Bigger and Better

We have created a new website called "Melrose Girls' Basketball" at Melrosegirlsbasketball.com to spread the wealth. The site will provide details on the Melrose program, including schedules, rosters, game results, and so forth.

The site will emphasize what's out there for Melrose girls basketball, and is specifically not designed to promote individuals.

I've put up a new article on the blog contained within.

Only One Way to Get Better

Not a lot to say. Form leads to function.

Jeff Mate' has created a new website...Melrosegirlsbasketball.com. Easy. I'll be contributing and that'll start soon....

Cross-Sport Characteristics

Athletes benefit from playing multiple sports. Playing helps develop two of our key tenets, FITNESS and TEAM SPIRIT. Sport-specific skills require separate training.

In this month's Lacrosse Magazine, the author enumerates some important qualities for superior athletes.

• Leadership
• Consistency
• Mental Toughness
• Big-Game Presence
• Poise

As our players gain more experience and develop, we will be looking for 'court leadership'. A leader can help inspire the players around her, and transmit high energy play. Consistent players will be able to bring reproducible skills (e.g. rebounding, blocking out, defense, passing), even when some parts of their game (e.g. shooting) might be off. Mental toughness is partly innate, but players who know they have prepared can lean on that preparation in the critical moments. 

We look forward to a terrific year with both teams. 

Hat tip: Jeff Mate'

We Hold These Truths...

Great notes from Butler coach Brad Stevens...the intersection between basketball and life

Highlights...

In 11 years, never had a player in the program that worked his tail off on the defensive end that wasn’t a great teammate/student

Your team is never too far away from being great, and never too far away from being bad

Goals for transition defense
Stay in front of the basketball
Protect the basket
Pick up the basketball
Find good shooters

Tony Dungy example from his new book: Concept of “regenerative leadership”  Older players spreading the culture to the younger players, and the younger players continue the cycle when they become older players

Awareness can allow a marginal athlete to become a very good defender—more so than a great athlete with marginal awareness

Rated PG

Steve Nash has words of wisdom for point guards. Understand that point guard is the hardest position to learn and the hardest position to teach. I had my daughter play point guard as a middle schooler because I wanted her to learn to think 'pass' first.

Worth a look... remember, we will always emphasize that what makes a complete player is what they can do for those around them, not just themselves.

Giving Back

We want our players to recognize that they succeed with the help of players that have gone before them and that we will ask them to help contribute to younger players' development over time.  They should expect to be leaders on the court and in the classroom, to have high character and high competitiveness.

We recently held tryouts for the Winter season and have created two teams, including a second team of combined 5th and 6th grade players. The latter will also play a River Valley schedule and selected Middlesex League games. Both teams are practicing hard outside working to become better players.


The 6th Grade 'A' Roster for 2010-2011

Post Players (3s, 4s, and 5s)

• Victoria Crovo
• Katie Donovan
• Bella Federico
• Leonora Ivers
• Lauren Joyce
• Kat Torpey

Perimeter Players

• Colleen Denning 
• Shannon Jones
• Kaitlyn MacInnes
• Anne Morrison
• Caroline Nolan
• Rachel Pfeiffer

Spacing: a video example

Pay the Price

There are no shortcuts to improvement. Sad to say. If basketball becomes important to you, you will need to spend time practicing just as you would to play an instrument, dance, or become a great chess player. Malcolm Gladwell talked about "10,000 hours" in one of his books, as the time needed to become expert at something.


Here's a video that discusses improving at ball handling.

Remember the five offensive skills:

• Ballhandling
• Passing
• Shooting
• Pivoting
• Rebounding

We want to emphasize the importance of a good process (practice), using good physical technique, and an improving UNDERSTANDING of the game itself. 

For the new players, here's a little video from the 2004-2005 Melrose High season. You will see the physical play and toughness that these girls demonstrate. 

Building Your Skills

We emphasize three areas within the Pyramid of Success.

• Skill development
• Conditioning/athleticism
• Team Spirit

Players have to learn five general skills in basketball.

1. Dribbling
2. Passing
3. Shooting
4. Pivoting
5. Rebounding

The two most key parts of rebounding are 1) positioning and 2) desire. And a big part of "positioning" means blocking out, also known as boxing out or screening out.

Great Thoughts for Basketball Coaches

From Coaching Toolbox

Excerpts:

Young players desperately need to hear this: “YOU’RE ENTITLED TO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THIS GAME.”

No excuses

Are you in your players’ top 3?  If your players were to name their 3 most impactful people in their lives, how many lists would you be on?

New Season to Come

First, I realize that we are no longer the 5th grade travel team, and I'm not sure if I can change the title. Second, congratulations to the players selected for this year's team. We are confident that you will have fun, learn a lot about basketball, and have success.

General rules:

• One, two, three. Family, school, basketball. We expect you to concentrate while you are on the court, but family and school take primacy.
• Communications. If you have other obligations, please let us know. 
• Expectations: Play hard, play smart, play together, have fun. 
• Bring red and white shirts to practice for scrimmage purposes.

