The Coaches’ Play

The Official Coaches Newsletter for Queensland

Dear Coaches

Welcome to final newsletter for 2008, the Basketball Queensland Coaching Department would like to wish all our coaching friends and colleagues a safe and Merry Christmas.

Thank you for your commitment and enthusiasm to the development of young players and we look forward to working with you in 2009.

LONG HOT SUMMER OF HOOPS AHEAD The festive season is upon us, but as usual, that does not mean basketball coaches will be taking a well earned break over the summer months. January is always a busy month on the basketball calendar, with major tournaments being held, the Australian Junior Development Camp conducted at the AIS, and of course associations gearing up for the second half of our BQJBC competition.

Final U16 boys and girls development camp will be held at Brisbane Basketball Stadium on Saturday December 13th. Sessions are:- Under 16 Girls 9 -10.30am Under 16 Boys 10.30 - 12pm Under 16 Girls 12 - 1.30pm Under 16 Boys 1.30 - 3pm

In t h i s edition The Integrated In-Season Training of Basketball Cadets 3-5 Is It Safe For Young Children To Weight Train 5 The Theory And Rationale Of The Read & React 6-8 The Russian Women’s Youth Program 9-10 “Shooting For Success” By Barry Kecke 11-12 On Ball Screen Drills 12-13 The Coaches Play September 2008

Basketball Queensland would like to congratulate the following Queensland athletes on receiving scholarships to the Australian Institute of Sport: , Jeromie Hill, Matthew Hodgson, Brock Motum, Jorden Page, Christian Salecich, Mitchell Young, Corban Wroe and Jillian Haughton. Best wishes to all of the athletes

The basketball year starts with the Pacific Coast Slam Tournament in Port Macquarie where Queensland’s North and South U’15 State Development Teams will be competing in an exciting and competitive tournament.

Coaches are welcome to attend the U’15’s final training sessions where all teams will have final training sessions at Brisbane Basketball Stadium on January 10th and 1th1 from 10am.

In Basketball Queensland’s final edition of Coaches Play for 2008 we have interesting articles on the development of Basketball in our European countries, the second part of The Read and React Offensive System, The Theory and Rationale of the Read and React by Rick Torbett, weight training for our younger athletes and copies of the ICE program session which was held at the AIS recently.

Coaches courses for January 2009

Level 0 Association: Gold Coast Date: Sunday 18th January Where: Carrara Indoor Stadium, Nerang –Broadbeach Rd, Cararra Contact: Wendy O’Brien 07 5594 4108

Level 1 Association: Gold Coast Date: Sunday 18th January Where: Carrara Indoor Stadium, Nerang –Broadbeach Rd, Cararra Contact: Wendy O’Brien 07 5594 4108

This newsletter is an opportunity for all involved in Queensland Basketball to share ideas, express any opinions, and collate as many thoughts to improve ourselves as coaches, improve our athletes and the game. If you would like to be a part of the newsletter by submitting articles or content, or you have feedback of what you would like to see in the newsletter please forward all correspondence to to Rebecca Dudic [email protected]

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THE INTEGRATED IN-SEASON TRAINING OF BASKETBALL CADETS

Slavko Trninic is a Professor at the Physical Education University in Zagreb, Croatia, and a member of the Board of the Croatian Basketball Coaches Association. He was the former head coach of Zadar, and Split, in Croatia, and Ljubljana, in Slovenia. He served as the assistant coach of the Yugoslavian National team at the Olympic Games in 1980, at the FIBA European Championship in 1981 and 1985, and he was the assistant coach of the Croatian national team at the Olympic Games in 1996.

