Floppy Cross Screen Action

Here is a Floppy Cross screen action by Barcelona - Variations on simple concepts such as a cross screen action can disguise a simple action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6NlMB2jPWA
When designing your plays consider adding sequences together to disguise the intent. This will confuse the defense and present the defense with multiple things to defend. Remember also to not complicate things too much as simplicity is sometimes the best option when it comes to getting your best match-up the scoring opportunity.

Understanding Athletes

Coaches, as this blog has mentioned previously, need to embrace the new media - especially when considering the social and communication behavior of their athletes. This weekend, an interesting discussion was repeated from an earlier broadcast of Spark on cbc.ca - the link follows. Essentially, it covered how people of all ages now view friendships, contacts, rank people, along with how they communicate and what is important to them. If nothing else, the discussion is thought-provoking, especially for coaches attempting to cross generation gaps:

http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2010/02/full-interview-danah-boyd-and-william-deresiewicz-on-friendship/

To view an article that goes into further detail, go to:

http://chronicle.com/article/Faux-Friendship/49308/

Defending Screens - Dave Odom

Dave Odom talks about how he defends screens on defense. He is all about disruption of offensive player movements. He suggests you should bump the screener off their path to disrupt the timing and placement of the screen. Check it out at http://cobacampblog.blogspot.com/

Making a difference

The concept that coaches "get what they accept" is so simple and so true. At the peak of any season, beyond a team sharing the ball and making their shots, coaches often comment that championships come down to aspects such as defense, rebounding, and ball protection.

That said, why are players allowed to come in to the gym and not work with a purpose, even if they are in for extra/leisure time? The small changes will make the big difference. Granted, the sport needs to be fun but consider the following:

• if a player walks in to an empty gym and sees a ball they will likely pick it up and dribble it - they would be more effective going through a short series of dribble moves
• if a player is simply taking shots, get them to move to new spots, move laterally or inside/outside, chart their progress, take a set number, don't just shoot
• emphasize footwork, don't simply shoot close to the rim, self-pass to imitate a post reception and then work on various moves to each shoulder
• throw the ball off the backboard, work on rebounds, catch above the head with two hands, protect the ball at the chin, work on strong wide pivots with a look downcourt
• pass the ball off a wall, practice good pass reception to strong ball protection - applies to post players and perimeter players, vary the body location of the catch (chin, overhead, hip, etc)
• work on slides, digs, loose balls, close-outs - these can be done without a partner
  

Why they play

Never lose sight of why people, the very young to the quite old, play sports. In general, there are three main reasons that vary in importance during a sport career - enjoy the sport, spend time with friends, improve in the sport. Coaches need to be mindful of why athletes participate. For a child, they may be trying the sport for sheer enjoyment purposes. For a teenage or varsity athlete, they may be trying to increase skill sets in order to reach a next level. For adults, sport may offer a regular gathering of friends with like interests.

That said, a coach or leader is entrusted with many important responsibilities, some of which are listed below:

• provide a safe environment
• make the sport appealing to their audience, even if the athlete is paid
  
• improve the ability of the athlete through appropriate instruction and challenges
  
• understand the participant's goals and help them towards achievement
• make the sport experience positive so that participation continues and it is looked back upon with fondness
  

Post Defense Strategy

An example of a defender digging on the post to disrupt the offensive player's post move Digging on the post is a great way to disrupt the offensive post player without committing 100% to a double team. How to execute a dig: The closest ballside defender faces the baseline or top (depending on your preference of positioning. When the ball is entered into the post, the ballside wing defender moves into position halfway between the post and their check. On the post offensive players dribble they attack the ball for a second and recover to their check.

Program Humility

Coaches should seek to remind their players that they are privileged and should be grateful. Some ways to help players grow and build humility in to programs:

• volunteer at schools, read for kids, teach them games and skills (players will quickly see the positive impact in the lives of youth, teachers will be thankful for the generosity and help, fans will be fostered)
• serve meals for the less fortunate at a soup kitchen (team meals and per diems will no longer be taken for granted or be unappreciated)
• help the elderly in care facilities or assist at a hospital (will remind players that good health is not a given and needs to be maintained)
• travel as a team, whether close or far, to other cities and gyms (it will reinforce the importance of togetherness, the value of the home gym and locker room, plus the ease of the local routine versus the displacement and sometimes inconvenience of travel)
• assist in times of crisis or local emergencies, such as weather-related events like floods or storms (reminds of calm, focus, and dedication to task in the face of adversity)
• overall, an "other" focus will lead to player and team growth