Goals:

• We're here to help you develop as basketball players and individuals. You are role models and many of you will be leaders as you move forward in your lives. We expect you to learn to take responsibility for your actions. 
• We want you to enjoy and to learn the ins and outs of basketball, to have a comprehensive understanding of what we do and why. You won't have to learn overnight. The inventor of basketball remarked, "Basketball is an easy game to learn, and a difficult one to master."
• I would like you all to have the ability to coach players by the time you've finished high school. 
• We expect you to reflect our coaching philosophy: team play, aggressiveness, and toughness. Success breeds confidence, and confidence breeds success.
• Great players are great because of what they do for the team. They make the players and the people around them better; they know how to win and stop up in the big moments. No bad teammate is ever a great player. 

Coaches don't make great players. Great players make coaches successful. Every player who becomes highly skilled does so because they develop the individual skills, athleticism, conditioning, and team spirit that great players show. We can help you but we can't help you as much as you can help yourselves by practicing. 

They're Called Coach

http://www.coachingtoolbox.net/filingcabinet/theyre-called-coach.html

Coaching Priorities

A thoughtful piece from the Coaching Toolbox.

An excerpt:

2)       Show the participants examples of how to be successful in life and basketball.
Stress the importance of honesty, trust, enthusiasm, discipline, sportsmanship, dedication, reliability, teamwork, sacrifice, dependability, integrity, loyalty, and hard work.
We will be successful at the varsity level with players who:

• Take coaching and understand the need for discipline
• Love Basketball and appreciate hard work
• Dribble, Pass, and Shoot the ball proficiently
• Play very hard

We understand that this is an exciting week (tryouts) that is just part of the basketball journey. Making a team is not the end of the road...just the beginning. Not making the team isn't the end either; there's a long way between developmental basketball and the summit of one's life skills. We encourage every player who loves basketball and competition to stick with it.

I happily recall a teammate in high school who played on the freshman 'B' team. Later on, he had a key blocked shot in Boston Garden against a high school All-American and Celtic draft choice, to help win that game. In the next game against three time state champion Lexington, he was the high scorer in the old Garden to help us win the Division I North championship in overtime. He never quit and got a scholarship to play basketball in college and became an executive in the oil industry.

We Care About Our Players and Your Child

Alcohol is a drug, plain and simple. Adolescents are profoundly susceptible to its harmful effects. We aim to educate our players and your children to take care of their bodies and their minds, and need your cooperation to help us. We care.

Let's Talk Sports will discuss the problem of alcohol in the community on this week's show.

Habit Forming

Harvard Business Review might be an odd place to think about basketball. But maybe not.  HBR gives six keys to becoming excellent at anything.

It's not as difficult as it might seem. 



Here, then, are the six keys to achieving excellence we've found are most effective for our clients:

1. Pursue what you love. Passion is an incredible motivator. It fuels focus, resilience, and perseverance.
2. Do the hardest work first. We all move instinctively toward pleasure and away from pain. Most great performers, Ericsson and others have found, delay gratification and take on the difficult work of practice in the mornings, before they do anything else. That's when most of us have the most energy and the fewest distractions.
3. Practice intensely, without interruption for short periods of no longer than 90 minutes and then take a break. Ninety minutes appears to be the maximum amount of time that we can bring the highest level of focus to any given activity. The evidence is equally strong that great performers practice no more than 4 ½ hours a day.
4. Seek expert feedback, in intermittent doses. The simpler and more precise the feedback, the more equipped you are to make adjustments. Too much feedback, too continuously, however, can create cognitive overload, increase anxiety, and interfere with learning.
5. Take regular renewal breaks. Relaxing after intense effort not only provides an opportunity to rejuvenate, but also to metabolize and embed learning. It's also during rest that the right hemisphere becomes more dominant, which can lead to creative breakthroughs.
6. Ritualize practice. Will and discipline are wildly overrated. As the researcher Roy Baumeister has found, none of us have very much of it. The best way to insure you'll take on difficult tasks is to ritualize them — build specific, inviolable times at which you do them, so that over time you do them without having to squander energy thinking about them.

The Greatest Basketball Commentary I Have Ever Read

I've read a number of books about coaching basketball, and I try to learn as much as I can to become a better teacher of basketball. But inside, I believe that teaching sports is about teaching life. Jealousy, envy, selfishness...they destroy teams. Sharing, caring, and team spirit create life for the team. 

If you never read anything about basketball, just read what Carril believes and embrace the truth.

Excerpts from former Princeton coach Pete Carril follow.

Whatever you emphasize and to the degree that you do, you get better at it.

There's a tendency for players to believe that because the coach is talking to someone else, they don't have to listen. If they're all listening, the coach won't have to repeat the same thing to the guys who weren't involved.

The quality of their work habits can overcome anything: praise, criticism, good or bad coaching. 

I can check the level of your honesty and commitment by the quality of your effort on the court. You cannot separate sports from your life, no matter how hard you try. Your personality shows up on the court: greed, indifference, whatever, it all shows up. You cannot hide it.

Passing makes everybody feel a part of the game, a part of the team. No single aspect of basketball does more to develop good team play than passing

The essence of character is what I call mental and physical courage. Everybody has the potential for courage, but some people -- because they have had to demonstrate it all their lives -- are good at it, whereas others are not until the need suddenly arises and they have to learn to react. Basketball brings out the need for courage.


