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 …
Weak Hand Drills
In game situations, players must be able to dribble the basketball, pass and finish with both hands. Good defenses will force an opponent to their weak hand so elite players must become equally proficient with both hands. Five Finishes (Phase A) Learning Goal: Control the ball and finish with the non-dominant hand Points of Emphasis: Stay low, read the court, be explosive Set up five goals outside the three-point line (in the corners, on the wings and at the top of the key). The player starts under the basket and using their non-dominant hand dribbles around the cone and finishes at …
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 #4
Emphasis: lower body strength, speed, one-dribble attack, post play Summary: I wanted to introduce the players to some of the sport-specific lower body exercises that could be performed in the weight room. There is a tendency to overuse the leg extension and hamstring curl machines (everyone seems to gravitate to those machines at the moment); although they do help build lower body muscles, they lack a stability component that is needed for basketball. If a weight room mostly has machines, it should be supplemented with free weight, kettle bell or medicine ball activities that force players to engage their core …
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 …