The game of basketball is a complex motor multi-structured team activity, based on the symbiosis of cyclic and acyclic movements of individual players with and without the ball, the performance quality of which is directly related to motor-functional conditioning status (fitness) of athletes and their body composition. The internal load players have to sustain in practice and games is determined by the role in the game, by the style of team play, and the intensity requirements of play. For the author, basketball is primarily a sport of agility, the latter being a complex combination of several motor abilities (Figure 1). Professional basketball training practice recognizes two successive objectives and directions of operating: production of quality players and production of high competitive and sport achievements. The process of producing top players is a long-lasting system of teaching and learning. This process demands hard work and continuity, a systematic and gradual approach to mastering and perfecting a system and means of regeneration and recovery (Figure 2). The two-mesocycle developmental training units consist of the following components of preparation:

▼ Multilateral: basic and special conditioning program. ▼ Technical - tactical: theoretical and psychological preparation program. ▼ System of competition.

Basketball players 15 to 16 years of age (late and post-puberty) are able to integrate the developmental and competitive objectives during the season, if alternating work intensities are implemented during microcycles. Young players benefit from strength and power development training, and it’s also an optimum period to teach game tactics. To get started, first come diagnostic procedures, and then objectives of training are set. Training contents and methods are selected and distributed after the periodization calendar is organized. The prescribed load volumes and intensities should permit in-season developmental training workouts prior to the specialization to the roles/positions in the game. The degree of biological maturation of players (early developers or delayed maturers) should be a skills from different sport preparation training programmes. The general goal is shaping, enhancing, and maintaining the quality of players (overall performance in the game). The most crucial task of basketball coaches is to create elite players by designing and implementing developmental training cycles that consist of versatile synergistic training sessions.

Developmental training is a complex, gradual, and multi-annual process directed at the acquisition and perfection of technical-tactical skills, knowledge, and habits. It also concerns encouraging positive changes (transformations) in non-specific (basic) and specific abilities and characteristics that will permit stable top performances throughout the long sports specialization process. The success of a player or overall performance quality is directly related to the developmental level of relevant basic and specific anthropological attributes, as well as to their interrelation

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(see again Figure 1). The work with young players should include methods of assessing and monitoring the actual quality (overall performance) of the players. The competition system should be correlated with physical conditioning; technical-tactical, psychological and theoretical preparation; as well as with decisive criterion for individualized training programming (prescription). The proposed training model (for late and post puberty) consists of multilateral and introductory- specialized programs, as well as of procedures of early orientation (specialization) of players to broader roles and/or positions. The experimental training program can be divided in two mesocycles:

▼ The first mesocycle: 28 days, 21 training sessions and 4 matches. Average duration of the daily training load (volume): 145 minutes. Average intensity: 60% of maximum. ▼ The second mesocycle: 29 days, 20 training sessions and 4 matches. Average duration of the daily training load (volume): 130 minutes. Average intensity: 75% of maximum. The load is progressively increased during the first three weeks in each mesocycle by 2.5% (by means of increased number of reps in a set and number of sets in conditioning drills-volume-and by a higher intensity of work-execution pace), whereas in the fourth week it was decreased to allow adaptation to the workload. The training contents used are aimed at developing and/or maintaining of: ▼ Flexibility: stretching exercisesactive method, static and ballistic; passive method and combined method or PNF stretching. ▼ Trunk strength: exercises for core strength enhancement-abdominal, hip, and back muscle groups (important for preventing injuries). ▼ Specific explosive power: vertical jumping ability exercises. ▼ Specific ballistic explosive power: catching and throwing a weighted medicine ball. ▼ Anaerobic endurance: various sprinting exercises on the basketball court with situationrelated exercises (covering technical-tactical skills of playing transitional offense and defense, at a high- work intensity mode). ▼ Balance (dynamic stability): specific exercises to develop and maintain balance (forwards, backwards, and sideways-balance squats; balance lunges; release lunges; jumps from a basketball stance with 90 to 360 turns with open or closed eyes; and contact exercises with an opponent on offense and defense). ▼ Agility and quick reaction: agility should be developed in puberty and post-puberty, afterwards it should be maintained with various basketball- specific exercises that simulate game situations, e.g. moving on the court in all directions while maintaining the basic offensive or defensive stance: changing along the court’s longitudinal axis with and without the ball; offensive exercises without the ball with multiple changes of pace and directionthese exercises are aimed at overcoming the body mass inertia at the highest speed with maintenance of balance and purposeful organization of a particular movement structure (skill).