Defense is the heart of our game. Good defense is recognizable even when you're losing.

When you demand a lot, my experience has been that you get more.

Size is not the most important thing about rebounding. Knowing how to use your body, seeing where the ball is going, that's what counts.

Pivoting is one of the most underrated techniques and skills, and when you go to teach it, someone always asks, "Why bother?" 

Fakes are like lies. The first thing I tell anyone about faking is that if you're going to fake, your move has to look like the real thing.

How do you know if your team has camaraderie? I can tell by the way they walk off the floor at the end of practice. You can feel their happiness vibrating; you can see how they work out together; 

When players who have had good high school coaching walk on the floor in college, there isn't much that a coach has to do. 

I don't recruit players who are nasty to their parents. That shows they are giving less than they can give and can't forge the bonds essential for a good team. I look for players who understand that the world does not revolve around them.

There are so many things that don't show up on the stat sheet, or in the win and loss column, that no one can explain, but you see them and they affect the outcome of games.   

Use your assets: You have to take advantage of what you have. Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren did that, and we do it, too. If you have a fast team and you don't run, you're being stupid. And if you have a slow team, you must take the run out of the game.

"Be Quick But Don't Hurry"

One of legendary coach John Wooden's sayings was, "be quick but don't hurry." For example, make the good pass quickly, but don't hurry and throw it away.

How do you get quicker? Here's a 'cone' or 'cup' drill. I takes discipline to train, attitude to succeed, and motivation to be your best.

The Greatest Challenge

The great challenge for basketball players is to MAKE THE PLAYERS AROUND YOU BETTER. The best players have the greatest capacity to do so.

How do you do that? You must develop individual skills and have the awareness to create for and utilize your teammates.

Some examples:

• Moving without the ball
• Passing to open players
• Setting screens, and rolling to the basket or popping to open spots
• Help defense (and recover as needed)
• Blocking out to allow your teammates (or yourself) to rebound
• Hitting the outlet pass AFTER securing the rebound

Although I'm often tasked with coaching the fours and fives (which involves a lot of footwork), I grew up as a perimeter player (and mostly as a baseball player to be honest)...

Here's a brief article from the Coaches' Toolbox on what perimeter players need to develop. Becoming an accomplished player means acquiring and refining a broad individual skill set and learning how to use it. If we are successful, you will be able to become a coach someday and share your knowledge with your students. As we say in medicine, "see one, do one, teach one."

Baker's Lesson

We talk about "getting separation" all the time...and PREVENTING separation defensively. Here's why.

Practice, Practice, Practice

A couple of shooting drills. I don't care for the way he drops lowers the ball before he squares but that's just me.

Practice

Click the photo to ENLARGE

It's What We Do (More or Less)

Tony Mazz had an article in The Globe about the Patriots, specifically about the Bill Belichick philosophy.

"It's understanding what [opponents] are doing, trying to prepare your team for what they do, [trying] to come up with what you feel like gives the players an opportunity to be successful, teaching them that, going through it either on the practice field or in the game," Belichick said. "I enjoy all of that."

In many ways basketball is a simple game, put the ball in the hoop...and prevent the other team from doing the same. But not every player develops at the same rate, physically or mentally. We have some players with high athletic upside who struggle with their 'process' of learning the game. We have others with better concepts and less athleticism or skill. Neither are blank slates nor finished products, and projecting what the outcome will be has great uncertainty. 

Offense comes from developing the triad of skill, conditioning, and team spirit. We review the FIVE ELEMENTS of offensive play regularly, to build the skills.

• Passing
• Dribbling
• Shooting
• Pivoting
• Rebounding

1) Pass away from the defender; look off defenders, fake with ball, head, eyes.
2) Control the dribble with your head up.
3) Shoot with proper technique, square, and follow through. Keep the elbow in.
4) Pivot with confidence to prevent defenders from obtaining held balls.
5) Rebound with authority and look for the outlet pass (defense) or to score on offense.

Always see the ball and your defender. Pressure the ball, pressure the ball, pressure the ball. Play defense BEFORE your player has the ball. Good players will find ways to get to the ball, and good defenders identify ways to prevent that.

Understand the game and the situation WITHIN the game. The first play of the game is as important as the last; we play to win each possession.

1-4 Motion

Everybody in the program (at all levels) knows that I like the 1-4 'high' set. Here's a Coaches Toolbox play with lots of motion and screens off the base 1-4. The advantage of the 1-4 initially is not only the initial spacing and open area under the basket, but the 'lack' of a weak side from which help can 'cheat'.

The Least Utilized Option

When players set up the "pick and roll", they usually 'use' the pick and occasionally fake against the pick, but least often (in my experience) 'slip the screen'. The short video contained shows how to do exactly that.

Slipping the screen. Nice!

This weekend at the BC tournament I tried to summarize where the girls needed emphasis:

• "The ball is gold." Reduce turnovers.
• The best players are going to find a way to get the ball, coming off picks (screens) and cutting to the ball. The best defenders must combat that. 
• We're going to be among the smallest teams. We MUST block out.
• The best defenders play defense BEFORE the offensive player gets the ball.

