By Brendan Hall
High-major college coaches chart plenty of things off the ball that give them a clearer picture. Here’s what to look for, and how you can track it in your program.
Click the play arrow to see the video.
The times below refer to time frames in the video.
0:40 — Turning a negative into a positive
How do you deal with unprecedented uncertainty? Shapiro talks about how the Blue Demons are setting the table during COVID.
2:10 — Back to the basics
There’s still a lot of body-weight training your players can do. Shapiro talks about how they’re communicating workouts to the team.
3:20 — What to do with an abbreviated year of film
First, Shapiro says, start by giving college coaches a full game film. Let them see the whole picture for themselves.
4:55 — “That’s not glorified in the box score”
College coaches get thousands of emails and highlight reels. How are you going to stand out? The answer might lie in what Shapiro says leads to playing time for his freshmen.
6:05 — What coaches look for off the ball.
How does a superstar like Romeo Weems make an immediate impact as a freshman? Defense, defense, defense. Shapiro breaks down the things he looks for that don’t show up in the stat sheet, including:
- Eliminating blow-by’s (8:10)
- On-ball energy (11:00)
- Active hands (12:00)
- Box outs (13:45)
- Help defense (15:55)
- Ball screen defense (17:25)
19:00 — “I’m the best defender you’ve ever seen”
…Said no recruit to Shapiro ever. We talk about how aspiring college athletes can brand themselves differently to stick out.
20:15 — How to chart the uncharted
Shapiro shares tips and tricks for tracking all these qualities coaches look for on defense.
22:50 — The most important thing players can do right now?
Ballhandling. You can practice it literally anywhere, Shapiro reminds us — even on grass.
