At The Youth Level - Teacher or Coach?

I've written about this before, one of the big problems in youth programs is that qualified teachers are rare. Often, youth team coaches try very hard to do the best they can with limited knowledge. They may have little or no playing or teaching experience. Our most skilled coaches, who could possibly be the most effective teachers, come into the picture later on in a player’s career. By then, many incorrect habits have been set and coaches don’t have the time, personnel or perhaps the desire to back up and re-teach skills.

Too often, youth coaches are not thinking beyond the current season while trying to make winners of the players he/she has now. No thought is given to the players’ development for the future. When a coach thinks like this, it is selfish and coming from pure ego. The child is not important – only the coach’s vision of success. This kind of thinking hurts the children in the program and continues to give youth sports a black eye.

To read the rest of this article, go to http://www.top-basketball-coaching.com/Feb2010.html .

Until next month,

Yours in Sport & Spirit,

Coach Ronn

National Basketball Shooters Association: Become A Free Throw Master

A few months ago, I was asked to be part of a founding group of coaches and masters in the art of shooting free throws. We were all in agreement that there is a strong need for better free throw shooting at all levels of play, both in the USA and internationally.

The organization we founded is called, the National Basketball Shooters Association (NBSA).

If there was more emphasis put on free throw mastery in the NBA, would there be fewer close games?

Of course, answering that is pure conjecture, but most of us would agree that free throw shooting in the NBA is horrendous. Not much has changed, percentage wise at the free throw line, for most of 100 years. In the history of the NBA, only about 50 players have shot better than 85%, with the individual average being just over 70% for the 2008-09 season.

Until the basketball role models--NBA, WNBA and collegiate players and teams--make a concerted effort to improve their free throw shooting percentages, younger players are not going to take seriously the need for better free throw shooting. And, coaches will continue to be (as a group) less than adequately prepared and willing to teach correct free throw shooting technique. Whatever is done at the higher levels is emulated at the younger levels of play. One only has to look at the way youngsters copycat the dribbling techniques and 3-point shooting of the older players to grasp this. When free throw shooting percentages improve at the higher levels, youngsters will want to be better at the line too.

To read this article, go to: http://www.top-basketball-coaching.com/NBSA.html

Until next month...

Yours in Sport & Spirit,
Coach Ronn

The New Theory Of Free Throw Targeting: The "Sweet Spot"/Bulls-Eye Target

When talking about what should be the target when shooting a free throw, my guest author for this month's article knows more than a little about how to find that target. Jim "Makevery" Schatz is a free throw shooting master, shooting 96% or better in free throw competition and exhibitions.

What should the target be that the shooter focuses on while shooting a free throw? There are many ideas, but the author describes his idea for the "sweet spot"/target.

If you perform a Google search for “free throw” and click on some of the links, you will quickly find there is no agreement, even among expert coaches, in regards to targeting while shooting free throws. Some coaches say aim at the back of the rim, some say aim at the front of the rim, some say aim above the rim and I say, aim at the "sweet-spot"/bulls-eye target.

To read this article, go to: http://www.top-basketball-coaching.com/freethrow-sweetspot

Happy Holidays!

Yours in Sport & Spirit,
Coach Ronn

How To Motivate In Youth Basketball

Not only do we have to prepare well for the upcoming season, get through all the preliminary training of skills, systems and conditioning, accomplish a successful first game, but we have to be able to motivate the players--for practices and for games--all season long.

Motivating players is often harder for a coach than teaching all the various aspects of the game, because it requires special people-handling skills that can put a coach on a par with a sports psychologist.

I don't believe there is any one method for motivating. Players relate to different styles. Motivating begins with the coach and Coaching styles are all over the place, but bottom line--coaches must be true to themselves and must be fair and consistent in his/her dealings with their players.

To read this article, go to "How To Motivate In Youth Basketball".

How To Conduct A Parent-Child Clinic

I spent several years administering youth basketball programs. Prior to each season I would introduce a Parent-Child Clinic for new players and their parents. I found this to be both a successful teaching method and a bonding experience for the participants.

Here is a way to introduce basketball skills, and how to teach these skills, to the parents. By using their children as the teaching vehicle, parents can learn how to perform and help their child with the skill learning.

To read this article, go to: Parent-Child Clinic

Yours in Sport & Spirit,
Coach Ronn

Youth Basketball: Teach Individual Basics Before Teaching The Team Game

So many times, even experienced coaches rush into the team aspects of coaching--whether for lack of time before the first game or from a desire just to get going with the offense or defense.

Novice coaches at the youth level need to begin with teaching fundamentals, if for no other reason than they need to assess who can do what.

Every season should begin with at least a review of the player' skills and then teach what needs to be taught. Then, it's a matter of drilling these skills so the players are ready to use the skills within the framework of the team offense and defense.

The individual fundamental aspects of learning basic skills and honing these skills must come before working on team aspects. Players must know how to pass, dribble, shoot, rebound, move without the ball, move with the ball and to play defense on a player with the ball and on their player without the ball. Until players have these concepts and skills well in hand, it does no good to try to introduce a 5-on-5 situation....

To read this article, go to
http://www.top-basketball-coaching.com/TeachBasicsFirst.html

See you next month.

Yours in Sport & Spirit,
Coach Ronn

Born Talented Or Hard Work?

The off season is for building individual playing skills. The daily camp team games allow the player to work on those skills in game simulation and to meld their play within the team game with the other players. While these games go on, the instructors get a chance to see if the players are getting what is being taught during the daily skill sessions.

Just going with your school team to a team-type camp (it's the big thing, amounting to another season of play) doesn't build your playing skill. Sure, games help to hone the skills and to act as a proving-ground for your ability to use those skills. Games are fun and necessary to prove your game, BUT, just playing will not improve skills. If you have a fundamental flaw, and you continue to play with it, you will still be flawed.

Lots of off season time needs to be with the focus only on individual skill building. That's how players improve. For players to become great at the game, they will be disciplined to work on their game within every aspect of the game and pay close attention to the details of what they do and how they do it. Only through trial and error, making and correcting mistakes, will a player grow his or her game. Get in pickup or team games--absolutely. Then go back and work on yourself.

This is why I concentrate my website solely on individual aspects of the game. Plenty of coaches and plenty of sites will address offenses, defenses, special plays, etc. When a player or coach comes to my site, I want them thinking, "What can I do to better my teaching/playing skills"?

Check out my site--it's loaded with articles about improving you individual game. My ebooks, my hard cover book and teaching DVD are all about building player specific skills. Go to:

http://www.Top-Basketball-Coaching.com

This month's featured article addresses some of the attitudes about becoming a great player. I borrowed it (with the author's permission) from one of the up-and-coming voices in teaching basketball, Brian McCormick. Last month he wrote an article that I thought would be very good for my readers to read and take heed.

Go here to read that portion of his article, I have named, "Born Talented Or Hard Work?".

http://www.top-basketball-coaching.com/BrianMcCormick

Until Next Month...

Yours in Sport & Spirit,
Coach Ronn