Don't forget the wisdom of Ben Franklin: "Someone who is very good at making excuses is seldom very good at anything else."

A Basketball Player

http://www.coachingtoolbox.net/filingcabinet/a-basketball-player.html

One Day at a Time

As a young player, what can you do to improve?

• Improve your athleticism - speed, quickness, strength, jumping ability
• Improve your skill - the five offensive skills are ball-handling, passing, shooting, dribbling, and pivoting. Shooting is the least well-taught...and learned. The end result of improved skills and decision-making is easier scoring opportunity and reduced turnovers.
• Improve the mental approach to the game, understand what offenses try to do (create mismatches, create separation with offensive skills and offenses), and how to defend (ball pressure, denying cuts away from the ball, denying the post, not accepting pick-and-rolls, being in position to help away from the ball, blocking out).

What skills are hardest to acquire? We think that developing the mental game creates the greatest challenge. Great players are great because 1) they make the players around them better, 2) they can carry the team at times, and 3) they are great teammates.

Yet Another Shooting Drill

We've talked about the importance of 'different' looks.

• Catch and shoot
• Pump fake and shoot
• Catch and shoot coming off a pick
• One dribble into a shot

Here's another CoachingToolbox shooting drill. 

Off Season Workouts

Another very enthusiastic crowd of rising sixth graders today at the Common. About twenty youngsters came on a very warm day to participate in drills, specialty work, and scrimmaging.

Workouts run from about 5 PM to 7 PM and include a variety of fundamental and specialty work. After the initial ball-handling drills, the coaches broke into positional (post and perimeter player) groups.

Visiting assistant coach Karen Sen showed the interior players proper technique for establishing and defending the post position, drop step, and up and under moves. We added some demonstration of the mid-range step back jump shot.  We look forward to having additional visits from alumni and current players to establish the traditional bond so important to Lady Raider basketball.

We had enough players for two full teams of red and white, with round robin scrimmage play, with special emphasis on:

• Transition offense
• Moving without the ball and 4s and 5s playing off each other
• Spacing

Here's an interesting video demonstrating one coach's approach for running motion against the zone.

What Can I Do?

The responsibility and accountability of change belongs to the individual. Coaches can introduce the letters or the notes, but the product, the epic, the symphony, or the poetry comes from the players.


That will never change.

The Way We Want to Play

Note the rebound and put back off the miss AND how the player exhorts his teammate to get back up and into the play.

The Dennis Hopper Thing

The late Dennis Hopper played a lot of characters, but perhaps none was more memorable than 'Shooter' in Hoosiers. Shooter was a wanna-be, a basketball idiot savant whose son played for the Hickory Huskers (actually Milan, Indiana), and presumably was that...a shooter.

Melrose has had a lot of terrific scorers, but not so many great shooters. The great Shey Peddy shot 62 percent on three pointers her senior year, and a little-known fact is that daughter Paula Sen shot 50 percent (on far fewer attempts) in addition to having (by report) a 12-12 game against Burlington one season, mostly on inside shots. 

So I'm interested in helping to develop shooters, which above all means finding players willing to practice shooting. They say Ray Allen takes 300-500 shots in practice, and it's easy to understand how his shooting stroke became so refined, but even he can struggle at times.

Today's link concern shooting is here. 

Young players can focus on repetitive shooting drills and games:

1) '21'
2) H-O-R-S-E
3) Bill Bradley, game to 11, one point for a make, three points for Bill on a miss
4) Elbow to elbow (jumpers off the catch with a partner, 5-10 from each alternating side
5) 'Around the world'
6) Modified around the world, perimeter shooting...in two minutes you have to make two consecutive shots from 12-15 feet (five spots, baseline, 45 degree angle, foul line, etc) and back again, in other words, 20 shots in two minutes, with a partner
7) 'Crazy Horse'...take 15 off-balance, 'flyaway', crazy shots from in the paint, practicing shooting body control, as sometimes in games you don't get the perfect setup
8) When practicing, get used to shooting by 'catch and shoot', shooting off a 'pump fake', and shooting off the dribble
9) Free throws, keep a chart, so you see the improvement. I used to be able to make 90-95 of a hundred and ONCE, I made over a hundred in a row practicing. I've see both of the twins make over 90 of 100 in practice, so it's far from impossible. 

The point is that great shooters learn to shoot in a variety of situations, inside, intermediate, and outside, off the catch, off the dribble, coming off picks. Few players are willing to pay the price to become a great shooter, so few reap the rewards. Some of it is simply players born to become shooters, but most of it is just hard work. See you on the courts.

More Fundamental Thinking

I believe in warming up first by taking a series of short bank shots (using the square) from each side, starting at the low block and moving out. This repeats mechanics, forces the shooter to work on 'spotting' the target, and creates confidence as you make 8-10 consecutive shots.

Poor shooting fundamentals receives widespread recognition as the root cause of shooting woes. We have to shoot better at every level of the program, from the fifth grade through varsity. There's only one way to improve: practice.

