BeantownHoops Blog

Coaches, as you get ready for the first day of practice, here is a list of items I’ve compiled during my coaching career to keep in mind before your first game:

Administrative

1. Has your A.D. scheduled buses for all levels already?
2. If you are fundraising during the season, do you have a parent’s group or alumni to help the team out?
3. Ask yourself this important question, If your principal was not required to go to your games, do you think he or she would still go to support your program?  If you answered no, you better be sure they are on your side.
4. Does your A.D. coach another sport in the school?  If they do, make sure you attend their games to show your support for him or her as well.
5. Have you met or do you plan to meet with your player’s parents?  Be sure to let them know what is expected of them and their sons or daughters.  Please do not talk with them about playing time ever!

Tryouts

1. Make sure that you have enough scrimmage time so that the players that you are cutting can say they had enough court time.
2. Don’t keep a Senior unless you know he is going to play significant minutes or if he/she is content with just being a cheerleader from the bench.
   
3. If the football playoffs are going to affect your roster make sure all the players are aware of their tryout status.

Coaches

1. Are all your coaches in your program using the same terminology for offense and defense?
2. Assistants are there to assist you, not be the head coach.  Don’t let them overstep their boundaries.

X’s and O’s - At the very least, the ten things you need in by your first game

1. Base half-court offense vs. man and zones (even and odd fronts)
2. Base half-court defense
3. Defense against baseline and sideline out of bounds
4. Full-court press breaker
5. Special situation to beat the shot clock
6. End of game situations with 2 minutes left 
7. End of game situations for a last second two and a three
8. One solid sideline out of bounds
9. Two solid baseline out of bounds vs. a zone and a man defense
10. After all that, make sure you spend enough time shooting the basketball in practice.  I always scheduled through various drills at least 30 minutes for shooting every practice.  Remember at least 30 minutes (at game speed if possible).  If your team struggles shooting in the first game, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

- More great stuff from Perfect Practice.net  Read this article on teaching players how to cut properly.

“In order to teach players to utilize changing speeds and changing directions when cutting to get open, I have always used the analogy of the foot races that we had when we were kids to see who was “faster.”

When you race your friends, it is a huge advantage to be the one to say “go!” You know when it is coming and your friend that you are racing doesn’t. It would be even more of an advantage if your friend didn’t know where you were racing to and you have the choice of going in any direction that you want.

When defending a cutter, even if the defense is quicker, they have to wait and react to when and where the cutter goes. If you can get your players to think about using the advantage of changing speeds and changing directions, just like they did when they fought over who could say go for those childhood races; and then explode out of the cut before the defense is ready to react, it will help them to be more strategic (and successful) in getting open.”

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