Little Tip~ Nice Reward ~ Youth Basketball AND up!

Coached 5 games last weekend in a Jim Cox Hardwood Productions basketball tourney; before one of our games, watched the end of an 8th grade game. In the last minute, the ball went out of bounds and the offense had the opportunity to execute one of their inbound plays.

The man assigned to pass the ball in from out of bounds, raced to stand by the official and had both his hands out begging for the ball. After a second or two, the ref handed him the ball......but guess what? Two of his four teammates were not in position. In fact, they were not even watching as their teammate took control of the ball.

The Coach on the sideline yelled, and basically their "success" on the play was defined in that they didn't lose possession. They brought the ball in bounds but had no advantage, and no opportunity to score on the play.

So what is the TIP?
The person taking the ball out of bounds....needs to.....TAKE THEIR TIME GETTING TO THE BALL.
And conversely, the 4 teammates need to get to their spots QUICKLY, before their teammate gets to the ball.

It's amazing how important inbound plays can be for teams. Our Celtic group had about 4 plays we ran, and one of them worked three straight times in a high school game against a quality team coming off a State Championship season. It was amazing!

Let me know if you'd like me to give you the play.

There is only ONE BALL

Basketball has 10 players on the court at one time. Five per team.
There is only ONE basketball.
So, almost 100% of the time, 90% of the players will not have the ball in their hands.
Guess what the best coaches and scouts are watching when they are recruiting players? They are watching how the players play when they DON'T have the ball.

One of my favorite basketball blogger/tweeter is Eric Musselman. He tweeted recently that: "Basketball is played on the flight of the ball NOT on the catch."

Getting position, creating space, blocking out, going for deflections or interceptions,,, these are what the greatest basketball players are doing while the ball is in flight. Wasn't it Carly Simon who sang, "AN TISS A PAY TION".... ah yes!

So, from elementary school through high school, the BEST coaches teach the 9 guys without the ball what they're supposed to be doing, and HOW they should be doing it.

Working without the ball. Away from the ball screens. Use your teammates or your opposition as PICKS without their knowledge to create space and passing lane.

And when a shot goes up, regardless of offense or defense,, every player should know what to do. Position. Block out. Drop back safety. See the ball, run to where it is GOING to be....and then go for it with all you've got. Think Dennis Rodman. [for those of you not familiar with the flamboyant, crazy Rodman, he is regarded as one of the most relentless rebounders in basketball history; played with Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls [the Michael Jordan era!]. His off court activities is a whole different subject!

I love what Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said about rebounding:
"Rebounding is a wrestling match AND a fist fight."
You better be tough when you go against the Spartans~

Bottom line: Basketball is the ultimate team sport; defense and offense is a FIVE PRONGED attack or defense. Learning how to be successful on the court, is an ongoing process and the best teams and coaches, improve dramatically from the beginning of the season until it's tournament time.

Water ~

Our most precious resource. If it was scarce in our country, the cost would be OUT OF THIS WORLD~ Guess what? One out of six people IN THE WORLD,,, do not have access to clean and safe water. That is why I've selected this organization as the one we are helping for the next year. From July 4th 2009 until July 4th 2010, I am committing to help this charity expand and grow in their improving this horrific safe water ratio.

WHY WATER.
Right now, 1.1 billion people on the planet don't have access to clean and safe drinking water. That's one in six of us.

charity: water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. charity: water gives 100% of the money raised to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person in a developing nation clean water for 20 years.