Moment of Silence for the Greatest Basketball Coach Ever: John Wooden

Reversal of Fortune

This demonstrates how one coach likes to initiate his offense and why he believes ball reversal critically leads to more scoring opportunities. Scroll down in the link to see the video (about a minute long).

On Becoming a Shooter

To become a competent shooter, there is no substitute for repetition. But it's not just taking shots, it's working on proper technique and more.

I've posted some video of great shooters like Ray Allen and great scorers like Bill Bradley and Pete Maravich, but ultimately you have to be yourself. What great scorers have in common is a variety of weapons to score.

We've talked about developing the outside game (perimeter shooting), inside game (post for bigs, drives for perimeter players), and the role of the intermediate (mid-range) game. See the video below.


In addition to practicing from different 'zones' or 'spots' I'd encourage the following.

• 100 free throws a day, recording the results
• Extensive practice using the backboard, particularly in close
• Shooting off the catch (practice in pairs)...
• Shooting after a pump fake (small percentage of shots)
• Shooting after one dribble used to create separation.
• Shooting the "pull-up" jump shot.

The coaches have seen some impressive improvement in a number of the girls, but encourage players to remember that it's different to make it happen in a game because of either taller or quicker defenders. That's why we encourage you to work on your jumping and getting the shots off more quickly. We will help you work on all aspects of your game...but only you can translate practice into results. 

Getting After It

How much do the young players want to improve? On a 'smoky/hazy' Memorial Day, 21 girls came to work out at a skill building session at the Common.

Ralph Labella puts them through their defensive footwork drill.
______________________________________

Ballhandling drills receive special attention for both the perimeter and the post players.

Understanding the Game

Although 'transition' basketball (fast break offense) is our chosen style, we hope to teach our young players fundamental principles associated with good 'half-court offense' otherwise known as 'plays' or 'set offenses'.

I'd encourage every player to try to develop ONE play, incorporating some of the basic principles of offense:

• Spacing (diminishes the defense's ability to provide help)
• Motion (player movement)
• Ball movement
• Picks or screens on the ball or away from the ball
• Players available to rebound (core principle)
• Floor balance (at least one offensive player back to defend)

The core offensive sets for most teams tend to have the following configurations:

Click to enlarge:

From the top:

• 1-4 (one set used by many teams)
• 1-2-2
• 2-3 (favored by the great UCLA teams of the 60s and 70s

By no means are these the only available sets, and in fact recently I discussed the set the Celtics used on Friday. Remember, the goals we want to encourage are to allow for proper spacing, use individual technique to get separation, small group plays to present mismatches, and to optimize player and ball movement to establish open shots. 

This isn't homework, but rather a goal to help players conceptualize goals of offenses, which will help them BOTH offensively and defensively. 

Not My Favorite

Click the 'play' to ENLARGE.

This looks something like what the Celtics were trying to do at times. The pass would go in to Rondo (R) near the left elbow. He looked too hurt to go 1 on 1, and had either Pierce (34) or Allen (20) coming off the Garnett (G) screen.

Orlando seemed to be able to clog up the middle keeping the Pierce drive option a poor one, and they pressured Rondo who normally would just try to blow by the outmanned defender.

If Rondo were healthy, then this type of iso (isolation) approach with cutters away from the ball would make more sense. Defensively, if you sag too much AND Rondo can make the pass, then you open up either Pierce or Allen for three point shots. For example, if the ball goes to Pierce near the top of the key, and Allen sees his man (e.g. Redick) try to anticipate the low cut, Allen cuts back out, Pierce identifies this and swings the ball back to Allen.

Obviously, the difference in pro sports is the frequently high efficiency rate of scorers to make open shots.

Biters

Former Patriots Coach Bill Parcells has a saying, "if they won't bite when they're pups, they won't bite when they're grown." What Parcells says figuratively is that 'growing' a competitive spirit becomes a great challenge. You either have it, or you don't.

Hubie Brown says that if you are an NBA Coach, you are fortunate to have one 'star' player who wants the ball in crunch time. He means it, because the twice NBA Coach of the Year knows it.

Melrose basketball has enjoyed great success because we have had not only talented players but players with great desire and great competitive spirit, battle-ready.

Surveying the local landscape, your coaches know that many of you and your older sisters moving up through the ranks bring that tenacity. Our job becomes to help you develop skills, conditioning, and team spirit to complement your intensity.

Here's a drill I read about that looks terrific, but just MOVE IN to about 12 feet for now. It combines the requirements of shooting skill, conditioning, and mental toughness. And it requires a partner (or two, for both rebounding and passing). Work out together and grow as teammates.

Coach Labella has moved the skill building session to Monday at 3 PM at the Common. Have a great holiday weekend.

Guard Play

Terrific article on what is required from the guard position. It's not all about scoring, not by a long shot...

Shooting Stars: Form Begets Function

Here's the 'young' Ray Allen, who played "Jesus Shuttlesworth" in He's Got Game.You'll notice a number of features of a great shooter in Allen:

• Perfect balance
• Reproducible shooting technique...every shot looks the same
• Compact shot
• Outside shooting power comes from the legs
• Note how the elbow stays in. Elbow flying out means less power, shots fall short.
• Great follow-through
• Wonderful backspin 
• Perfect 'arc', neither too high nor too flat

Melrose has had a lot of terrific basketball players, but as a program we can shoot much better. Good form (technique) produces better function (results). Form begets function. 

