I've attached a video of a coaches clinic I attend years ago that really focussed on Post Work. We spend so much time working on perimeter game, that sometimes I forget that building the global player requires post work too!
Ettore Messina is an Italian professional coach, currently the coach of CSKA Moscow.
He offers some great drills to develop post skills. An important point and concept I took from the session was his point about engaging the tall, maybe less than coordinated player on your team. There are ways to help those players feel engaged and like they are contributing to the team. Messina speaks to the importance of running the floor, rebounding, gathering, controlling your cylinder, finishing and free throws.
This is a great 13 minute segment that will change your post drills. Check it out!
I've attached a video from one of Basketball Ontarios Talent Identification Development Program sessions with U17 Provincial Team Head Coach and Cadette Womens National Team Assistant Coach Jodi Gram.
There are countless awesome 30 second to 2 min drills for coaches to develop skill with players. What I love about Jodi, is her ability to load drills, share feedback and debrief with athletes. She starts drills off simply and gives players an opportunity to "get the hang of the drill". She will then freeze the drill and add a load or reinforce a point of emphasis.
This is a Canada Basketball teaching process that I find very usefull to keep athletes focused and not bogged down with too much info at each stage of drills. This process gives coaches tools to load drills, physically, mentally, emotionally or socially. The process offers a natural progression to help facilitate learning.
Coaches can benefit from the many modified games she demonstrates. Games are fun! Athletes love to compete and kids love to play. Young athletes do not have adult attention spans. They tune out long lectures. Modified games and loaded drills facilitate discovery based learning where athletes learn in a fun dynamic challenging environment where feedback is give in small pieces at specific times during or after a segment of a drill.
I always use the summer time as an opportunity to breakdown skills. When it comes to player shooting I believe the summer is the best time to make significant changes to players shots. During the season it is harder to get players to commit to changing their shot. When we make significant changes to a players shot there is usually a period of acquisition and adjustment resulting in the hitting shots. Once players commit to the adjustments they need a lot of reps to hardwire the changes before they can start to develop the neural pathways to start to master the changes.
We have found that using a chair
to teach shooting is one of the best ways to help developing players learn to
generate power form the legs. If done properly the athlete must push hard with
the legs to get up out of the chair. They will feel it.
Starting position
The athlete starts by lightly
sitting in the chair. Their butt is on the edge of the chair, as if they were
just about to stand up.
The eyes are up looking at their target. You can start by shooting at
the wall or at the basket.
The player has a flat back. The upper body is leaning
forward and if flat. When you say straight to an athlete they tend to sit up
straight. We want a slight body lean. No roundness in the upper back or lower
back.
The forearm is
parallel to the floor with the wrist set. Ensure the athlete is properly
gripping the ball.
The toes are
in-line with the knees. This puts the athlete in a squat position so that
he/she can push straight up to the ceiling. The knees should be shoulder
width apart and facing straight ahead.
Their weight is on their toes. This ensures that the first movement is up.
First
movement
Watch the athlete from the side. You should see them
explode upward in a straight line from the chair. They must JUMP! If they do not jump, they are
decelerating and not learning to use the muscles explosively. The ball should
be moving from a position where they are looking over the top to a position
where they will look under the ball at release. It is a full body movement.
Finish
The body should form a straight line. Many athletes do not
use their gluteus maximus (butt) when jumping. You will see a slight blend
still between the stomach and the legs. To jump you need to tighten the butt.
I tell the kids to show me their belly button on their shot.
Fast hands
The athlete can practice taking the ball quickly to the
shot.
Off the pass
Pretend you receive a pass on the right side of your body.
Rip it with fast hands to your shot. Do the same for the left side.
Off the fake
Sit in the chair and practice your fakes; shot or jab. Rip
the ball with fast hands into your shot as you jump out of the chair. The
player will feel if they are on balance.
Off the dribble
When sitting in the chair practice dribbling with either
hand. Pick the ball up, jump out of the chair and shoot.
You can also practice baby hooks from the
chair. Turn the chair on a 90° angle to the basket.
If you have a player who has a lower leg
injury they can work on shot form for the upper body from the chair.
I have also had the players sit in the chair
and pass to them. It helps eliminate the dip.
Shooting - Important shooting points of emphasis were shared that often get lost when we run shooting drills. We have all heard the term B.E.E.F. as it pertains to shooting. We spent time qualifying each letter of the acronym. Balance - We offered a new perspective on balance for shooters and narrowed the stance in our shot form drills. Clarity was offered between a strong wide stance, that is more useful for posting up or playing defense and a more narrow but still balanced walking stance that is necessary for effective shooting.
Eyes - We emphasized the importance of locking in on a precise target when shooting. We suggested a ring on the rim as the target. Athletes can translate thoughts and goals into physical performance. If we offer the mind a precise target and a precise task we should expect a more precise result.
Elevation - We presented a relative concept of elevation which differs from the traditional 45 degree arm angle on release. We suggest finishing the shot to 2 inches above your rim target. As such the arm angle changes depending on your distance from the hoop. When shooting in close (nose to the rim) the arm angle will be higher than when shooting from outside the 3 pt arc.
Finish/Followthrough - Huge important point of emphasis here was "freezing the finish" or holding your followthrough until the ball has hit the rim or gone through the hoop. During shot form drills some coaches even have players "Freeze Finish" until the ball hits the floor. Freezing Finishes reinforces shooting form to hardwire correct for and develop neural pathways for the body to repeat the action without thinking about it. Players and coaches can use Frozen Finishes to police and critique shot form.
Open Read and React Offenses - Specialization for basketball players with regard to position should start in the Train to Compete Stage around age 15 for most players. Most youth have hit Peak Height Velocity (PHV) by that time and have experienced their growth spurts. After PHV you have a better idea of the physical characteristics the athlete will have. That 5'8 player who is the tallest boy on your Major Atom team may remain 5'8' for the rest of his life OR may continue to grow to 6'11". While there are indicators of these physical characteristics we never know for sure until after PHV. Read and React Offenses offer all players the opportunity develop skills and decision making on all areas of the court. Last night we walked through the Rick Torbett Read and React offense which has been recommended by Canada Basketball for youth development. I've watch the video and it is an outstanding teaching tool that I would highly recommend to all of our teams at all age levels. I have provided a link to Rick Torbett clinic where he presents some of the layers and breakdown drills for his read and react offense. I would recommend ALL NT coaches purchase this great basketball offensive tool.
