Youth Tip Series, #3

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas has written an incredible article entitled, "America needs more 'teaching' from its coaches."
I will present this article in a series here---this is MUST reading for you Coach!

Pete Newell, the legendary coach and teacher, has often said that basketball is "overcoached
and under-taught".
He is absolutely right, and that is finally catching up with us, as is the rest of the basketball world.

Generally, "coaching" consists of team preparation, the devising of game plans and
schemes to defeat opponents. When you are coaching, you are dealing with strategies,
different offenses and defenses, and putting in plays to take advantage of the skills,
strengths and weaknesses of your players. The measure of a coach is the quality of the
development of his system, and has been distilled into winning.

"Teaching" consists of instruction and training of individuals in the fundamental skills of
the game, and in teaching players how to play, instead of how to run plays.
The measure of a teacher is not in winning, but in the fundamental soundness and skill level of the
players taught. A player with excellent fundamentals and skills can play successfully in any system.
Generally, American players are less skilled than their European counterparts. The
United States produces the best "athletes" in the game, but not necessarily the best "basketball players".

Coaches Test
What percentage of your total weekly practice time is spent "teaching" fundamental skills vs. "coaching" which is preparing for games, OB plays, offenses, defenses and strategies.

If we are "teaching" as stated above, 70% of our total practice time must be spent on teaching fundamental skills.

This is key: Running drills does not mean you are "teaching" players how to play through skill development.

Proper teaching progression is:

1. Skill development that if fundamentally based.

2. Putting the skill into the drill and designing drills specifically for the execution of that skill.
3. Put teaching and drill into "small games" like 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 and eventually 4 on 4.

4. Introduce 5 on 5 team play concepts (not offenses with rigid structure) but then returning to 1 then 2 then 3 on a consistent basis. Why? Players and teams will never "master" 1, 2, and 3, so we need to always back up and start over and repeat.

**Would you build a house without FIRST building a strong foundation NO MATTER how long it takes?
Would you commit to your foundation before doing anything else?
We all agree the answer is YES, and it also must be a YES when teaching the game of basketball at all levels.

COMMON COACHING OBJECTIONS
The number one objection around the country by youth and junior school coaches is that there is not enough time to teach skills and fundamentals in practice.
"We have to get ready to play the game," coaches say.

Therein lies the real issue:
We place more value on getting ready to play "games" than we do teaching kids HOW to play the game.

My challenge to all coaches is to Teach First then Play.
3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys and girls need to play a very limited amount of games and commit to teaching the 1-4 teaching progression above.

We put kids in no win situations by playing many games when they do not have the skills or confidence to execute at game time.

The DECISION is yours---Teach First or Games First?

Jay Bilas and I agree wholeheartedly with Hall of Famer Pete Newell that basketball at the lower levels is the most "overcoached" and "undertaught" game of all.

Let's keep the kid's best interest in mind and teach them how to play now, before it's too late!

Youth Tip Series, #2

SHOOTING TIPS AND PROGRESSION
Here I detail the key components of teaching the shot, using a chair as a teaching tool, and the progression needed for teaching players of all ages. Youth players especially will benefit from these ideas and this allows parents and coaches to successfully teach kids also.