Summer League Info Posted (same as email attachment)

Girls Dates (Monday):
                    June io^th(Thursday>, 14^th, 21st, 28th, July 12^th, 19^th, and 26^th Boys Dates (Wednesday): June 9th, 16^th, 23^th, 30^th, July 14^th, 21st, and 28^th

Girls Division:                     Monday Eveninq	Times:
Girls entering the 6th grade or below, or maximum 12 years old Girls entering the 7th grade or below, or maximum 13 years old Girls entering the 8th grade or below, or maximum 14 years oldBoys Division:                    Wednesday Eveninq	6:00 PM 7:05 PM 8:10 PM Times:
Boys entering the 6th grade or below, or maximum 12 years old Boys entering the 7th grade or below, or maximum 13 years old Boys entering the 8th grade or below, or maximum 14 years old	6:00 PM 7:05 PM 8:10 PM

League Registration Fee: $375.00 per team. The registration fee includes the following:

• Indoor full court facility
• (7) Game schedule
• (2) Patched officials per game

League Game Rules:
Standard High School basketball rules apply with the following exceptions:

• Two 20 minute half's - running time, last two minute of each half stop time.
• 2 minute overtime period, stop time.
• 2 time-outs per half. 1 additional time-out for each overtime period (no carry).

Complete the information section below and return via Email to John_Macdonald( Follow with your teams entry fee through the mail (see address below). 
)TJX.com

Head Coach Name:		Town:
Home Phone:		Grade:
Cell Phone:		Boys/Girls:
Work Phone:		League:
Home Email:		Last Year Record:
Work Email:		Team Rating:	Strong/Average/Below
Assistant Coach Name:
Home Phone:		Comments:
Cell Phone:
Work Phone:
Home Email:
Work Email:

Please make checks payable to Billerica Youth Basketball. Send registration and payment to:

John Macdonald 6 Eagle Trace Drive Billerica, MA 01821

Home-978-667-2740 Cell 978-621-3419 John_Macdonald@TJX. com

The Most Important Shot

This is a MUST drill for both forwards and guards. I always tried to make ten in a row from each side.

Note how the ball is "handed" into the basket softly.

Opening Day

Many returnees attended as well as enthusiastic newcomers as the Sunday "Open Court" at the Common began. Our emphasis is simple, to develop individual skills within a core framework of skill, conditioning, and team spirit.

We always begin with basketball dribbling skills from the five 'offensive skills':

• Passing
• Dribbling
• Shooting
• Rebounding
• Pivoting

As always, the girls worked on control, crossovers, and hesitation dribbling, as well as half and full court layups, and passing and receiving on the move. We reviewed some options off the pick and roll. 

We finished the reintroduction with perimeter moves:

• Face up moves from the wing
• Face up and pull up jumper
• Baseline power move to the hoop (swim move into power dribble and jump stop)

We have a long way to go with a talented, athletic group of young athletes. We expect most sessions will run Sundays from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. 

Find Your Focus

The Coaching Toolbox says you can develop your mental toughness. Here are some excerpts:

• When you fear, trust.
• When you fail, find the lesson in it.
• When you head into battle, visualize success.
• When you are tired and drained, remember to never, never, never give up.  Finish strong in everything you do.
• Focus on what you can control and let go of what you can’t.
• Life is short; you only live once.  You have nothing to lose.  Seize the moment.
• Prepare!

New Shooting Theory

New shooting theory and review of some old:



Forget the commercial, remember issues related to shooting success. Try something different and see how it works for you.

  Long-range shooting...Power comes from THE LEGS.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Nice shooting drill:

I'd encourage shooting practice from both elbows, both corners, and the free throw line

1st drill: catch and shoot (as shown at the website) alternating elbows or the corners (after taking 10 shots, 'rest' by taking 5 free throws

2nd drill: same as first, but don't shoot, make a good upfake and ONE-DRIBBLE drive to basket for a layup (again 10 shots), rest with free throws

3rd drill: catch off the pass, upfake, and make a ONE-DRIBBLE lateral move off a jab step into a shot


You have to be able to find the "blue sky", openings to shoot.

NOTE: The ball is NOT shot out of the chest. Some of the best players in Melrose history could have improved even more with better technique. We want you to practice good technique at a young age. When my daughter, Paula was studying in Spain, she was amazed at how much better the younger players' fundamentals were than in the U.S.

Quotes and Such

Tips from the coaching toolbox.

quotes:

“They do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care”

 “All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be.”

 They must be willing to pursue the goal/vision they have w/out fear and with confidence!
 
Referring to Bill Parcells quote “If they don’t bite when they are pups, they won’t bite when they are grown.”

Follow-up on Spring Season

The coaches like to see the girls playing other sports, because we think the overall training makes better athletes.

