At our January 15, 2015 practice, we warmed up with the Argentina passing-and-cutting drill we learned earlier, and then moved on to talk about shooting, specifically both right- and left-handed layups. We discussed how important it is to become proficient with both the right and left hands, because a player who can use only one hand skillfully makes it too easy for the defense to take away their whole game. Also, trying to shoot a layup from the left side using your right hand exposes the ball to the defender and makes it too easy to block the shot. If you can use your left hand, you keep your body between the defender and the ball, so the ball is protected.
So we started out with simple things, first grooving our shot from both sides of the hoop and then adding a two-step approach to the basket:
As the coaches stressed, this is precisely the sort of thing players can, and should, practice on their own.
After that Coach Libby demonstrated some ball-handling drills which are also very appropriate for players to practice on their own. Homework assignment! Here are some similar drills you can also do on your own:
Next we discussed rebounding, and the importance of screening out the other team. The main goal here is not so much to get the rebound yourself, but to make sure the player you are screening out doesn't get it. If everyone keeps their opponent from getting the rebound, that means someone on our team has to! To practice this we used this drill:
Finally, we worked on the fast break, starting with the rebound and a quick outlet pass, and filling the lanes on the court, with the ball in the middle and the two outside lanes each having a player. We'll work more on this at future practices; here's a preview:
Great practice, everyone! No practices the week of January 19, so you have a whole week to try the drills shown above on your own. Our next practice will be Tuesday, January 27, at 8:15 p.m. Hope we see lots of improvement from working on your own in the meantime!
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