GAME X ▼ Arm and upper-back (shoulder) power: weight-room strength training exercises-different latmachine pulls and pull-ups. ▼ Anaerobic endurance: developmental exercises include starts and accelerations from different positions over various distances up to 28 meters; a series of two and one-foot hops and jumps from the squat position, up to 10 seconds; leaps and jumps forward, sideways, and backwards; handicapped sprints over various distances up to 28 meters; various plyometric stepping exercises. ▼ Technical-tactical skills and co-ordination capacities: exercises focused on versatility of details, technical finesse, and variations of the performance rhythm. ▼ Theoretical knowledge: aspects of the game and training, proper performance of technical- tactical skills, and principles of the game.

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CONCLUSION The applied developmental training process produces significant changes in parameters of the motor- functional condition (preparedness) of young players in season, with no substantial interference with their performance. When I applied this training cycle to my team, the team won all eight matches in the period in which the experimental program was implemented (stable performance). It indirectly reinforces the opinion of certain experts that the in-season work on improving motor-functional conditioning does not substantially affect overall performance or situation-related efficiency of cadets, probably due to the fact that technical-tactical skills and performance are founded on the specific motor-functional condition. The competition calendar (one match in a microcycle) and just one workout per day determined the system of sports reparation-players had enough time to rest and recover. As opposed to senior teams, where the primary objective of the in-season training is to maintain condition and sport form, in junior and cadet teams it seems feasible to apply the proposed model of developmental training cycle (integrated sports preparation). The feasibility is based on the main objective of work with this age: to dev

IS IT SAFE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN TO WEIGHT TRAIN? As more children become involved in sports, and the demand for talent increases, parents are seeking out training programs to help with their child’s performance - training programs that include strength training. Recently, I had a mother ask me if it’s OK for her 13-year-old son, who is a soccer player, to lift weights. She was under the impression that strength training was just for adults. She wanted to know if strength training is effective for kids or if there is an age that is too young for active children to lift weights. First, there is a big difference between strength training and weight lifting. I have seen kids in a gym betting on, “who can bench the most?” That is the kind of “lifting” that is the quickest way to injury and the slowest way to getting results. For that reason, you want to be sure the program being considered for your child is appropriate.

Training Tip For an excellent resource for sports conditioning, check out www.developingathletics.com. So, is strength training safe for kids? Absolutely! In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Sports Medicine all endorse strength training for kids as a way to improve fitness levels and build strength. However, it is essential that the kids have proper program design and experienced supervision which is imperative for injury prevention and effective training. Research shows that properly supervised and designed exercise programs can increase strength, flexibility, improve motor fitness skills, enhance sports performance and contribute to overall better health while reducing injuries. Furthermore, if children can learn at a young age how to properly exercise, they will more likely stay with exercise throughout their life. For those parents who have had a child experience injury as a direct result from strength training, most likely it was due to improper training and lifting. Keep in mind that whatever venue you select for your youth, strength training alone is not enough; cardiovascular exercise, flexibility and functional training are components that should be part of their entire program. Further, make sure your child enjoys the environment and the experience. In other words, it needs to be fun. Kids who have a bad experience with exercise may give it up and be less likely to return to exercise later in life. As with any new exercise program, be sure to consult with a physician prior to allowing your child to participate in any new exercise or sports-related program.

