There is one thing great playmakers do consistently to get to the paint that average players don’t… play with CONTACT!!! Avoiding contact is a problem we see in thousands of the athletes we work with across the world every year.
We have the solution.
Time for a thread 👇👇👇
You need to think about one thing when driving to the basket if you want to play with more contact, getting sexy. Well not sexy exactly, more like SECSY.
SECSY is an acronym we use to teach athletes how to initiate and maintain contact in playmaking situations.
S: Shoulder through the hip. Open the door!! When attacking a defender you want to make a move and then get your shoulder to their hip and create a collision that will open their body up (open the door) and allow you to go by.
E: Explosive step. Most people think about having an explosive first step but you actually want your first step to be toe to toe with the defenders to set up your shoulder through hip. If you explode with your first step you will typically avoid contact.
Explosive step (cont.) - After you open the door with your first step you explode by with your second step. You want to throw your shoulders in front of your body, getting low to the ground like a sprinter in the blocks. At times you may even touch the ground to maintain balance.
C: Create contact. After you open the door and explode by your job isn’t done. A lot of players win this battle but lose the war because they don’t maintain contact. You want to think about severing the angle at this moment, cutting off the defenders ability to recover.
S: Space with dribbles. Along with severing the angle this is the way you ensure the defense can’t recover to get back in front of you. Extend the ball out, be purposeful, and take as few dribbles as needed to get to the paint.
Y: Why? What’s next? You now need the ability to read the defense in order to figure out what opportunity is available. Is it a finish for you? Is it a dump off pass because they helped? Is is pivoting to find a shooter? You have to make reads!
Line of attack. Imagine a line going from your eyes to the rim. This is the line you must stay on throughout your drive. If you drive in loops and curves it becomes impossible to get to dangerous areas. Stay on your line and get SECSY!!
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Some people think great teammates are born… they aren’t.
More goes into being great to play with than meets the eye. It is our job as coaches to give our players the tools they need to become elite teammates.
The Ten Teammate Commandments
A Thread 👇👇👇
1a/ Thou shalt be the thermostat, not the thermometer.
Be an energy giver and force others around you to raise their temperature to the level you dictate.
Avoid being a thermometer, who walks into the gym & lets the environment dictate their temperature/energy.
1b/ Players who bring constant energy make everything more competitive, lift up those around them & are just more FUN to play with!
Bringing energy day in day out is step one to being a great teammate!! Listen to Geno 👇👇👇
What if I told you that one of the most under taught aspects of the game is also one of the most vital in determining your team's success?
What is it you ask?
Shot Selection
Thread ⏰ 👇👇👇
1/ Define it
If we don’t define to our players what good and bad shots are, how are they supposed to know?
The definition also can’t be simplistic or binary (good/bad), that isn’t nuanced enough.
So let’s define it with more detail.
2/ The Chart
We use a shot selection chart that was created by our founder Dick DeVenzio. Here it is:
9 - A gimme 7- Open shot in your range 5- Average shot, typically contested 3- Third grade shot/heavily contested - shot you typically see a 3rd grader throwing up
What if I told you that one of the most under utilized/taught skills in basketball for many players and coaches was something so simple most of us learned how to do it in grade school yet many players and coaches rarely use it?
Time for a thread 👇👇👇
As many of you may have guessed that skill is playing off two feet and using jump stops at the end of drives. There are so many situations that arise in the course of a game where a player has a massive advantage if they use a jump stop. Let’s first define the when and why.
Here are 2 easy rules to live by:
2 feet- When your shot has a chance to be blocked or bothered… go off two feet.
1 foot- When you need to be quick or clever… go off one foot.