Many players seem to be obsessed with displaying and improving their leaping prowess. In the sixth and seventh grades, I couldn't jump high enough to touch the backboard. I wasn't concerned, as were my basketball-playing peers, because I was focused on skill development.
I was almost always the smallest player on the court. I was slapped with the label of being too small to excel in a sport dominated by taller, bigger opponents. I wasn't discouraged, in fact, I felt that this gave me a tremendous strategic advantage, I was underestimated by my opponents. They would take one look at me and chuckle to themselves, thinking that they were in for an easy time on the court against me.
I decided that I would mentally approach my size as an advantage. I turned the classic small-player limitations inside-out. My goal was to make my opponents wish, by the end of the game, that they were playing against a larger, taller player. I was quick, I could handle the ball, I could penetrate, I could shoot, I could play defense, and as long as I was "out in space" I had the advantage. I didn't allow other people's opinions limit me. I knew that height doesn't limit ball handling ability, or relative strength, or physical conditioning. Height doesn't determine how well you can shoot the ball. I worked on the areas that I could control and didn't worry about the areas that I couldn't.
The same mentality is true for the taller, larger player. Don't allow your height to limit your ball handling skills, or your shooting skills, or your conditioning. Work on your footwork and body control. Expand your mind. Learn to think the game as a point guard. Don't use your size as an excuse, regardless of how much-or how little-God gave you.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
David D Comes to Improve...
I have been conducting basketball skill improvement sessions for over 8 years, and during this time I have worked with hundreds of players, from middle school up through and including professional players. I always follow the same process: conduct an evaluation of the players' skill level, review the evaluation with the player and set some goals, make a plan, start working to improve, review and repeat. Players come and players go.
David D came into the gym over two years ago, as an 11-year old player. I noted, among other things, that he was explosive and had good ball handling skills, but, he needed to work on his body control, had some poor visual habits, and needed to refine/correct his shooting mechanics. I have made similar observations about hundreds of players. David, however, was different.
David is now 13 years old, and when I look back at the video that I captured during his first session, I am amazed at the difference. He has improved dramatically in every area. The refinement of his shooting mechanics really jumps out, he now has an efficient one-piece shot that he is very accurate with. He can shoot off of the dribble or the catch. You don't have to be an expert to see the difference. How has David made these improvements? What is the secret?
David D comes into the gym, for each and every session, with one purpose. He comes to improve. He is focused. He is ready to work. He maintains a high energy level and he pushes himself on every repetition, of every drill. David is not afraid to work on areas that he is not already proficient in, he has a growth mindset. He wants to improve, and he is willing to pay the price to do so. He works on his game in between our sessions, and this is one of the keys to his improvement. David has the mental skills necessary to succeed. This is rare.
David recently attended the Duke basketball camp, along with 700+ kids with basketball dreams. I asked him how he did, and when he told me that he won the free throw contest for the entire camp, I wasn't surprised. David didn't just go up to Duke for fun, or for the experience, although those were important elements. He went to learn. He went to compete. He went to improve.
David D came into the gym over two years ago, as an 11-year old player. I noted, among other things, that he was explosive and had good ball handling skills, but, he needed to work on his body control, had some poor visual habits, and needed to refine/correct his shooting mechanics. I have made similar observations about hundreds of players. David, however, was different.
David is now 13 years old, and when I look back at the video that I captured during his first session, I am amazed at the difference. He has improved dramatically in every area. The refinement of his shooting mechanics really jumps out, he now has an efficient one-piece shot that he is very accurate with. He can shoot off of the dribble or the catch. You don't have to be an expert to see the difference. How has David made these improvements? What is the secret?
David D comes into the gym, for each and every session, with one purpose. He comes to improve. He is focused. He is ready to work. He maintains a high energy level and he pushes himself on every repetition, of every drill. David is not afraid to work on areas that he is not already proficient in, he has a growth mindset. He wants to improve, and he is willing to pay the price to do so. He works on his game in between our sessions, and this is one of the keys to his improvement. David has the mental skills necessary to succeed. This is rare.
David recently attended the Duke basketball camp, along with 700+ kids with basketball dreams. I asked him how he did, and when he told me that he won the free throw contest for the entire camp, I wasn't surprised. David didn't just go up to Duke for fun, or for the experience, although those were important elements. He went to learn. He went to compete. He went to improve.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Motivation and Improvement
It almost always begins with a phone call: "Hello. My son (or daughter) wants to become a better basketball player. Can you work with them to help them to improve?" The caller usually then goes on and on about the accomplishments of their child, for example, how many points that they scored in their last game, and how much potential they have. I listen politely, ask a few questions, and then schedule the initial evaluation.
The collaborative process is: Evaluate the current skill level, set goals, make a plan, and work to improve. Repeat. I find that usually the players and parents are very excited, and motivated, initially. However, after they realize that this is a long-term process, and that it takes a high level of self-motivation and attention to detail, the enthusiasm wanes. I explain that this is the reality of improvement, and that I don't have a magic wand.