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THE THEORY AND RATIONALE OF THE READ AND REACT BY RICK TORBBETT

In 2003, I took some time to consider my basketball life up to that moment. After my playing career and then over twenty years in coaching, I knew there was something missing. After much contemplation, I decided to create the Read & React Offensive System. Why would my reflection motivate me to launch into such a daunting project? More importantly, what problems was I trying to solve? Let’s toss all of my experiences, observations, and problems into one giant pot, and stir them around for consideration, because that’s exactly what I did in 2003. Here are the ingredients in no particular order: 1. Team defense seemed easier to teach than team offense. In other words, getting five defensive players to move and react as a 5-man-unit was easier than getting five offensive players to do so. Why? 2. Plays work well at the beginning of the season and in our non-conference games. But they lose their effectiveness by the post-season when we need them the most. 3. When plays don’t work, our players break down into 1-on-1, or at best, 2-on-2 situations. Why can’t they continue to play as a cohesive, 5-man unit? 4. I charted an entire season’s point production and found that about 80% of my team’s points came from individual execution in situations where players simply played principled basketball. Only about 20% of our points came from successful execution of our plays (and half of that was from out-of-bounds plays). Yet our practice time was the exact opposite: We were spending 80% of our offensive time on set plays, and only 20% of the time on teaching principles. 5. I had played in a motion offense in college. I loved the freedom to read your defender and take what they gave you, but there was too much freedom for all 5 players to stay coordinated. And if just one player lacked the same basketball I.Q. as the rest, he could really mess up the offense. 6. When I was a player, 1-on-1, 2-on-2, and 3-on-3 were fun to play because every player was always involved. But as soon as the game went to 4-on-4 or 5-on-5, it was difficult to play by principle. A few players were always left standing around. 7. The most successful seasons I experienced as a coach were the direct result of having six players of the same age who played together for six straight years, starting in 7th grade, and grew to totally understand each other’s games. Each season was characterized by more principles and fewer plays, and we finished their last two seasons with back-to-back Final Fours. I wanted to recreate that scenario: five players who moved and reacted to each other like a school of fish. But most teams cannot stay intact for years at a time like these six players did. Most teams are comprised of different members each year, and many of them are on different developmental levels. 8. Young players have a different coach almost every year. As a result, a varsity coach doesn’t know what he’s getting each year in terms of what skills the players have been taught, and what knowledge of the game they have (basketball IQ). 9. While running camps overseas, the coaches in Belgium shared with me how they teach their players using an age-based curriculum. The players are taught only a few principles the first year (and as you might guess, with only a few principles to play by, the players get extremely good at executing them). The next year, another principle is added, and the players get real good at that. The next year, another principle, and so forth and so on until by age 18 they understand the game on an instinctual, habitual, principled level. Being a small country with a club-sports-system, they created a curriculum that could be implemented the same way academics are taught in our schools, with each teacher standing on the shoulders of the teacher who came before him or her.

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10. My personnel, and hence the talent level of my team (or lack thereof), changed year to year. Whatever offensive system I was going to create could not have any prerequisites in terms of the types of players, level of their skills, or basketball I.Q. In fact, it should create basketball I.Q. rather than require smart players to run it. 11. This whole system should be transferable to the coaches and teams that feed my program. It must be simple enough for anyone to understand, but with the cumulative complexity that would allow the offense to counter any defense. 12. The offense must allow for spontaneity from players and the inherent chaos that defines great basketball. Only with that spontaneity, could this offensive system take advantage of whatever the defense gave it on every possession. Further, the sequences of “Reads and Reactions” must be allowed to happen in any order, without contradiction. By doing so, the offense could not be scouted. 13. The system should be built on “habits” for two reasons. First, habits can be drilled into almost anyone with enough repetition. Second, to require thinking on the parts of the players would only slow them down and violate my principle requiring no prerequisite level of basketball IQ for the players. 14. To build this system of “habitual layers”, no two layers could ever contradict each other. Once a habit of reaction or movement is trained into a player, I would never require him or her to react differently as we build the subsequent layers of the offense. 15. And as if all of the above wasn’t ambitious enough, I wanted one offense that could be used against both man-to-man and zone defenses. With a goal set as lengthy and complex as this, I wondered how to go about building a principled offensive system. My answer? By examining how we build defense…

THE DEFENSIVE PROGRESSION First, we teach players the skills required to play defense: their defensive stance on the ball; their defensive stance when in help position; their denial stance when one pass away; how to defend in the post; what to do with their hands when their man is dribbling, driving, or shooting; how to out or check out, , and outlet the ball. These are just some of the tools that each individual defender needs to bring to the table. There are encyclopedias of drills to build these tools into an individual player. But these tools are not enough to build team defense.

