Lots of shots - Dave Arseneault

Spend any amount of time with Dave Arseneault of Grinnell College, Iowa, and you'll quickly discover that his enthusiasm for his team's style of play is contagious. When Coach Arseneault worked with coaches at a recent Can-Am On-Court Basketball Coaching Clinic, every coach left the gym with the challenges to make practices more upbeat, take more shots, and increase the tempo (by getting out and running) in games. Coach Arseneault's philosophy includes each player taking 100 three's in every practice, shooting (in game) by the 12 second mark of each possession, and taking 60 team three's per game. Beyond that, he offered clinic attendees the following:

• coaches should develop a system that is 'player friendly' and makes kids want to come to the gym each day (takes creativity and lots of prep)
• every practice drill at Grinnell ends with a three point shot
• players need to work on getting shots off quickly (as there is very little time versus a pressure defense)
• shooters need to think in terms of fractions of time and not waste any fractions
• passing is SO important - a good pass (delivered to a shot pocket) makes a good shooter 15% more effective
• a pass on target to the shooter will allow them to no longer think of catching the ball and simply focus on the muscle memory of the shot routine
• on catch, shooters need to keep the ball high and never let it get closer to the floor
• as discussed every season at the COBA camp, "good shooters don't shoot quickly - they PREPARE to shoot quickly"
  

Warming up - practices and games

Taking time to evaluate your program is essential. The obvious time for most coaches to do so is in the off-season. The spring and summer months are great for attending clinics (such as Can-Am), going to camps (like COBA), as well as for reflection. However, in-season evaluation should be an ongoing process. Ask yourself if you are happy with each and every aspect of your team. What can be improved? It is never too late to mix in some changes.

One example is your team's warm up routine. Are you happy with it? Are they getting ready to perform at their expected level and demonstrating great energy, or are they simply going through their usual routine? Why not freshen it up? When Coach Dave Arseneault of Grinnell College shared with attending coaches at a recent Can-Am coaching clinic, he outlined his warm up expectations. Every practice, his team must impress him with a warm up routine when they sprint in to the gym - it needs to be fresh, loud, creative, and show plenty of energy. If it does not have the right spirit then his team must head back out the door and try again - obviously, they begin every practice awake and ready to get to work.

How about games? Is your team ready to play? Are they properly warmed up and energized? With thanks to Alan Stein of StrongerTeam.com, if you watch the clips that follow, you may see a few moves that you want your team to coordinate into it's warm ups (games and practices). Alan is an excellent teacher, shares willingly, and has posted great clips of both Maryland and Duke warming up for games. Enjoy:

Duke - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOwSUEvm1Bk&feature=related

Maryland -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UosNG9aVMXk&feature=youtu.be&a

Highlights from 2008 Can-Am On-Court Basketball Coaches Clinic

For two days in June 2008, at our Can-Am On-Court Basketball Coaches Clinic, we had the pleasure of hosting many keen coaches from the US and Canada. Thanks to the great instruction and sharing by Don Meyer of Northern State University, Dave Smart of Carleton University, and David Arseneault of Grinnell College, our attending coaches went away with heads and note books full of information.

For a brief glimpse of some teaching offered by Coach Meyer and Coach Arseneault, visit the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG2nwcWAD_o . They, along with Coach Smart, are excellent coaches and have enjoyed success on and off the basketball court. Every summer, we offer clinicians that encourage and challenge coaches to pause and look at teaching basketball in many different ways. 2008 was no exception. We look forward to another strong roster of coaches in June of 2010. So far, Dave Odom has enthusiastically agreed to lead some insightful and entertaining sessions for us. As soon as our complete lineup of presenters is confirmed, we will be sure to pass along the update as well as our early registration details.