This is the outline of a presentation given by Mike McNeill to Steve Nash Youth League Coaches at the Okanagan Extravaganza in Kelowna, BC, April 1,2006.

Combining Movement Skills and Basketball Skills For Youth Players

General Points: 1. Movements Skills – include running (forward and backward), sliding, skipping, hopping, bounding, squatting, lunging, change of direction, turning, twisting, - although not a movement skill-tracking is another crucial part of athletic growth. 2. You can improve athleticism – the ABC’S (Agility, Balance, Coordination and Speed) and the 5 S’s (Stamina, Strength, Speed, Skill, Suppleness). Part of every practice should be dedicated specifically to this. 3. For young athletes it is crucial that these movements are done early in their career otherwise they will have little chance to pick them up later. 4. If you do not do this you are retarding the athletic growth of the athletes you are coaching. They will never be as good as they could be. 5. You have a dual task a) prevent injury and b) enhance performance. 6. We move in three different planes a) sagital – front and back, b) frontal – to left and right, c) transverse – rotational movement. Move kids through the 3 planes of movement. 7. Move from 1) easy to hard 2) simple to complex

Running Form Proper technique - some points of emphasis Stand tall Heels to buttocks – heels should not be under the knees Push into the ground Arm swings on the floor – arm swing accounts for 15% of running speed – it is the arm driving back Athlete sits on the floor and moves arms as they would if running • Points of emphasis: ♦ Sit tall ♦ Relax at shoulders ♦ Bend arms 90 degrees at elbows ♦ Swing arm forward so hand comes to mid-line of the body ♦ Drive elbow back so it comes to shoulder level and hands to hips A’s skips – use running form drills while dribbling a basketball Forward Backward Speed – should do speed work every practice; usually have them give max effort for 3–5 seconds Tennis ball drops - athletes are in pairs ♦ One with tennis ball other will sprint to catch it – line up about 10 feet from each other ♦ Drop the tennis ball from shoulder level – sprint and catch the ball before the ball bounces a second time Methods: Partners facing each others – go on the drop Partner turned sideways, uses a crossover step to begin – go on the command Partner with back to tennis ball – drop step, crossover and sprint – go on the command Relays – with ball or without ball • Can be a straight running • Dribbling • Obstacle courses Run Rabbit Run Game • Two teams (A and B) – line up at opposite baselines, one player behind each other • To begin one member from Team A starts at the opposite line • When coach says “go!” the Team A player at foul line sprints back to his baseline and the first player from Team B chases and tries to tag • The player from Team B must get to at least the opposite foul line because as soon as they get to the foul line the next player from Team A can chase • Each player must make a decision as they near the opposite foul line if they are going to catch the player they are chasing – if not, they should slow down to prepare for a quick change of direction • Benefits: ♦ Speed ♦ Change of direction ♦ Decision making • Then do it dribbling – left and right hand

Sliding – do we ever slide in basketball? Yes – defence, many change of directions Side Shuffle with change of direction Partners face each other with one ball being passed back and forth between them Partner move down court laterally – shuffling They each slide two times to left and one back to the right – passing all the time Then do with change of direction on the whistle End-line Slides with partner Partners face each other about 3 feet apart - one on offence one on defence The offence slides and tries to prevent the defender from staying directly in front of them Use a distance that is about the width of the lane Great conditioner Ensure players use proper technique Partners - Bounce Pass and Go – push pass with outside hand Dribbling while sliding

Skipping – do we ever skip in basketball? Yes – hesitation dribble It is an excellent coordination activity – and you can add arms swing to make it more challenging Technique Skip moving down the floor – do high skips (knee comes up) and low skips (quick) Skip while dribbling

Bounding – do we ever bound in basketball? Yes – lay-ups Giant Skips – move down the floor alternating between left and right giant skips High Five Lay-ups Coach will stand on bench, chair, etc. and players run and jump like they are doing a lay- up and slap hands (high-five) with the coach. Taller coaches may not have to stand on anything. Left and Right Hand Lay-ups Left and Right Hand

Lunging – do we ever lunge in basketball? Every time we change direction A lunge is a single leg squat – it is deceleration which is critical to athlete’s ability to change direction quickly Benefits Strengthen core and leg musculature for • Injury prevention • Vital for change of direction Challenges balance when you narrow base and add upper body movement ie. a twisting lunge Discuss proper lunge position Chest up Knee over ankle 90 degree bend at knee – thigh parallel to floor, shin perpendicular to floor back knee inches from the floor 3D Matrix – Do dribbling a basketball and add reaches Front lunge and reach to sides and overhead Side lunge reach to side

Squatting – do we ever squat in basketball? Yes – defensive stance, post play, We do a version of a squat every time we stop, drop down to jump, drop to shoot It is a critical movement skill for basketball players from both a performance and injury prevention standpoint Changing direction is about deceleration and to decelerate we must SL Squat or Double Leg Squat What do you watch for? Sit back – the buttocks goes back; not the knees extending past the toes • Squat with ball held in front – do this slowly 2 seconds down, 2 seconds up • Squat holding partners hands – they can deeper, do this slowly Knees over 2nd toes • If the knees go in it may be poor glute medius or lateralis strength ♦ To help – squat with ball between knees ♦ Squat with partner – ball held between partners knees Chest over knees Chin between big toes Heels coming off floor • This is a sign of poor flexibility in the calf region • Long levers Drop off Bench and land in squat – land quiet, soft Stick Drops 3 Player Weave to two foot stop

Hopping – do we ever hop in basketball? Jumping to , A hop is a double leg jump Great to develop strength • Injury prevention • Vertical jump height Hop while dribbling Hop while 3 player weave

Change of Direction – at the highest level occurs constantly – one study indicated that there was a change of direction every few seconds in basketball Body Position Thigh inside knee Shin angle – about 60 degree Butt sitting back Chest over knee Head still Arm back Agility Ladder – the doubles alley in a badminton court serves as a great agility ladder There are countless agility drills with an agility ladder • Two in one out – land on balance • Two in one out – add pass Agility Run around Chairs – see The Coaches Clipboard Index Agility Run around Ball – see The Coaches Clipboard Index Deke Drill – see The Coaches Clipboard Index 3 player weave with V-cut outside players stay in lanes dribbler dribbles to outside – 2 foot stops, and hands off the ball player that gets hand off dribbles to other side – receiver v-cuts and receives hand off Bobcat Drill – see The Coaches Clipboard Index

Turning and Twisting Name Passing Player catching the pass has their back to the passer Passer calls out name and passes the ball – receiver turns and catches the ball As athlete gets better the pass can be high, low, soft, hard, etc.

Tracking Toss and Rebound Toss the ball high in the air and jump and catch the ball Attempt to catch ball as high as possible Ball Slams and Rebound Use a two-overhead throw into the floor and get the ball to bounce as high as possible off the floor Then jump and catch the ball as high as possible

Court Tour This puts all the movement skills together The kids run the doing different types of movement at different places on the court Example • Begin in corner and run sideline to ½ crt. • At ½ slide to centre jump circle and then run around jump circle • Then run across to opposite sideline • Backpedal to baseline • Defensive slide to edge of lane • Sprint up to foul line slide across foul line • Backpedal down lane and slide back to corner • 2nd time through use high knees or skips