The next step is to tie these individual players together in a 5-player-coordinated defensive unit. We all have our own preferences and twists, but traditionally, we split the floor into ball-side and weak- side halves. How do players know what side they are on? By reading the ball in relationship to their man. On the elementary level, it’s as simple as this: if you are one pass away (ball-side), then be in your denial stance. If you are two passes away (weak-side), then be in your helping stance; perhaps halfway between the ball and your man (or in the lane, or on the midline, etc.) As the ball is passed around, we expect coordination as a whole, even though each defender is simply reading the ball. I would call this the first defensive player. I think you would agree that there’s no need to move on to the second defensive player until the players have mastered it.

Defensive players are added one at a time, and are never expected to contradict the previous defensive layer. We must add how to defend ball screens, how to defend screens away from the ball, how to defend basket cuts, how to defend flashes into the lane, etc.There is also a teaching progression to these layers. As an example, post defense will be taught before we teach the other players how to help down on the post. The bottom line is that regardless of what you teach and when you teach it, I think you’ll agree with me that we don’t teach it ALL at one time and that we try to teach it in a logical, building-block progression.

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And as we teach these defensive layers, we are limited to what the players can absorb. Obviously, if you’re on the youth level, you probably don’t get beyond the first step.You’re happy if you can just get all the kids in a defensive stance at the same time! But if you’re on the college or pro level, you expect to get mastery of all the layers in only a few weeks. In other words, the progression is the same, but how far you get depends on the level of your players.

Let me sum up the defensive teaching progression: 1. Give the players their defensive tools. 2. Drill their defensive rules until they’re reactionary habits. 3. Tie all the rules together into a 5-player-coordinated defense. 4. Move your expectations to principled situations.

I understand that you might have a different progression. Certainly your defensive details will be different than mine, but my point is that there’s a teaching progression with defense. No one jumps directly to step 4 (Principled Defensive Situations) without first demanding a command of the first three “defensive layers.” Develop the potential of players and transform it into individual and team performance.

Coaching Courses for January 2009

Level 0

Assocation: Gold Coast Dates: Sunday 18th January Where: Carrara Indoor Stadium, Nerang - Broadbeach Rd, Cararra Contact: Wendy O’Brien 07 5594 4108

Level 1

Assocation: Gold Coast Date: 18th January Where: Carrara Indoor Stadium, Nerang - Broadbeach Rd, Cararra Contact: Wendy O’Brien 07 5594 4108

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THE RUSSIAN WOMEN’S YOUTH PROGRAM

Valery Lunichkin is the Russian Basketball Federation Coaches Council Chairman and Head Coach of the Olympic Youth Training . Former head coach of the Russian Senior Women’s National teams, he won two European Championships (1978 and 1989) and one Olympic Games (1980). With the Junior national team he won three European Championships (1986, 1988, and 2000), while with the Young Women’s team he won a silver Medal at the 2002 European Championship. He was lecturer at many international coaches clinics.

The Russian Women’s Youth Basketball Program is designed to teach two important aspects, one is the organizational skills and the other focusing on the technical skills. We achieve these aims in the following manner. 1. Specialized training camps for young players are organized: ▼ Specialized “big man” camps are organized. ▼ Special attention is devoted to each position, shooting guard, point guard, power forward, small forward, and center. ▼ Special attention is given to one aspect of the game, such as defense. 2. Competitions are arranged: ▼ School-level competitions ▼ Regional competitions ▼ Youth Basketball League competitions 3. National Teams: ▼ Cadets & Cadettes ▼ Junior Men & Women ▼ Young Men & Women To have our players progress in a logical fashion, we follow these important steps: ▼ Optimal intensification ▼ Athletic conditioning for years to last ▼ Variable tactical preparation ▼ Uninterrupted playing preparation ▼ Step-by-step individualization

OPTIMAL INTENSIFICATION Intensification is now a major trend in modern sport training. It is used in basketball to: ▼ increase the player’s movements per time unit ▼ decrease the time interval needed to perform certain technical movements ▼ increase the speed and velocity of tactical interactions In order to increase the skills and physical conditioning of our young female basketball players, we use the following methods: ▼ Young players 9-12 years old: The intensification of performance through special exercises that will prepare them to play and compete. ▼ Young players 13-15 years old: Intensify exercises and drills and decrease the work volume. ▼ Young players 16-17 years old and young women 18-20 years old: The intensification of practicing with a special program.