We expect to have the courts reserved from 3 to 7 PM, because we also expect to have time for some of the older players to come in later. Obviously, these workouts are totally voluntary, and the players' priority will necessarily be: FAMILY, SCHOOL, and BASKETBALL.

Although it's fine if the girls haven't touched a basketball since the season ended, if they have we hope that they spend some of their time shooting free throws.

My favorite shooting drills (which we've previously handed out) are:

1. Elbow to elbow
2. Bill Bradley (one point for a make, minus three for a miss, game to 11)
3. Around the world (make shots from all ten spots, going out and coming in, in the fewest shots possible...that would be twenty). It can be done!

See the clip below about Bill Bradley, who later became a Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Senator. 

Offseason Gathering

Part of the coaching staff (Ralph and Ron) walked the Lake Sunday, sharing our thoughts on the past season and planning for the next season.

We anticipate that informal workouts will begin the Sunday after Mother's Day (3-5 P.M.), and we expect to add more scrimmaging to our previous routine, in order to simulate game situations and give players a chance to develop under 'game' conditions.

As a program, we want to emphasize the core principles of skill development, conditioning, and team spirit.


Teams that excel defensively and rebounding will always be competitive. "Defense and rebounding bring victory; offense determines the margin."

We will continue to focus our emphasis offensively on team concepts to create separation and easier shot opportunities, and individual skills to maximize opportunities and minimize turnovers.

Defensively, our goals will always remain to pressure the ball, prevent penetration into the lane, and use team play to limit mismatches and avoid easy opportunities.

The coaches are extraordinarily enthusiastic about having an opportunity to help raise the understanding of the game of basketball and individual skills to maintain the excellence and extend the success on and off the court that the young ladies of Melrose basketball have enjoyed.

Rip and Go

The bigs need to use quickness AND power to get to the hoop for high percentage scoring chances. You CAN do this.

Something to Believe In

Something to believe in.

We can't play at an NBA level, but we can aspire to improved individual and team play:

• Unselfish play (pass to the open player)
• Create separation off the dribble (Paul Pierce)
• Quick release after the catch (Ray Allen)...takes hundreds of shots pre-game for practice

Offensive Theory

Below is an animated basketball play.

Click here. 

• The point guard tries to penetrate off the high screen and roll.
• The '5' then screens down for the '4'
• The '4' remains as floor balance.
• The point guard can penetrate into the lane or dish to the wing for the jumper if the defense helps.

Note the combination play: the "high screen", the 4 and 5 working off each other, and the potential for the 1 and the 2 to combine for an open shot. Basketball is a team game first and foremost...and the greatest victories come to the team not to the individual. 

Shoot!

The only way to shoot better is to shoot more.

This looks a lot worse than it is. Each 'round' is a group of THREE shots from close in to intermediate to outside but all the shots are inside the three point line.

Let's look at it another way:

We want you to emphasize 1) form, including follow-through, 2) quickness (this also develops stamina) and following your shot.

Good luck.

Leadership

Here's a blog that identifies some qualities that could be desired for coaches.

You might shorten the list to intelligence, energy, and integrity; that would cover a lot of territory. Also, to quote Warren Buffett, the first two...without the latter...are dangerous.

The coaches are enjoying the off-season, healing up some nicks and bruises (like the players). We will have a new show debuting soon on Melrose cable TV, called "Let's Talk Sports". The premier edition had segments on the American League East, an interview with Melrose Lacrosse coach Chris Spaulding, and a brief overview of where the Celtics are headed into the playoffs.

Finishing Touch

Just focus on the first hard move to the basket.


Remember our core matrix of conditioning, skills, and team spirit

Form Begets Function

This is a VERY basic video...but I think it illustrates what parents and players can look for:

• Good form begets good function
• Motor muscle memory (the ability to reproduce the motion)
• Proper foot position (not emphasized as much here...in a prior video the instructor noted feet are usually about six feet apart
• The ELBOW is IN
• follow-through

I prefer to stand behind the player when they shoot to watch the global form. Young players tend to lower the ball to generate power, which SHOULD come from the legs. Bringing the ball down slows the shooting down, gives the defenders more time to close out the shooter, AND makes a "bigger" shot. The more compact the motion (I'll call it the swing) the more reproducible. 

The Postman Gets the Mail

Another example of the 1-4 offensive set, this time with an application designed to generate low post offense.

Note the screens away from the ball as well.

Perfect

"We dont' want you just to take shots this summer, we want you to take perfect shots."



We are going to have the best shooting team from Melrose...

Penny-wise and Pound Foolish?

Use your eyes!

Muscle Motor Memory

The key to success: repetition...

1) Jab step
2) Move without the ball
3) Catch and shoot
4) Catch and shoot off the dribble
5) One on two against pressure
6) Dribbling: crossover, change of pace, etc.

Training the Mind

Sometimes the most important skills we can develop don't involve anything below the neck:

• Confidence
• Willingness to prepare
• Positive thinking
• Relaxation
• Concentration

The coaches' expectation is that players will gradually assume more of the 'thinking' of the game, not just executing, but calling and eventually even planning how we play. Ultimately players will play best when executing that in which they have confidence of success. 

