Alex Sarama Profile picture
Feb 7, 2022 9 tweets 5 min read Read on X
One of my most important responsibilities is to prepare my players to train effectively when they leave the program. I call this as PLP (Player Led Practice). 10 mins on the clock, players have to take the lead designing a task which is variable, efficient, and with decisions.
@LinusholmstromR is 16 years old in the previous clip, impressive! This is how I describe the task. Imagine you are at college, and need to teach your roommate or student manager about guided defense so you can train effectively when practicing alone.
This is their task, using guided defense to work on Pick & Roll setups. Alternating between off the catch and dribble, changing locations, guided d giving different coverages etc creates good variability. Bursts are applied to create sky high time-on-task.
@Auriiiimas demonstrating good knowledge of aggressive coverage solutions as the handler in PNR. The great thing about PLPs is it allows players to work on things most specific to them and gives an input in the practice. This is something connected to my thread on SDT last month.
We also did some 1 on 0 (shock!). Why? It is likely that on-air training is what a lot of my players will encounter when they leave here. So even though we don’t do on-air, I use very short doses to encourage them to find ways to create variability without defense.
This is an example of a de-brief. We spoke about deception and finding ways to incorporate this in PNR handler set-ups. Biggest thing @LinusholmstromR raised was visualization. If a coach does on-air with them in the future, HAVE to at least visualize the D.
Great visualization here with connections added. Every rep within this 1 on 0 is different. While I would prefer to have some type of constrained or live defender immediately, this at least helps my players understand how to avoid blocked, constant practice in the future.
Challenged them to reject a diff way each time, and then try to reject in one dribble.
We mix this all up with regular bouts of shooting. When we shoot, I play defense with my assistant. For NCAA coaches, great chance to use student managers. Makes an incredible difference to the autopilot mode that players descend into when doing spot shooting.

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More from @AlexJSarama

May 21, 2023
🔍Reframing the NBA Draft Combine
👉How relevant are the current evaluative strategies used in the basketball world?
💡I make the case for how many of the current testing methods bias, rather than inform, front office decision-makers. Image
The combine is traditionally used to measure and quantity "athleticism". Athleticism in itself is a subjective term and I prefer to use the term "action capabilities." Within an ecological dynamics framework, these shape the potential movement solutions a player is capable of…
Action capabilities are not skills, but rather attributes such as vertical jump ability, power, acceleration, lateral quickness etc. Over several years, pre-draft tests have been used to measure action capabilities.
Read 35 tweets
Apr 20, 2023
🇱🇧This is a thread outlining some of my recent ideas and the concepts I shared during my week in Lebanon.

💡I ran coach workshops and player camps. The focus was on helping show alternatives to the dominant approach while making sense of the CLA in a practical manner. Image
Firstly, starting with the wider-context. Lebanon is one of a few countries in the world where basketball is the number one sport. It is incredibly popular, and the Lebanese take enormous pride in the national teams. Image
Most Lebanese cities lie on the coast, with mountains in the east. The unique topography accounts for why Lebanon is one of the oldest-inhabited countries in the world, as well as the most diverse with 18 different religious groups. This leads onto forms of life... Image
Read 35 tweets
Mar 28, 2023
💡1-on-1 can be one of the simplest but most effective ways to improve functional solutions in driving, shooting and finishing.

👉6ft 9 @CoryLovell17 demonstrates how you do not have to conform to the expectations of how a forward is meant to play! 🧵
What I loved about this is that the players self-organized into the 1-on-1 after a practice. This type of simple activity is a much better alternative to all the traditional drills prevalent within 🏀
Playing against different players naturally shapes a diverse number of emergent movement solutions. The affordances playing against a 6ft 3 guard or a 6ft 6 wing will be different for both the offense and defense.
Read 15 tweets
Feb 28, 2023
🔍"Learning is characterised by a search for functional performance solutions, where the learner is challenged beyond mere repetition and imitation of a putative classic action" - Nonlinear Pedagogy in Skill Acquisition.
Within this specific context of Pick and Roll, we can see how every single possession is unique. Carefully designed practice tasks within the video, consisting of different forms of 2-on-2, 3-on-3 and 4-on-4, have facilitated the emergence of skills within Pick and Roll.
Many of the behaviours observable in the video would not typically be associated with high-school aged players. This is one of the biggest limitations with traditional coaching, whereby coaches perceive players are not capable of achieving success within complex environments.
Read 17 tweets
Feb 24, 2023
One of the most important concepts we emphasise is to NOT run the play!

Set plays are merely opportunities to disorganise the defense. If the defense is already in a state of disorganisation, then players should act on the relevant affordance(s) to convert the advantage.
This is great example in this clip. We were about to execute a very simple SOB play, but @LinusholmstromR was able to perceive the over-help on the weak side. Subsequently, the skip pass emerged and we obtained a high value shot within our shot spectrum (C&S Corner 3PT)
The inability for players to consistently act on affordances that present themselves during an offensive possession is something that stands out to me. I see this commonly at all levels of basketball. Why is this such a reoccurring theme within the basketball world?
Read 25 tweets
Jan 30, 2023
🏀Thread on how we manipulated constraints in @Franz_NanniBK's practice today.
💡Began with 2-on-1+1. The offense had an eight second shot clock as soon as the defense moved.
👉Let's take a deeper look at the task design and the affordances this activity provides...
Affordances are invitations for action. Opportunities for action emerge, persist and dissolve (Button et al., 2020). Potential affordances for the offense within this SSG include driving, passing, shooting and/or calling for a trigger...
Meanwhile for the defense the SSG begins with an obvious close-out situation, after which the affordances are still plentiful. E.g apply help defense or stay, contain the ball handler, defend a potential trigger, find ways to finish the possession with a stop or DREB.
Read 18 tweets

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