A new season is upon us. The summer days are coming to an end and cooler air is passing through. All the off season workouts are behind you and now during workouts, you are envisioning your opponent in front of you. I was at my daughters training session earlier and began to reflect on last season and was thinking of new ideas for this upcoming season. I know for me , my main focus is going to be on fundamental skill sets. Shooting, passing, dribbling and defense. The little things that a lot of people overlook. The importance of the fundamentals of the game has been ignored by most players and coaches. And us coaches expect players to already be able to do some of the things that we ask them to do. But during the offseason, a lot of the kids are not being taught that and it tends to be an "out of sight, out of mind" mindset. Last year, our varsity team was not a good shooting team. Quite frankly, we were a terrible shooting team. Our opponents would play us zone all game and dare us to shoot, and we fell right into that trap. We couldn't shoot the ball. They would pack the paint and we would force the ball inside. Without an inside presence, you know how that ended. And if you don't know, well it ended in another loss. This year, I plan on working on those fundamental skills everyday. Getting lots of shots up before, during and after practice. Creating muscle memory. We as coaches need to get back to teaching the kids the game of basketball. Where to be on the court, what to do in certain situations. How to make the proper cut at the proper time. Making the smart pass to the open player and not shooting the ball just to shoot it but shoot to make. I like to use the term, "play smarter, not harder". Whats funny is, I was watching this training session and the instructor was saying that he likes to develop point guards. So he was doing a 5 on 5 drill and as im watching his drill, I was asking myself, "If he is building point guards, then why is the point guard dribbling with his head down and looking for his shot first?" It baffled me. I thought a point guards job was to see the floor. Be a floor general. Make plays for your teammates. Make sure they are where they need to be, not dribble, dribble, dribble until you see a shot you like. It all starts there. Teach the kids the game properly. Some kids have natural ability but don't have the knowledge of the game. Others that may have the knowledge , may not have the skill set. It is what it is but if we teach them the right things, they will prosper. So think back to your off season workouts, the shooting, the sweat, the hard work, because very shortly, it will all come into play. Are you ready?????? Me?, I CANT WAIT!!!!!
#DoMore
~Coach T
