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Basketball Tips & Strategies – December 2009

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Offensive Strategies: Hawk Set Offense

Defensive Strategies: Seven Effective Ways to Attack On-Ball Screens, Low Post Disruptions

Player Development: Loose Ball Recovery

Coaching Tips: Vital Importance of 6th Player Role

Quick Tip: Teaching – The Key to Satisfaction and Success

Unfortunately, along with this increased importance being placed on winning, there has been a significant slippage in coaches’ teaching skills and abilities.  However, winning is short term. The real success in coaching comes with teaching and assisting players to become the best they are capable of becoming “on” and “off” the court.

Coaching Tips: Sixth Person Role

The importance of the sixth person(s) role in basketball cannot be over emphasized. It is one thing all excellent teams have in common. Establishing and utilizing the sixth person role in many ways is a much more important coach’s decision than determining the starters. To be successful, the sixth person(s) must possess better skills and leadership than some of the starters. In addition, the sixth person usually can play multiple positions. Without exception, when they enter the game, their role is to energize and make the team stronger. As a result, if the game is tied, it will provide the necessary boost to give the team the lead. If a team is already ahead, it will increase the lead, and if the team should be behind, it will afford them a chance to catch up.

In most cases the sixth person role is filled by a single player. However, it can be multiple players and on rare occasions even five players. Determining and getting a player to accept the sixth person role can be a challenge since player’s and parents’ ego’s can be involved. However, by communicating the vital importance of this unselfish team role, they should be more than likely to understand and accept the role as a real honor rather than a demotion.

Featured Play: Hawk Set Offense

Hawk Set Offense

The Hawk Offense is a relative of the “UCLA” offense and a derivative of the shuffle offense. Introduced into the NBA by Hubie Brown when he was coaching in Atlanta, thus its name, it has proven to be a very successful offense on all levels of the game. Although the Hawk Offense is primarily designed to take advantage of a size mismatch at the off guard position, it also includes wing isolations and strong post ups options. Learn More – Premium Members Click Here

Defensive Tips: Attacking On-Ball Screens

Seven effective ways to attack On-Ball screens include: Prevention, Show & Recover, Switching, Trapping, Trapping Early, Jamming and Shadow (zone). Fortunately, players will not be expected to execute all the different ways to disrupt On Ball screens during a game. In fact, normally only one or two of the options will be deployed during a single game based on the opponent’s ballhandler and screener specific strengths and weaknesses. However, these options are subject to change during the course of a game. Therefore, to be successful in attacking and disrupting On-Ball screens, they must be constantly analyzed during the game as to why and how they are being set. Once analyzed, the defense can take the initiative, and readily attack it. Learn More – Premium Members Click Here

Player Tips: Loose Ball Recovery

Loose Ball Recovery

Coaches love to see players go to the floor for loose balls. However, like taking an offensive charge, players must be taught how properly dive for loose balls without sacrificing their bodies or risk of injury. Diving for the ball should be graceful and the body should land softly like a gymnast. Loose ball dives can be tricky. For this reason players should have a working knowledge of the correct techniques and plenty of practice repetitions before diving for a loose ball during a game.

In diving for loose balls, players should first lower their center of gravity close to the floor by bending their knees. Then push forward extending arms and legs straight out parallel to the floor and landing on their hip flexors. Players should never fall on the knees. Falling on a knee is a good way to end up with a torn ACL or a worse injury. Whenever possible, seek the assistance of a volleyball coach when teaching players to dive for loose balls. Once players learn how to properly dive for loose balls, the more apt they are to go after loose balls during a game without hesitation. To learn more – Premium Members Click Here

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