screens. Read and …
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