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LONG-TERM ATHLETIC PREPARATION The athletic conditioning of young women’s players is a decisive factor in helping to create talented senior players years later. This only comes after long-term athletic refinement. Within the category 9-12 years old players, athletic conditioning is a complex one, with all physical skills being trained at the same time. Games involving movement, running, gymnastics, and acrobatics are used to reach our aims. At the 13-15 years old level, conditioning is slightly different, with emphasis placed on specific physical qualities, and more training time is spent on enhancing a player’s weaker physical skills. At this stage strength-training exercises are introduced, using light weights to help build upper- body and leg strength. At the 16-17 and 18-20 years old levels, conditioning is geared specifically towards on court improvement. Sprinting and distance running exercises are used to develop optimal cardiovascular strength. Weight-training exercises are introduced to develop quick, explosive power.

VARIABLE TACTICAL PREPARATION To increase the level of tactical preparedness we work on the development of individual skills and the improvements in team play. Here are the specific aims for various age groups: ▼ Young players 9-12 years old: Improving the motor components of reactions and the shortening of reaction time with special games of movements. ▼ Young players13-15 years old: Developing the operative mind with special creative games and algorithmic tasks, and working on team tactics. ▼ Young players 16-17 years old and 18-20 years old: Improving the tactical mind with specific practice sessions.

UNINTERRUPTED PLAYING PREPARATION In the learning process the modern psychophysiology says that one of the most important aspects is that “the game is a natural need of the child’s body”. What we call the “uninterrupted playing preparation” is based upon the method of playing and competing and the method of changing conditions on tactical and technical drills. For young players 9 to 12 years old the use of games for learning is accented. Games of movements and relay-races are permanently included into the training process. For young players 13 - 15 years old drills where they play are regularly used and we change the conditions of the drills and the practice. For young players 16-17 and young women 18-20 years old we run systematically mini tournaments (1 on 1, 2 on 2, 3 on 3) in all the stages of work. Also, for these last two ages categories it’s very important to keep a good competitive level.

IMPROVING PLAYERS INDIVIDUAL SKILLS “Individualization” is the work for improving the individual skills, based on individual characteristics. We follow these methods for reaching the aim: ▼ Young players 9-12 years old: The individualization of the learning process by implementing the technical and tactical basketball fundamentals. ▼ Young players 13-15 years old: The individualization at group level (the players are divided by positions) and the individual approach working on the shortcomings. ▼ Young players 16-17 years old and young women 18-20 years old: The very accurate individualization by working on defining their best sport skills and on improving their less skilled characteristics. In the training and learning work this type of individualization is implemented through the special highly individual exercises, always using the pedagogical criteria.

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‘SHOOTING FOR SUCCESS’ A 140 SHOT PRE-PRACTICE SHOOTING ROUTINE BY BARRY KECKE Director of Player Acquisition, Cleveland Cavallers

As Director of Player Acquisition for the Cleveland Cavaliers, I watch a lot of college basketball all over the USA. I’m constantly assessing talent, andone of the major characteristics I look for is attitude and work habits. Is the player on time for team functions’? Does he work hard in practice? Does he put in extra time on his own? Does he have the desire to excel both on the court and in the class room? Scouts and coaches are always looking for the great shooters, and the question that always arises is: Are great shooters born or are they developed through long, hard, and proper practice? I have always believed that while some players possess God-given gifts - the tools to become outstanding shooters - other factors must also be present the desire to excel, good work habits, and coaching.