Teaching Model for Shooting---Youth, High School, College, and NBA Players The number one favorite activity for youth players is shooting. In fact the same is true for players of any age including NBA players. These 4 steps below are exactly the same steps I use with Division I college players and NBA level players. **Jordan Burgason is one of the Top 10 shooters in NCAA basketball and he shot over 2,000 shots from the chair in 10 weeks this summer. This is not just a "youth" approach, but is essential for all players. Teaching young players to shoot takes; 1. Knowledge of teaching the shot; mechanics 2. A 7 step teaching progression--how to add one part at a time 3. Using a chair as a shooting tool 4. Repetition--Repetition--Repetition Steps #1 through #4 is the IPDA way to teach shooting. #1--Knowledge of teaching the shot It takes time, patience, and study to teach the shot properly. Many college coaches are average at best in terms of the ability to teach shooting. If you don't know how to teach it, learn how! Common Mistake--Some coaches bypass the teaching, technique, and mechanics and simply have players "shoot." A shooting Drill is only effective when players have mastered the fundamentals elements of the shot. A shooting drill should not be part of a youth practice, grades 3-12, unless you have properly taught the shot. Coaches Test---In practice, how much time do you "teach" shooting (form shooting, technique, mechanics) compared to shooting drills or free shooting? See above. #2--A teaching progression is the next important item. Here is proper shooting progression. 1. Demonstrate a form shot--A form shot is done without a ball and deals with stance, balance, and body posture. 2. Players form shoot the ball as coaches observe and correct. (Without the ball). 3. Add a ball and repeat steps 1 and 2. 4. Move to a basket, 4-6 feet away, and have players form shoot with a ball, using only their strong hand. Why? The shot comes from the strong hand primarily with the other hand, the guide hand, simply sending the ball on its way to the basket. 5. Add the guide hand, which is "lightly" touching the ball on the side of the ball. Shoot several shots as coaches observe and correct. 6. Step back to 8 feet and repeat. 7. Step back to 10 feet and repeat. **Older players will continue to move back 2 feet at a time, while younger players will go as far as they can. How far from the basket should players form shoot? As far as they are able to "maintain" proper shooting form and mechanics. For most youth, this will be no longer than 10 feet from the basket. Common Mistake--Some coaches cover one or two of the steps and go right into shooting drills. Some cover 3 or 4. To properly teach shooting, all 7 steps must be taught at each practice and during player's free time. Coaches Test--How many of the 7 steps do you teach and how many of your practices do you include it? #3--Using a chair to teach shooting I am a huge proponent of using chairs to teach shooting. From first grade through NBA level players I have used the chair. It can become part of your teaching progression and help players with body posture, shot preparation, lower body explosion, and eliminate short shots. Over 50% of all shots are short of the rim! The chair tool can help reduce this percentage drastically. Common Mistake--Teach shooting from a "comfortable" stance. When players are fatigued, they amount of lower body power is virtually eliminated, causing short and missed shots. From the chair, we "overtrain" players to sit into their shot and explode with their lower body the supply the inertia for the ball to get to the basket. A favorite IPDA saying is: "Your Lower body shoots the shot, your upper body guides it." Coaches Test--Learn how to use the chair to teach shooting and have chairs be available for all practices and skill development sessions. #4--Repetition--Repetition--Repetition We must have patience when teaching the shot and move slowly through the steps above. Moving "slow" when teaching shooting is 10 times more effective than rushing through it. Repetition in shooting, as in any sport skill, develops muscle memory and over time players will learn to shoot "without" thinking about "how" to shoot. KEY--Repetition with proper form and technique is the key; this creates good and consistent shooters. Repetition without proper form and technique produces poor and inconsistent shooters. Ideas for Repetion: 1. Have players form shoot before practice from a chair, shooting against the wall with proper arch. 2. Finish every practice with form shooting from the chair because players are fatigued and this will build leg strength and minimize short shots. 3. Encourage players to work on form shooting away from practice and keep a chart of how many form shots each player shoots between each practice. Common Mistakes: A brief period of shooting instruction and form shooting in practice and out of practice will not develop the muscle memory needed to build good shooters. Coaches Test: Use time before and after practice off the court to repetitively work on form shooting and mechanics. If you have any questions about teaching the shot, you can contact me, rb@coachrb.com

Youth Tip Series, #1

Keeping Your Head Up Playing basketball can be a confusing experience for young players. Dribbling the ball is one of the favorite skills because players get their chance to show what they can do. Dribbling can be an asset or problem with your team depending on the skill level of the players. It is a skill that must be developed constantly. One of the main things players must do is to keep their head up as they are dribbling. This helps them: 1. See where defenders are to avoid dribbling into traffic. 2. See teammates who are open on the floor. 3. See the basket to help them make a shot. At IPDA we have a favorite saying that we ask players constantly: "What color is the rim?" When players answer "Orange", we ask "how do you know?" Players answer, "Because I'm looking at it!" That's is the kind of strategy we can use with kids to help them be successful while dribbling. That's what we call a "Victory" in teaching young players 'How to play the game the right way."

Welcome to Youth Basketball Tips

This site is dedicated to helping youth players, coaches, and parents be the best they can be. I am writing a series of youth tips for my CoachRB newsletter and will include each of them here also.