This week I want to talk about the teaching of the “Shot Line.” The Shot Line reinforces two points in shooting: The start of the shot in the “Set Point” and the path of the ball to the “Release Point” or follow through.
In this entry I will talk about the Shot Line in the Set Point.
Creating a Shot Line is a method we teach to help the players shoot the ball straight. There are four ways you can miss: Left, Right, Long or Short. We feel that a left or right miss means that there is something seriously wrong in the action. Short (not flat) or long is not so bad as it is a simple adjustment to fix for the next shot.
One of the best methods we have found is to drill form shooting on a straight court line to reinforce making a straight line to the hoop with the shooting foot, knee, ball and elbow. From this position it is now a matter of using a simple and repeatable shooting action to shoot through this line to the hoop and to follow through on this “Shot Line.”
I watched the Boston-Portland game the other day and was intrigued by the Kevin Garnett and Baby Davis incident. Garnett was frustrated with the second units effort after they squandered most of a 25-point advantage in the final quarter of a 93-78 victory.
He really got stuck into Big Baby Davis in particular who proceeded to sulk on the bench for the rest of the game. During a timeout ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy admired the leadership and courage of Garnett to call out Big Baby:
“If Doc Rivers is always the one having to tell the truth, you will not be a championship team. Kevin Garnett risked being a ‘truth-teller’ — maybe at the expense of a friendship. I respect that about Kevin Garnett.”
“Conflict is an essential building component of a high-performing organization. While it can be uncomfortable at times, productive conflict is a competitive advantage that any team should desire, even if it comes at the expense of a little temporary interpersonal discomfort.”
It made me think about the transition for players from junior to senior basketball, at the junior level players often find it hard to hold each other accountable for their actions and I find as I coach that I am the lone ranger is policing the actions of my players.
When the players leave juniors and start making that transition (18-23) as the players in my SEABL “D League” are, I have found this to be a real issue and point of emphasis at training. Many of the opposition teams last year that were much stronger than us had great internal leadership and players that would get stuck into their team mates on court to correct behavior that was negatively affecting the team.
Finally I think this post game quote from Garnett gives insight into why he is a great leader for the Celtics:
“I’ll probably get real deep with him,” Garnett said. “Try to understand what he’s going through right now, research the problem. But Baby is frustrated a little bit with some of what we are doing. He just has to understand his role and not come outside of it.”
In the heat of the battle Garnett can rip into his players because he obviously works on building relationships off the court by making deposits into an “emotional bank account”as Stephen Covey describes in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by:
Understanding the Individual. Few people actually take the time to listen to and understand someone. Be one of those people. Slow down. Seek to understand.
Attending to Little Things. Do you consistently do the little things to show your love? Little forms of disrespect are large withdrawals. Make little deposits of kindness all the time.
Keeping Commitments. Keep your Account high by honoring your commitments. One of the easiest ways to make huge withdrawals is to not keep your word.
Clarifying Expectations. A cause of most relationship challenges is rooted in conflicting or ambiguous expectations around roles and goals. Take the time to clarify.
Showing Personal Integrity. Integrity includes but goes beyond honesty. Do your actions truly line up with your words? Be integrated. Make big deposits.
Apologizing Sincerely When You Make a Withdrawal. Learn how to say “I was wrong. I’m deeply sorry.” It takes a huge amount of character to apologize sincerely and quickly. Do it.
It is Basketball Australia’s, my Club and my own philosophy that zone defence should not be taught in junior basketball. Our reasons are:
1. Man to Man defence helps establish the best environment for children to develop sound fundamentals - both offensively and defensively.
2. Man to Man defence helps provide an effective learning environment for children at appropriate ages.
3. Zone defence is a tactic, used mostly at the senior level to change to flow of the game, not as a base defence.
“We teach offense 5-0/5-5 (whole method) and defense by part (1-1/3-3).”
– Dick Bennett
At the junior level coaches should spend more time on the fundamentals of basketball (up to 90% of training for U12 children) and teach according the Plateaus in Learning Theory. When the brain accumulates a lot of knowledge, that knowledge doesn’t immediately find its way into one’s game. So, the brain shuts down and no more progress is possible until the new information your learning is digested. Defence needs to be taught 1 v 0, 1 v 1, 2 v 2, 3 v 3 and 4 v 4 in a progressive manner as each fundamental of individual then team defence is introduced, practiced then drilled in breakdown situations.
Implementing and teaching zone defence does not follow this progression. Like a new set offence, a zone defence is given to the players in a whole or 5 v 0 setting. Any good man to man defence will incorporate some zone principles, especially when talking about help defence but the old adage goes that a player with great man to man skills and understanding can be part of a great zone defence but a great zone defender will not necessarily be a great man to man defender.
“My experience is that zone defence in junior age competitions encourages poor coaching, and inhibits the development of individual player skills in defence as well as offence.”
- Adrian Hurley, Australian Men’s Coach 1985 - 1992.
“By eliminating zone defences from Junior’s it will enhance the players abilities to both develop the necessary skills to become more creative players offensively and also develop their defensive skills far more rapidly than by playing zone defence.”
- Ian Stacker, Former Townsville Crocodiles Coach, NBL.
I believe man to man defence should be compulsory in all junior basketball. This assists in enhancing and developing their skills and fundamentals.”
