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TITLE AND SUBJECT OF ARTICLE
Coaching Basketball
Having a team that is focused on playing
the game of basketball is a slam dunk to building a
sport that will enhance one's childhood or youth. If you
are getting ready to coach the game, knowing the
fundamentals of the game is where to start. By doing
this, you will be able to bring all of the players into
fast action.
The game of basketball begins by
having two opposing teams of five players on the court.
The main objective of basketball is to have each team
work towards throwing the basketball through the hoop.
Every time this is done, the team will win a specific
amount of points. Whoever has the most points in the end
will win the game. This main objective also has several
rules and regulations that are applied to it in order to
win. For example, whoever has the ball has to dribble
the ball within a specified area. If the rules are
broken, it gives the opposing team the ball. The teams
will function together either defensively or offensively
when they are playing, depending on who has the ball.
Basketball first became a popular sport in 1891
in the United States. It was used in order to keep rugby
players in shape during the off-seasons of the game. The
idea of basketball was quickly adapted throughout YMCA
gymnasiums, slowly setting the rules and regulations to
the teams that are popular and seen today. It has become
such as popular sport that it is now internationally
known with a national basketball association that
supports the sport on a professional level.
Coaching basketball today has become an art in
understanding how to get teams to work towards the main
objectives that have been established throughout the
United States over time. By keeping the main objective
in mind, and helping teams to develop from here, you
will be able to ensure that everyone dribbles to their
own success.
Coaching Basketball
Defense: Top 12 Most Important Things To Emphasize On
Defense
As a
basketball coach, you’ve probably struggled to find
enough time to teach everything that you want. It seems
that all coaches have this problem!
To be an
effective coach, you have to prioritize and
strategically decide what you will emphasize. Coaching
is all about what you emphasize!
If you do not
continually harp and emphasize certain aspects, your
defense will not be as good as it could be. You need to
pay attention to detail and correct your players when
need...
basketball defense, man to man defense,
basketball defense drills
As a basketball coach,
you’ve probably struggled to find enough time to teach
everything that you want. It seems that all coaches have
this problem!
To be an effective coach, you have
to prioritize and strategically decide what you will
emphasize. Coaching is all about what you emphasize!
If you do not continually harp and emphasize certain
aspects, your defense will not be as good as it could
be. You need to pay attention to detail and correct your
players when needed.
To help determine your
defensive priorities, we came up with the "top 12 most
important things to emphasize on defense". Of course,
every coaching situation is different, but hopefully
this will give you a few ideas and help you determine
what’s really important.
Here is our list of the
top things that we focus on and watch for within our
man-to-man defense:
1. Always stop the player
with the ball because that’s the only person that can
score. If the ball is in front of you, stop it!
2. Keep the ball out of the "danger zone" and as far
from the basket as possible. We put tape marks 12 feet
away from the basket to give players a visual reminder
of where the ball should never be allowed. We call the
area inside the tape the "danger zone".
3. Keep
your knees bent and stay low. The second you see your
players start to stand up, correct them. If they relax
for one second, that’s all it takes for the offense to
score an easy bucket.
4. Intensity. Defense is
all about intensity. If your players relax for a second,
you need to get their attention.
5. Get back on
defense. If your players don’t get back on defense, it
doesn’t matter how good your half court defense is.
6. Deny all penetrating passes (included the post
pass). Never allow passes into the post. The chances of
the offense scoring increase dramatically once the ball
is within the “Danger Zone.”
7. Always see your
man and the ball. Your players need to be focused so
that they can see their man and the ball at all times.
If somebody penetrates or passes the ball, they need to
quickly help and rotate.
8. Move on the pass, not
the catch. This tactic alone can literally double to
quickness of your defense. Teach your players to start
moving to their correct defensive positions when the
ball is leaving the fingertips of the passer.
9.
Provide early help and quick recovery. It’s vital to any
team’s defense to have early help and quick recovery. If
you do not have early help, you give up lay ups. If you
do not have quick recovery, you give up open shots.
10. Communicate! Communicate! Communicate! If your
players don’t communicate, they will have many problems
with screens, rebounding, positioning, etc. Make sure
they yell, “Shot” when the offense shoots the ball. Make
sure they call out screens. Make sure they communicate
help to their teammates.
11. Ball pressure and
active hands. Without ball pressure, the offense can
operate comfortably and easily. You never want the
offense to feel comfortable. Not to mention, sagging to
far back makes it easy for the offense to make accurate
passes in the post area and pick you apart!
12.
Box out. If your defensive players don’t block out, all
their hard work means nothing. They need to block out on
every shot and every possession.
Coaching Basketball
Is Not Always Fun And Games
I wound up volunteering to coach
basketball, a game I new nearly nothing about. Shortly
after I wound up with the job, a parent approached me
and asked what sort of coaching style I was going to
use. After I managed to clear up the blank look on my
face and stammer out some lame answer, I drove quickly
to the privacy of my own home to avoid any more
questions, and thus, not let my inexperience be known,
for I knew after that question that I was in way over my
head.
At the ...
basketball
I wound
up volunteering to coach basketball, a game I new nearly
nothing about. Shortly after I wound up with the job, a
parent approached me and asked what sort of coaching
style I was going to use. After I managed to clear up
the blank look on my face and stammer out some lame
answer, I drove quickly to the privacy of my own home to
avoid any more questions, and thus, not let my
inexperience be known, for I knew after that question
that I was in way over my head.
At the time I was
probably more suited to coach football, but basketball
was what I was dealt. A buddy of mine who had played
basketball in high school told me that his coach had
used a hands-on coaching style. The coach played with
the athletes, showing them the different techniques to
use, and what situation to use them in, etc…However, he
also pointed out that coaching basketball is more than
just playing basketball with the kids like his coach
did, but coaching is also about teaching fundamental
skills that the players will use for life, as well as
team work.
Feeling even more hopeless and
confused after this conversation I set out to do heavy
research on the topic of coaching basketball. I
immediately realized that a large list of references
existed to help me, which gave me a great feeling of
relief. I had never thought of such concepts as team
play, sportsmanship and sharing in regards to coaching
sports before, but from my reading I began to get
familiar with the topics and ideas. I quickly learned
that basketball was about more than just putting a ball
through a hoop.
As part of my research I began
reading articles that focused on building skills and
confidence level in young athletes while coaching. I did
my best to absorb everything, but still felt that I
might be a little out of my element coaching a
basketball team. I had to constantly reassure myself
that I could do it. The whole experience ultimately
taught me that before you can coach other people you
must be able to coach yourself, but I’m getting ahead of
myself.
I’ve been coaching for six weeks now. I
feel I’ve done a fair job of helping my players build
skills and confidence levels they can use on the court
and in the real world. This experience has taught me
much about myself and about coaching. In regards to
coaching, I have learned that it is not all fun and
games, but a huge responsibility; however, I think I’ve
prepared myself for the challenge. After all, my team is
5 and 1.
While coaching a team might seem a very
attractive job to many a sports fan, it is not easy. I
only coach at the Junior High level and it’s exhausting
and stressful. I can’t imagine what it is like at the
professional level, and I don’t want to. If you are
interested in being a coach, make sure and give it some
serious thought.