That Basketball Life

I've been coaching youth basketball for many years and the one thing that I've seen is that some kids naturally know how to run while others are so inefficient in their running style that you can't help but wonder how much better they would be if they simply worked on their running form.  The purpose of this post is to help kids improve their running form and thus help increase their foot speed. Problems with Inefficient Runners Relax - The main problem that I see with most kids who seem to run slower than they should is that they tense up.  The main key to running is that you stay relaxed.  You need to stay relaxed in the face, the shoulders, the arms, the hands, and you hips.  Tightness in any of these areas can cause you to run slower than you are capable of. Foot Strike - Many kids are plodders.  They run by slamming their feet on the ground instead of focusing on being light on their feet.  Their heels make great contact with the ground and this serves as a brake

As a youth team coach, one of your most important responsibilities is to properly plan your team practices for the whole year.  The way I like to plan practices is by asking myself what I want my team to be able to run come playoff time.  The line of questioning is general but the answers that you give should be very detailed.  You should list the following:   Offense   General Offense   Set Plays off of your general offense   Defense   Man to Man   Zone defenses   ½ court press   Full court press   Transition Offense   Primary Break Secondary break   Transition Defense   Finding the ball   Finding your man   Beating the offense down the floor   Game Situations   SLOB – offense   SLOB – defense   BLOB – offense   BLOB – defense   Free Throw Rebounding   End of game situations   Once the coach has figured out what he wants to run during the year, he needs to see how he will incorporate everything as the year progresses. 

The key to being successful on defense is to make yourself such a nuisance to the offensive player that they can't extend their focus beyond you.  This may sound easy in principle but is very difficult to do in practice.  On ball defense is equal parts skill, heart, and smarts.  If you are missing any one of these then you will not be a good on ball defender. Lets cover all three below: Skill - Good on the ball defenders need to know how to use their hands and their feet.  They need to be as distracting as possible.  They need to be comfortable playing at a lower level than the player they are covering and they need to be ready to abruptly change directions.  A good on ball defender needs to also know how to use his hands.  The most important thing to understand about using your hands is to never jab at the ball.  This will force you off balance and good offensive players will use that to their advantage.  Get in the habit of tracing the plight of the ball in the opponent's

Interesting blog post at Pro Skills Basketball's website on what steps a kid needs to take to play college basketball. Just putting my two cents worth in here.  Take a look at the stats at the top of the blog post.  The odds of playing college basketball are small.  This is why you should always remember that the game is to be fun first and foremost.  Also make sure that you always keep your grades up.  You have a better shot at getting an academic scholarship than you do an athletic one. To all parents out there who want their kids to excel, there's nothing wrong with what your doing.  You're teaching your kids hard work by pushing them.  However keep things real in your mind and remember to push them just as hard when it comes to the books.

We have included an expansive list of posts focusing on the finer elements of man to man defense in the past.  Those blog entries are always good to refer to as a reminder of what good basic fundamentals of man to man defense are and how you should coach them.  The one issue that you run into as a coach however is how do you teach this concept in a way that is effective yet not overwhelming. Over the next few weeks we will be going over practice plans which will show you our way of coaching man to man principles in a way that is not overwhelming. As a preview, our approach is one of showing them the whole thing via 5v5 and then begin to break things down and then build them up again.  We will do this by using various combinations including: 5 man shells 1v1 2v2 3v3 3v2 4v3 5v4 5v5 As one might guess by looking at the above list, we do believe in having the kids go at each other.  The best way to have them learn how to play defense is to play defense against a p

One of the most important issues teams have to deal with during games is also one that is completely out of a coaches control.  The issue that I speak about is the officiating of a given game.  As a coach you need to have a few guidelines that you follow when it comes to game officials.  This list is compiled with the idea that refs are humans and will make mistakes like we all do.  As coaches we need to teach our players that part of the game experience is dealing with and respecting the calls officials make.  No matter how bad a call may be and no matter how crucial a point in the game that call may have been made you need to teach your kids to rise above calls that may justly or unjustly go against them.  What this means is do not let calls by officials ruin the focus the team needs to bring the game home. Guidelines for players towards officials: Don't let a call that may go against you affect your focus. Don't waste your energy arguing calls with the officials. Ne

One of the most difficult things to teach young players is also one of the most important in determining how good a 1v1 player your going to be.  The move in question is what I like to call "Squaring up your opponent."  What this means is that when you receive the ball in a position to score, the first thing you do is turn and face the basket in a triple threat position.  At a young age this move is instinctively difficult because young players feel that they are not protecting the ball when facing the basket.  Their natural instinct is to turn their back to the basket so they can protect the ball.  What this does is it prevents the player from surveying the floor and/or breaking down his player.  Another move for kids this age is that they may turn and face the basket but they forget completely about protecting the ball.  This is one of the reasons you see a lot of jump balls in youth games in addition to seeing many balls being ripped out of the hands of players by the oppo

Below are some of the most basic and common offensive formations in basketball.

Today we will be getting back to discussing 1v1 basketball. What we want to talk about are the qualities and characteristics of successful 1v1 players. Athleticism - this is not the be all end all but it is a very important quality to have. Most successful 1v1 players in basketball are great athletes. Although much of being an athlete is God given there are some things that all players can do to increase their athleticism. Remember your goal is to make yourself the best you that you can be. You can do this by getting in the best shape possible and by getting closer to your true athletic potential. Footwork - this is a very important element that can be improved by everyone.  The more you practice your 1v1 moves (jab steps, rip moves, ball fakes, etc.) the more the moves get committed to muscle memory. Dribbling and ball handling - another important element that can be improved on by everyone.  Be comfortable with the shoulder to hip dribble blow by along with the concept of ke

Another thing I've been thinking about is the general progressions that need to take place when coaching teams up the age ladder. In other words, when coaching kids what team concepts do you have to teach them and in what order to get them ready for what you hope will be a high school career? Below is an ambitious plan which covers many things that will help players as they approach their high school careers.  The plan laid out below assumes that the coach will have access to the kids for around 20 practices for a season with each practice lasting between 90 minutes and 2 hours.  This gives the coach 30-40 hours of instruction time for the season. 1-2 Grade Basic Offense/Positioning Basic Defense/Positioning Rebounding V-Cuts Transitioning from Offense to Defense and from Defense to Offense 3-4 Grade Offense (man) Intro to pass and move Intro to dribble penetration Intro to post penetration V-cuts Pin downs Dribble at Intro to getting open on

Continuing our focus on 1v1 play, today I've decided to lay out progressions to help players improve their 1v1 skills. Dribble Drives Square up to the man covering you.  You will not be effective until you feel comfortable in the triple threat position while under pressure.  Players need to realize that the best way to beat a man that is covering you is to square him up and get him off balance. Direct path to basket - we need to teach players that when you make your move to the basket don't go around the person covering, but rather go by him. Eat up the space between the defender and you as quickly as possible. The quicker you get to his hip the better. Attack forward leg - If you see a defender not playing you straight up but he/she is rather trying to force you in a certain direction, try to attack the front foot. This is the best path to take when the defender's front foot is even with your body or into your body. If the defender has the outside foot beyond your