I wanted to share with you a few things about our Club Philosophy and its Goals:
Club Goals: The Frankston Blues Club’s Long Term objectives include having both their senior and junior players 1) Know and understand the basic principles of the game and 2) Acquire the skills necessary to apply those skills, principles, both offensively and defensively, consistently, under pressure.
Team Goals (Individual Development): With these objectives in mind, Coaches should focus on putting the fundamental building blocks in place that are required at their particular age level, in order for the clubs long term objectives to be met. Individual player capabilities will force some adjustments to a teams own yearly objectives but the overall structure should remain fairly consistent, always working towards the Clubs’ two Long Term Objectives.
As coaches may only work with their team for one year only, it would be wise to base your long term objectives for that team on a season’s basis. As an U12’s coach, those long term objectives should be based mostly on player individual skill acquisition in offence and defence. 90% of your time should be spent on teaching and practicing individual skills. It is recommended at the U12 level, any team skills work be done at the defensive end. At the U20 level, if all other Junior Blues Coaches have done their job, much of the focus should be on team concepts and building of mental toughness, in order to compete at that age level and beyond.
How will you be remembered
By those who come to you?
What will they say,
The ones you serve,
When teaching days are through?
“He never had a favorite.”
“He smiled when he was down.”
“She made me feel that I was loved.”
All jewels in the crown.
And yet one priceless accolade
Out-sparkles all the rest.
A single phrase sums up the days:
“My teacher gave his best.”
Keys to the club achieving improvement in not only the shooting of the players, but the understanding of teaching shooting are -
Consistency of instruction & terminology from training to training, coach to coach, year to year.
Coaches being “Process Orientated” and balancing between teaching shooting and drilling shooting.
Simplicity - the jump shot mechanism is not a complex movement.
A key part to creating any coaching philosophy is to have consistent terminology. For example do you use “split” or “help,” “pick” or “screen,” “block out” or “box out.”
This is even more important at a club level or any program that has players progressing through different coaches. If the terminology and instruction vary from year to year and coach to coach this creates confusion in the players.
One example was a team of girls that had spent a season under a coach who taught the girls to prop the ball up on the tips of the fingers and thumb with the ball having no contact below the knuckle pads. He used the terminology of “creating a bears cave” - a gap created by having the thumb pointing up, perpendicular to the palm and having the ball sitting on the of the thumb.
There are many nuances to teaching shooting and I certainly do not think the ball should sit flat in the palm, but to have the ball raised on a flexed thumb creates unneeded tension in the fingers & hand and promotes a flipping type action to the shot.
Creating and defining a program or club philosophy does takes a fair amount of time and effort, but the benefits and time saved in the long run are huge. It has taken many more hours of repetition to break this “bear cave” habit and for some it will take many more.
A big part of creating our Junior Blues Shooting Philosophy has been the education of our coaches to create consistency in teaching, which relies on consistency in terminology. Below are some of our specific Junior Blues terminology that we would like to be reinforced:
Set Point: Triple Threat, where the shot starts. Wrist bend back, forearm parallel to the ground, feet spread, shooting foot in front.
Shot line: A straight line to the hoop that is created by having the shooting foot, knee, elbow, ball, shoulder and eye in line with each other - Part of the “Set Point”
All Out Action: Pushing the ball up and out in one smooth action, finishing with the elbow straight, fingers spread and relaxed.
Release Point: How high and at what angle to the basket the hand & arm finishes.
10.30/12 O’clock: The ideal release point, imagine a clock, 9pm is straight out, 12pm is straight up, 10.30/11pm is forward and up.
Lock & Snap: Not part of Junior Blues Shooting Philosophy as it reinforces the idea of generating power from the wrist rather than the whole body starting from the feet up.
I found a 10-exercise Core Strength Workout routine in MensHealth recently that University of North Carolina strength and conditioning coach Jonas Sahratian uses on the Tar Heels that uses nothing more than an 8-pound medicine ball.
It’s designed to help build a rock-solid core, burn fat, and improve your sports performance. Sahratian calls this workout the Med Ball 400. The 400 represents 400 repetitions — the number players like Tyler Hansbrough (shown here) complete when they perform the routine. However, Sahratian suggests you can start with 200 reps. (Call it the Med Ball 200.) The best part: All you need is a medicine ball to do this workout any place, any time.
This play was used by Homer Drew’s Valpo team to advance past the first round in the 1998 NCAA tournament. I thought of this play today as Ryan Broekhoff, a player I had the pleasure to coach, has just signed his letter of intent to play there next year.
I actually tried to teach this play for the 2007 U18 Blues team as we headed towards the National Classic and came to the same conclusion as Coach Homer Drew that ”Even in practice, it wouldn’t work five-on-oh.”
”Everyone has to do it perfectly,” Coach Homer Drew, father of game winning shooter Bryce, says.
One oft overlooked key, the coach says, was Sykes’s pump fake on the inbounds — which not only got his defender in the air but momentarily fooled Drew’s man as well. After feinting toward Sykes, Drew cut back the other way and lost his defender. When Drew caught the ball, he had a clean look at the basket. Says Homer Drew, ”Only God could stage it so perfectly.”
This article confirms the old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout and is dead wrong. It actually weakens them.
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This week I want to talk about the teaching of the “Shot Line.” The Shot Line reinforces two points in shooting: The start of the shot in the “Set Point” and the path of the ball to the “Release Point” or follow through.
by:
How will you be remembered.JPG)