After watching hundreds of college and pro games and practices every year, I’m still amazed at how many players go out on the court practice after practice, game after game, and program themselves for a poor shooting performance. They simply do not prepare properly. How many times have you seen a player come out on the floor and immediately dribble the ball out to the 20- 25 foot range and shoot a jumper - and miss? Then shoot another from the same range - and miss gain? This scenario might be repeated 6-12 times. Sure, the player may go on and hit a couple of shots, but his success ratio will probably be less than 40%. We all know that the most important factor in good shooting is confidence - a positive mental attitude. But how can a player feel confident when he keeps shooting the ball from 18-25 feet? Isn’t that more likely to put negative thoughts into his mind: that he is “cold” or “off” since the ball isn’t going into the hoop?

Shot selection has a lot to do with success. The NBA has the greatest shooters in the world, but if you examine their 3-point field-goal percentages you’ll usually find that the top ten figures will range from about 45% to 34%, with the average falling somewhere around 35.7%. So how can a high school or college player be successful practicing his shot at 18-25 feet? In golf, the good players will start practice with short putts and then gradually increase the distance. In baseball, the batter will bunt the first couple of pitches to get his eye on the ball, and infootball the place-kicker will start at maybe 20yards and work his way up to 50 yards. Good practice habits are essential in achieving success, and it is the coach’s responsibility to teach, motivate, and place the athlete in situations that enable him to succeed.

During shooting practice, the coach should circulate from basket to basket, working with individual problems and always reinforcing proper footwork. Good footwork is the basis for the type of body position and balance that all great shooters must have - that is, good body alignment, a good hand-wrist elbow relationship, and the proper extension and follow-through of the hand. Many players are in placing the palm of the hand on the ball, instead of getting the ball upon the fingertips. The correct hand position - palm off the ball and fingertip control - will allow for a freer flip of the wrist and extension of the fingers, producing better rotation. Elbow alignment is also a problem area. Many players tend to keep their shooting elbow too far from their body. As a result, their action is more of a push than a smooth extension and follow through.

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The push lowers the trajectory of the shot. A close elbow will allow the athlete to lift up on the ball and give the shot more trajectory and range. Remember, you can fit two into a basket from above. Consequently, the lower the trajectory of the shot, the more precise the shot will have to be. At Westminster College, my team averaged 55% from the field for two years and set a single-game conference record of 73%. Yes, we were blessed with good shooters, but we also subscribed to an effective practice routine. We called it “Shooting for Success”. After stretching exercise, each player was required to shoot 10 shots from each side of the backboard, concentrating or fingertip control, spin, release, and follow-through. Next, the players were required to shoot from the lay up position, 10 on each side again working on form. Third, they had to shoot 10 shots from the right and left blocks. Fourth, they had to shoot 10 shots from the left and right elbows of the key. Fifth, the players then had to pair up and shoot 10 shots at a time from five different posi- tions (left and right corners, left and right wing areas, and the back edge of the key directly on line with the basket) for a total of 50 shots.Only after they completed this routine were they allowed to get out to the 20-22 foot range. From the start of the routine to the end, which took about 15 min- utes, each player shot a total of 140 good shots. The fact that they could make a large percentage of them generated confidence and success. Basketball is a game of habits. atchW and analyze such pros as Larry Bird, Adrian Dantley, Chris Mullin, or college players like Jeff Lebo, Steve Alford, and Dell Curry. You’ll discover that the one thing they have in common is proper practice habits

On Ball Screens drills taken from the NITC tour to France

2 v 0 SERIES - On Ball Series 2 v 0 SERIES - On Ball Series O1 makes an attacking dribble to the basket O3 “rim runs”off the ball screening action. then retreats, on the retreat O1 looks to pull and shoot the jump shot or O3 sprints out to set a wing on ball screen feed the post on a seal. O1 drives off the on ball to the middle Progression: 2 v 2

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Bourges 3 on 3 on-ball screens Blue 3 on 3come down to play Red 3 on 3. 2 & 3 run the screen & roll or rim run options. 1 passes to wing & circles out to the weakside. 1 spots up on the weakside. 3 runs across the court to screen the wing for Play until a score or a stop. the screen & roll action.

After the score Red take the ball out of bounds & advance it up the floor to the waiting 3 defenders (marked as X in this diagram) & the drill is repeated.

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