Stop Waiting for the Perfect Stop. Great Defense Is What You Do After You Get Beat.
Stop Waiting for the Perfect Stop. Great Defense Is What You Do After You Get Beat. Read More »
youth basketball
How to Score Without the Ball in Your Hands
You Don’t Need the Ball to Take Over a Game Most kids think scoring is something that happens to them. The point guard decides to pass, or the coach draws up a play, or the ball just happens to find them in a good spot. And when none of that happens, which is most of
How to Score Without the Ball in Your Hands Read More »
Are Your Habits Actually Matching Your Goals?
I had a kid tell me he wanted to play college basketball. No offers. Small school. No AAU. He was a good shooter, but he was small, and his handle and his footwork had a long way to go. He was lifting occasionally, shooting around a little, playing pickup with his friends, and he genuinely
Are Your Habits Actually Matching Your Goals? Read More »
Push and Pull: How to Create Space Without Being the Fastest Kid on the Court
I had a middle school kid who could shoot the lights out from the perimeter. Catch and shoot, money every time. But the second he put the ball on the floor to drive, he got stuck. The defender would stay glued to him, he’d pick up his dribble, and then he’d just stand there holding
Push and Pull: How to Create Space Without Being the Fastest Kid on the Court Read More »
You’re Showing Up to the Wrong Game in Your Head
I’ve got an 11-year-old who’s smaller and younger than everyone in his group. He plays up, against bigger kids, older kids, and most days he’s getting cooked. He knows it. He signed up for it. A few weeks ago he finally got a shot to fall. One bucket. And he celebrated like he’d just won
You’re Showing Up to the Wrong Game in Your Head Read More »
Be More Like a Skateboarder
I had a brand new player, never trained before, and I tried to make a drill easier so she could get a few more makes and feel good. She turned it down. Not rudely. She just wanted the hard version. She wanted to keep bricking it until it started going in, the way a skateboarder
Be More Like a Skateboarder Read More »
You Play Like You’re Trying to Survive Something
A high school kid came in looking like he was getting stabbed every time he shot the ball. Not exaggerating. Every rep was a full-body emergency. Shoulders up, jaw clenched, eyes wide. The ball would come out and he’d wince before it even hit the rim, like he was bracing for bad news. Which, to
You Play Like You’re Trying to Survive Something Read More »
Mistakes Are the Whole Point
I had a middle schooler who reacted to every single mistake like it had personally wronged him. Missed shot, pounded the ball. Sloppy handle, threw his hands up. Bad footwork rep, completely checked out for the next three. It didn’t matter what we were working on. Shooting, dribbling, footwork patterns, reads off the drive. Every
Mistakes Are the Whole Point Read More »