The players who are driven intrinsically, and who focus on the process of improvement and not the product, are the ones who stay with it. This 'stick-with-it-ness" is a key to long-term improvement, yet, it is very rare. Of course, this is exactly why so few players achieve their true potential. This has been proven again and again with research, such as the work by K. Anders Ericsson, who has written extensively about Expertise and the role of Deliberate Practice.
In the words of Coach John Wooden, "Confidence comes from being prepared." I can't give a player confidence, it has to be earned. Hard work during the off-season is the best way to improve your individual skills. Look in the mirror, make an honest self-evaluation, set some goals, make a plan and start practicing. Then, stick with it.
The collaborative process is: Evaluate the current skill level, set goals, make a plan, and work to improve. Repeat. I find that usually the players and parents are very excited, and motivated, initially. However, after they realize that this is a long-term process, and that it takes a high level of self-motivation and attention to detail, the enthusiasm wanes. I explain that this is the reality of improvement, and that I don't have a magic wand.
The players who are driven intrinsically, and who focus on the process of improvement and not the product, are the ones who stay with it. This 'stick-with-it-ness" is a key to long-term improvement, yet, it is very rare. Of course, this is exactly why so few players achieve their true potential. This has been proven again and again with research, such as the work by K. Anders Ericsson, who has written extensively about Expertise and the role of Deliberate Practice.
In the words of Coach John Wooden, "Confidence comes from being prepared." I can't give a player confidence, it has to be earned. Hard work during the off-season is the best way to improve your individual skills. Look in the mirror, make an honest self-evaluation, set some goals, make a plan and start practicing. Then, stick with it.
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Trap is Set
I am not a coach, at least not in the traditional use of that term. I am a Player Development Specialist. I focus on helping individual players improve. I consider myself first and foremost a teacher, and the players that I work with are my students. Current and former students include junior high and high school players as well as college and professional players, including P.J Brown of the world-champion Boston Celtics and Greg Monroe of Georgetown University.
I am now the Program Director at Above the Rim Gym, a state-of-the-art facility in Madisonville, Louisiana. This position has allowed me the opportunity to colloborate with various All-Star and AAU teams and their coaches. These coaches are volunteers, guys who are fathers of players on these teams, guys with full-time jobs in "the real world." Initially I was asked to help with improving each players' individual fundamental skills, such as shooting and ball handling, but, as time has gone by I have become involved in helping with overall team offensive and defensive tactics and strategies.
The offense that I have always been interested in is "the motion offense." The philosopy of the motion fits my philosophy of basketball: share the ball, move, maintain spacing and court balance, and work to develop each players' overall "game" instead of limiting players to narrow roles as much as possible. This is especially important with young players.
One of the tools that I am using to expand my knowledge (limited) of how to teach the motion is a Bob Huggins video, The Cut and Fill Motion Offense. Coach Huggins makes a great point in this video, (actually he makes many great points), when he says that "if you run sets, players get good at running sets, if you run motion, they become good at reading the defense, thus instead of running basketball plays they learn to play basketball."
Many youth coaches teach a few set plays, then they instruct their players to run these plays over and over, until they are good at running them. This is a short-term approach, it looks good at first and then when the set doesn't work or the defense adjusts, the players don't know what to do. Teaching the motion offense is the opposite, the players struggle at first because they are so used to running set plays, however, as they learn the concepts of the motion they are learning how to read the defense, how to set up the defender, and thus they learn how to play basketball. This should be the goal of every coach, become a better teacher so that your players learn how to play basketball. Focusing on this process, ironically, will produce a great product: a team that if fun to coach with players who are learning to play basketball.
I am now the Program Director at Above the Rim Gym, a state-of-the-art facility in Madisonville, Louisiana. This position has allowed me the opportunity to colloborate with various All-Star and AAU teams and their coaches. These coaches are volunteers, guys who are fathers of players on these teams, guys with full-time jobs in "the real world." Initially I was asked to help with improving each players' individual fundamental skills, such as shooting and ball handling, but, as time has gone by I have become involved in helping with overall team offensive and defensive tactics and strategies.
The offense that I have always been interested in is "the motion offense." The philosopy of the motion fits my philosophy of basketball: share the ball, move, maintain spacing and court balance, and work to develop each players' overall "game" instead of limiting players to narrow roles as much as possible. This is especially important with young players.
One of the tools that I am using to expand my knowledge (limited) of how to teach the motion is a Bob Huggins video, The Cut and Fill Motion Offense. Coach Huggins makes a great point in this video, (actually he makes many great points), when he says that "if you run sets, players get good at running sets, if you run motion, they become good at reading the defense, thus instead of running basketball plays they learn to play basketball."
Many youth coaches teach a few set plays, then they instruct their players to run these plays over and over, until they are good at running them. This is a short-term approach, it looks good at first and then when the set doesn't work or the defense adjusts, the players don't know what to do. Teaching the motion offense is the opposite, the players struggle at first because they are so used to running set plays, however, as they learn the concepts of the motion they are learning how to read the defense, how to set up the defender, and thus they learn how to play basketball. This should be the goal of every coach, become a better teacher so that your players learn how to play basketball. Focusing on this process, ironically, will produce a great product: a team that if fun to coach with players who are learning to play basketball.
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