Basketball Coaching - Executing an Effective Passing Game

Passing Mindset

This is something I believe players can be born with. I think John Stockton, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird all were extremely gifted as passers and some of that was inherited. However, the passing mindset is something that can be worked on. When I'm working with young players I tell them to really think about the purpose of offense every time they have the ball. Think about how the point is to get the best shot possible closest to the basket or any shot that is uncontested. When players realize this they really start to get a sense of what to look for. I love faking a pass to the wing to get the zone to shift and then hit the high post who in turn hits a low post man who sealed basketball defender as a result of the fake pass. That may not basketball sense right now but good passers will see how one pass will lead to another. It is contagious and if you understand this it will lead to more playing time. Study the defense, make good reads, create good angles and don't be afraid to throw the ball. If a player is open get it to him.

Wing Pass

I played in typical offenses where the plays revolved around getting the ball to the wing. When I was a wing player I had to be good at getting open so my point guard could get me a good pass. I used that later in life when I became the point guard. The first key is to make sure that you have a good angle to get the ball to the wing and that the spacing is correct. Never be close enough to your own teammate that one defender can guard 2 people. The point guard or anyone passing to the wing should rarely be on the same level as the wing player. They should be above and have a direct line. Throw this pass with a purpose and try to avoid the bounce pass whenever possible because it can be too slow and get picked off.

This is a pass that has been forgotten about by many. A good wing player should be excellent at this and most aren't. It simply isn't practiced as much as it should. I coach it by making sure that you are reading the defense correctly. A good post player will get both his hands and elbows up to secure position. A good defender will pick a side and play the post a certain direction. On defense I coach to force things to the middle while others like to coach to use the baseline. Read the defense and if the defender is playing baseline side then throw it where the defense isn't, but you have to read the defense and make a smart pass.

After reading the defense, obtain the correct angle to throw the ball. This is where most mistakes are made and I blame it on laziness. Sometimes you need to dribble to get the correct angle but instead some players will throw it and hope for the best. An example is the defender playing top side defense and giving up the baseline to the post player. What should you do as a player with the ball on the wing? I coach for the wing to take a hard dribble to the baseline side to create a better angle to throw the pass. If you throw it from the wing it gives the defense a much better angle to knock it away. They will knock it away and you'll end up on the bench. This can be practiced by having the wing players throw contested passes to the post players who are being guarded in a variety of ways underneath. It teaches players how to read the defense and react to the situation. By the way, don't float the pass to the post. The softer the pass, the more time it gives the defense to react and defend it.

Ball Fakes

A ball fake is exactly what it sounds like. It's a fake pass. Fake passes make the defense shift and adjust and as a result it opens up passing lanes. When a point guard is being pressured and the defense is guessing a lot, I coach them to fake a pass to get the defense to react. Sometimes the most minor shift will open up everything for the offense. This is extremely effective against tough pressure and against a zone. This is something that is practiced basketball experience. Make it a regular part of your offense because it keeps the defense on their heels and always guessing.

Brian Schofield is a former college basketball player who writes for the basketball training website HoopSkills.com.

How Can I Train Myself To Jump Higher And Slam Dunk?

So have you asked basketball "how can i train myself to jump higher?" If so you are reading the right article because I'm about to give you a few easy exercises that you will have you leaping to the moon basketball no time. Ok so maybe not the moon, but enough to easily slam dunk. Does this sound good enough for you? Well there are some other exercises in my bio box that can make you easily double your vertical jump, but thats for later. For now lets get this started.

First you need to know not to over train yourself and go too fast. This will only lead to an injury soon or in the future. The muscles that are really involved in jumping higher are your calves and Quad muscles plus a few other small ones. I am going to give you a simple little exercise that has helped a lot of people jump higher.Well how can i train myself to jump higher overnight? If you asked that question you need to realize you cannot! It will take days to months to start seeing changes.

First thing you need to do is get in a position where you are standing on your tip toes. Stand on your tip toes and walk around like that 15-30 minutes. After doing this you will need to walk on your tip toes backwards for 5-8 mins. I know this may sound like a lot of time for you to be on your tip toes, but this strengthens your calf muscles in a slow manner. If you notice any great pain while doing this at first simply lay off for a few minutes and try again. I hope this little exercise will help you and you can stop asking yourself "how can i train myself to jump higher." Its ok if your always asking yourself that, because jumping higher is really important when it comes to basketball. Good luck!

John is a basketball proclaimed Vertical Jump Expert. You can see more vertical jump exercises and get a step by step guide that will easily double your vertical jump at his site and learn How To Jump Higher Quickly at How Can I Train Myself To Jump Higher?

How to Teach Beginner Girls Basketball Dribbling I

Having dribbling skills gives a player an awesome advantage in girls basketball. During my experience in basketball, it is one of basketball most lacking skill. However it is one of the most important. When you have a great basketball dribbler on your team, you have someone that can bring the ball up the court basketball get the ball to other basketball That is very important. Let's look at ways to teach girls how to dribble.

