4 Stages of Skill Development Habit Building

This post was provided by Youth Basketball Development

The ability to stop on balance and under control is a critical skill for young players to master and while it may sound simple the skill must be taught.

There are two fundamental ways to stop.

1. The Stride Stop
2. The Jump Stop

The Jump Stop is executed by jumping and landing on both feet at the same time.

The stride stop occurs when one leg strikes the ground before the other thus mimicking the running motion.

Both methods of stopping allow players to play off two feet and be balanced and under control.

By playing off two feet players will be more balanced and under control. They will have a powerful base that will enable them to be more effective and finish through contact.

The video Coach Brent Larson discusses the Stride Stop. You will see game edits of the stride stop finish as well as a teaching progression to help instruct younger players. The video also includes three different finishes at the rim.

1. Outside hand
2. Inside hand
3. Pivot

For more great ideas about how to coach youth players take a look at Coach Larson’s book: Youth Basketball Coaching Guide: One Hour to Better Coaching for Parents

The YouTube video below has audio so please make sure that your speakers are turned on.

Contributed by Derek Sheridan, Head Boys Coach Delta High School (Delta, Ohio)

PURPOSE:

• To work on team offense & defense simultaneously.
• To shorten practice sessions the day before a game or days near a game where the players are still making contact with each other & running up & down the court.
• Breaks up the monotony of traditional “scouting” practices. Players like this drill.

RULES:

• One coach has the team who starts on offense. This team runs through the prescribed offense(s), set(s), &/or offensive action(s) 5 v. 0.  We usually executed 3 sets prior to transitioning to D’.
• On the coach’s cadence, the ball is outletted to the next offensive team’s PG on the SIDELINE & all 5 players (who just ran offense 5v0) sprint & touch the bankboard & then transition to the opposite end to defend the oppositions set/offense/action.
• A different coach has 5 players on the opposite side of the court who run the opposition’s offenses, sets, &/or actions that need to be broke down & repeated.
  • Typically, the defensive team defends the offense at full speed. Then the coach takes the court and breaks down the set/offense/action step-by-step, detailing the timing, ball movement, player movement, and desired outcome.  The defense will then defend he set/offense/action again in full speed, then rotate off the court.
• To make the drill flow & run as smoothly as possible, the JV coach takes his team to a side basket or Aux gym & teaches them the oppositions sets/offenses/actions prior to the beginning of practice or while the varsity team is performing their pre-practice warm ups routine/shooting. This way once the drill starts there is little to zero stoppage of movement.

ROTATION:

• Rotations are contingent on how many players/teams are involved in the practice session.
• Most teams practice varsity & JV combined. Unless the coach has a “scout team” available, he will need at least 10-15 players for this drill to flow smoothly.

Below is an example of the rotations from one of our practice session #57:

SETS TO DEFENSE ROTATION: (1st Team v. JV, 2nd Team v. JV, JV v. First Team)

1. 2-Guard / Circle / Frank v. BHS “X”
2. Pairs / X-Lo / JK v. BHS “Circle”
3. Spartan / Spartan:JK / Slap v. BHS “ Purdue”
4. “Go” / “Down” / “Green” v. BHS “Hi/Lo”
5. “Spartan” SLOB v. BHS “Center Screen”
6. “Spartan:Slap” SLOB v. BHS “Duke” BLOB
7. “54” SLOB v. BHS “Line” BLOB
8. “Tommy” SLOB v. BHS “24 Inbounds” BLOB
9. “Royal” BLOB v. BHS “20 Inbounds” BLOB