Thread by @AlexJSarama

➡️ The notion of fundamentals are something adhered to by many coaches who talk about players requiring fundamentals before they get the chance to play games or perform more “advanced skills”. Fundamentals are often coupled with explicit instruction. Why is this a problem?

Firstly, coaches who believe in fundamentals suggest that players have to be taught something explicitly before doing it in a game. This is simply completely false. Just watch a normal 🏀 game and see the number of solutions players use which have not ever been taught.

This idea of being taught something explicitly before using it in a game is incongruent with how learning actually works (a non-linear process). Every player has different action capabilities based on the interaction between individual, environment & task constraints.

This interaction of constraints is ever-changing. This means it’s simply impossible to teach a “fundamental” and expect all players to use it the same way in a game. An additional problem with fundamentals is the way the coach prescribes only one way to execute the technique.

Where did the idea of fundamentals come from? I believe this stems from coaches wishing to emulate successful NCAA , Euroleague & pro coaches. They may have had success teaching fundamentals, but what about all the coaches who didn’t? This links to survivorship bias later on…

Additionally, what if there is an even better way waiting to be discovered? “One of the biggest barriers to adopting modern approaches is that coaches are afraid to swap something they are comfortable with for an unknown better alternative” - @BBallImmersion @Chris__Oliver

Another great chapter in Myths of Sport Coaching shares the role (ineffective) coach education has in spreading myths within sport coaching. This is prevalent in basketball, especially in coaching clinics and some all access video productions.

“The myth of fundamentals emerged from the mid to end 20th century motor learning literature, grounded in the idea that coaches must reduce the amount of information to assist the learners’ brains in processing information.” (Rudd, Foulkes, O’Sullivan & Woods, 2020).

On this topic, it is hard to believe that materials such as the below are STILL being used by national & global federations in their coach education. When would a player ever perform a skill without thinking?! We are humans, not robots! This just adds to this myth.

Every solution in a game is different. Furthermore, as the game has evolved coaches remain married to fundamentals which no longer have much relevance in the modern game. For example…

- Step slides which are impossible to contain athletic players in the modern age.
- Chest passes made in a straight line across a short distance (never possible with a defender in front)
- Choppy step close-outs (impossible to prevent an effective shooter).
- Line drill pivots

When coaches adhere to players first having fundamentals, they are actually just holding their players back from fulfilling their true potential. Players do need to do a chest pass before being able to make a one handed pass. Let players explore the skills they will actually use!

Rather than telling a player what to do, as coaches we can create an environment where players can learn implicitly. Little or no instructions are given, and the player learns by doing. Players do not need fundamentals before having the opportunity to play!

This is the opposite to how most coaches teach, but the one hugely supported by evidence as to how people learn best. As coaches, we have to put our ego aside to avoid running scripted drills and instead design a practice where players can develop a variety of movement solutions.

As coaches we must embrace the evidence vs being scared of it. When the evidence is referenced, many coaches become defensive and point to their extensive experience of basketball vs the science. Combining experience WITH empirical evidence is the best way to advance our sport.

Many coaches who believe in fundamentals were often coached themselves in traditional, linearized learning environments. The players who were successful being brought up with “fundamental” explicit coaching exhibit their success to the drills they use…

However, we never hear of ALL the players who didn’t make it training this way. This is the concept Known as survivorship bias that I referenced earlier on in this thread, as well as what I believe is the biggest thing holding European basketball back. More on this coming soon!