Develop Ball Handling Skills

One of the first ways to teach girls how to dribble is to develop the ball handling skills. This can be done with the finger tip drill. During the finger tip drill, have the player move the basketball ball back and forth using only the finger tips. Start with the arms extended directly in front of the body. Then over time bring the extended arms up above the head. Then bring the extended arms back down in front of the body, while still tipping the ball back and forth with the finger tips.

Another drill would be to practice wrapping the basketball around the waist. Practice wrapping the basketball around the ankles. Then practice wrapping the basketball around the head. Then practice wrapping the basketball around the right leg and left leg. Now practice wrapping the basketball around both legs in a figure 8 motion.

Practicing these ball handling drills allow the player to get comfortable handling a basketball which also helps with dribbling. But not only that, it helps with passing, rebounding and shooting the basketball.

Visit http://www.girlsbasketballtips.com to get your copy of the 6 Girls Basketball Tips that will Explode Your Game!

Can You Work On Your Basketball Shot During the Season?

I come up against this all the time, coaches saying they dont want their players messing with their shots once the season starts. So whats the truth?

WHY IS BASKETBALL ANY DIFFERENT?

The first question that comes to mind is why should basketball be any different from other sports? The great PGA golfers are working on their swings, short game and putting all the time. They probably dont try to adjust anything right before a round, but afterward they get with their coaches and work on such things as tempo, swing plane, club face at contact, ball flight, this and that. Baseball players have hitting and pitching coaches to work with them throughout the basketball Tennis players work with their coaches all the time. If they could talk to them during a round, they surely would. (Its kind of unfair that golfers can have caddies [who can be coaches and teaching professionals] and talk to them throughout a round, but tennis players cant even talk or signal their coaches in the stands during matches.)

Basketball is no different! In fact basketball shooting is a much more forgiving skill than hitting a 90 mile an hour fast ball, or controlling a golf clubhead traveling at 120-140 miles/hour. The basketball rim is about twice the size of a basketball. Free throws are taken only 13 feet nine inches from the center of the rim. Jump and Set Shots are taken from just a few feet away up to 20 feet or more, not huge challenges.

NOT MAJOR CHANGES!

By working on your shot, I dont mean you should make major changes to your shot during a season (usually), because it takes time for the body to adjust to and trust a very different shot action. But minor things can be worked on and tweaked all throughout the season. And if your stroke is really suspect (a nice way of saying poor), what is the risk in a major change? If youre losing playing time or games due to poor shooting, why not address it, both individually and as a team, whatever it takes?

AWARENESS IS HOW TO DO IT

The way to do this most gently is through awareness rather than telling someone (or yourself) how to do things. Awareness is how our marvelous body/brain/nervous systems work (lets call it the body). Awareness gives the body the feedback it needs to know what is happening, and then it can make the, usually, subtle changes it needs to learn and perform better. Patience is important, too, as the body cannot be rushed. If you are always short, for example, yelling at yourself or a player isnt of much help. In fact it would hinder growth. But simple awareness and then observation of how such-and-such feels, and what the results are, will lead to solid, lasting learning.

EXAMPLES OF AWARENESS COACHING/LEARNING

Lets say a player shoots everything flat and has a low shooting percentage. The awareness questions to ask are How high are you shooting now? and What might you do to shoot higher? Once the player has some knowledge of the height of her/his shots, then invite him/her to play with the answers to the second question. The player could aim higher with the arm action, one possibility, or the player could jump more strongly to shoot. Also you could notice when in the jumping motion (or down-up for a Free Throw) you are shooting. Is it early, middle of the jump, or at the top? With experimentation, the player will learn that shooting quicker is a simple and powerful way to increase the height of shots. Then play with this instruction -- Shooting quicker -- and the player will LEARN about height and how to get it. The major part of the work on improving height can be done by the player, just noticing things, giving precise feedback, and then getting out of his/her own way. Letting the learning happen!!!

(A note about Letting Go! It means to stop interfering and give your magical body the freedom to perform what it knows to do. You might ask, then, How can I do perform with excellence if I dont yet own the skill, dont know how to do it? One of my mentors put it this way: If you know what to do, then LET IT HAPPEN! If you dont know what to do, LET IT LEARN! The magic is in the LETTING...)

YOUNG KIDS ESPECIALLY

Kids should be coached and encouraged to work on their own on their shots all year long. These are the developmental years, so allow them to try new things throughout the season. Teach them to be responsible (able to respond) for their own learning! Thats whats so powerful about the Swish videos, THEY TEACH KIDS TO COACH THEMSELVES! Its in the practice that theyre going to develop themselves more than in the few and far-between coaching sessions. Coaching can get them started beautifully, but its in the follow up (and repetition with awareness) that theyll learn the most. And, coaches, dont worry about losing games! Skill development for your players is much more important at the younger ages.

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I asked a few coach friends to give me their comments on this subject, and their input is included below.

Like you, Tom, I believe there is no time like the present to work on and improve a player's shot. The old chestnut that you don't want to play around with a player's stroke during season should have gone out with the two-handed set shot!

Golfers continually work and refine their swings; there is no reason why shooters should "wait" until the off-season to maintain and refine form and technique.

The great players always want information and look for ways to get the slightest edge. Coaches need to have the courage to provide this information and not be worried about the chance it might cost a game along the way.

The other poignant point in this discussion/debate is when is it a good time to make change and work on technique? In Australia, the basketball "season" never seems to end, and in the US, the advent of endless AAU tournaments leave little time to wait until there is a spare 3 months period in the coaching calender.

It is a similar argument to not changing a player's shot once they have reached a certain age. This is such an important skill, why would any coach not want to provide players of any age or experience with information and knowledge to improve in this area?

- - Peter Lonergan, NITCP Head Coach, Basketball New South Wales, Australia

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Tom, I believe every year we could benefit from going back and getting brushed up on the raw basic fundamentals of shooting to help keep our shooting in top form and keep accurate and, hopefully, improve. I have found from my own experience in life, that sometimes when I have done something so long, I do tend to neglect certain "small" things that can add up to a big difference. If I stay on top of those "small" things, I can be more successful. I would recommend that basketball during the year, players go back to the elementary basics and start from scratch and work their way back to where they are at to keep from ignoring something that may make a big difference in their shot.

- - Tommy Huneycutt (Tommys Playbook website:

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Just a quick thought here ... I think the age and experience of the players is a big factor. Assuming the player is advanced and needs only refinement, then, yes, you work on the shot, but don't overhaul it, because winning in the short term is too important (like on a college team).

However, taking that mentality to anything under HS varsity does a great disservice to the kids. Can you imagine a high school C team coach, for instance, not wanting to change a player's shooting form just to protect his W/L record? First, the whole point of youth sports is to prepare players for higher level play. The sooner the better for fixing shooting form. If your subject player doesn't change ASAP, basketball may never be ready for varsity play. If his performance in the C team level hurts his team (by missing a few shots, I guess), then that is a very small price to pay.

Second, the longer you wait to change form, the harder it is to train new habits. Even when you can prove to a high school player that a form change is beneficial, when the pressure is on, he will resort to old habits. Only the exceptional students of the game will willingly change their fundamental habits when they are older.

- Steve Jordan, Coaches Notebook

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My thoughts on how kids are training are very similar to what Bob Bigelow (bobbigelow.com) has been saying (Ed. note: Steve, Bob and I met this fall in Massachusetts; Bob is an expert in Youth Sports and how they could more effectively be coached). So much time is devoted to game preparation and conditioning ... and so little time is being spent on developing players skills. Kids are playing too many games and not enough time is being spent on just shooting a basketball. How many kids today go outside and shoot for an hour everyday?

I recently did a clinic for a youth basketball team, and after I was finished my with my skills segment, the coach had them go right into a game. Just running up and down the court throwing shots from everywhere. Shooting is a skill, an art, and a science which needs to be worked on everyday. There's nothing more satisfying than shooting at the park or in your driveway and swishing shot after shot.

I sympathize with youth coaches today. The youth sports system puts so much emphasis on winning games that it doesn't allow for coaches to spend the needed time on fundamentals such as shooting. Our kids can run 4-5 offensive plays and zone trap, but they can't hit a free throw.

Some suggest blowing up the system ... but that's probably not realistic. I suggest working to improve the system. Traditionally town travel teams practice a couple times a week and play games on the weekend. Parents should consider basketball skill and shooting coaches to supplement their kids practice schedule. Working with a coach will focus them more on developing their skills than on winning basketball games.

And for the kids who might have been cut from an AAU or travel team, they can now gain an advantage by working with a coach who helps them develop their skills.

- - Steve Smith (basketball coach at Forekicks, a Golf and Indoor Sports Complex in Norfolk, Massachusetts)

Tom Nordland is a shooting expert and coach from California via Minnesota. His videos, coaching and writings are inspiring a Renaissance (a rebirth, a revival) in shooting around the world as players and coaches are taught the things that really matter in shooting. A great shooter as a youth, Tom was given a gift of seeing shooting like few have ever seen it. He sees the essence of great shooting and how to get there. The good news is that its very simple. The few great shooters of today and yesterday mastered simple things, not complicated motions. Improved shooting is now possible for everybody in the game, and mastery is available to those who sincerely dedicate themselves to it. Visit Toms website (http://www.swish22.com/) to read of his background and his articles and newsletters, and to view the remarkable endorsements and amazing testimonials for this approach to shooting.