For our theme of 'better possessions', we would emphasize not just minimizing turnovers, but maximizing (offensive) success by effective movement without the ball, good ball movement, excellent decision-making (re: shot selection for example) and aggressive rebounding to start new possessions. 

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

The coaches held a team breakup dinner tonight at Prince Pizza, but the players stole the ball, by overwhelming the coaches with team warm up jerseys, team photographs, an autographed basketball, and gift certificates. Thanks girls.

This year's team had terrific team spirit, tireless effort during practice, and played their best basketball during the playoffs.

And the coaches have a better idea on what we need to work on to help prepare the players for next season, when we want to improve on this season's achievements.



We need to get quicker. You might get out the chalk in the driveway and work to get the feet moving.

Self-Checker

Young players can correct their errors by UNDERSTANDING why shots miss. Notice that the player is only taking shots from about ten feet. The principles are the same, no matter the distance.

Postage

The other day at practice, we broke down into specialty groups with Coach Labella taking the perimeter players and I worked with the post players. I was a guard in high school, but had to learn how to teach some post play to my daughters, who became successful 'bigs'.

We worked last week on the "drop step", "the up and under move", and the step back off the dribble. You don't need to have a huge inventory of moves, but rather a few reliable ones that you feel confident in.

Here's a video that has some good instruction. We will restart our Sunday sessions in May to allow those who are interested an outlet to work on their game.

Some points to remember:

• Having good footwork is critical.
• Even in the low or high post, you have to see the floor around you.
• The quick first move can be dominant.
• You must feel comfortable shooting the ball off the backboard (glass) in close. 
• Post players need to be able to shoot out to fifteen feet to draw big opponents away from the boards.
• Generally, I want the post players to be able to complete any move within two dribbles. 

Nothing Ever Changes

Lessons from a major college basketball coach:

81) 3 keys to be in every game: transition defense, rebounding, turnovers!

82) Work on transition defense everyday…our mindset is: “we run-they don’t”

Thanks for a great season. 

"Pleased but Not Satisfied"

The coaches believe that the girls have achieved the goals we outlined (literally) last summer:

• Achieved an understanding of basic offensive and defensive skills
• Achieved exceptional basketball conditioning
• Adhered to the highest principles of team play and mutual support
• Practice consistently hard

This isn't to say that the girls are accomplished players at this point, but they have shown consistent progress and more important, a dedication to improve. 

Why have they significantly improved over the past six weeks?

• The guards understand the importance of pressuring the ball
• The guards and small forwards usually can switch seamlessly against drivers
• The "bigs" are starting to understand the importance of playing aggressive defense before the opposition has the ball
• The team seems to have gained an authentic will to rebound

Where do we need to go from here?

• We need to build individual offensive skills such as outside shooting, quickness of release, and more separation off basketball moves
• We have to catch the ball better 
• We must be able to react more quickly offense
• We will learn how to read defenders more effectively
• We will learn how to create more deception in the passing offense
• We will implement a motion offense
• We need to learn to play against more height

Here are some tips from www.guidetocoachingbasketball.com/ball_handling.htm

I have highlighted some keys for us. 

Basketball Passing Pointers

1. One bad pass begets another. Get your players to understand this.
2. Avoid teaching passes that are rarely used. Teach passes you will use in competition.
3. Good passing teams are hard to beat. They have the tools that lead to scoring opportunities..
4. Keep the ball moving. This causes the defense to move and opens passing lanes.
5. The defense will usually get careless after a few passes.
6. Make your passes sharp and snappy. This leads to fewer interceptions.
7. Avoid careless passing. Lazy lob passes are easily intercepted
8. Don't force passes.
9. Use the eyes. More can be done with eye deception than the hands or feet.
10. Avoid bouncing the ball before each pass. This invites your defender to try to tie up the ball.
11. Precede many passes with a pass fake.
12. Slow cross-court passes usually lead to two points by the opponent.
13. Do not pass across the lane in front of the opponent's basket. Develop the habit of passing away from that area.
14. Do not pass to a player going away, unless it is a lead pass on a fast break.
15. Bounce pass around and under the big player. Their strength is waist up and weakness near his feet.
16. The small player is more apt to deflect or intercept passes waist down than those the side of his head and above.
17. Learn to execute the hook pass when in tight places in the corners, along the side lines, and under the basket.
18. Too many passes are made directly at the receiver. Pass to the side away from his defender.

Take the Fifth...

The fifth grade Melrose travel team completed its inaugural season in fine fashion with a 29-15 victory over Salem in the finals of the North Andover Tournament. The hosts put on a fine event, and the team got additional experience, playing its best basketball of the year in the tournament.


Melrose played in the Middlesex League, the River Valley 'A' League, and a pair of area tournaments, compiling  an overall 35-15 record.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Back from left: Erin Reardon, Gabrielle McDonnell, Cat Torpey, Leonora Ivers (tournament MVP), Bella Federico, Katie Donovan, Michaela Short

Front from left: Anne Morrison, Shannon Jones, Colleen Denning, Kaitlyn MacInnes, Chrysta Barbaro, Caroline Nolan

The girls worked exceptionally hard all season, without complaint, and developed good fundamental skills, conditioning, and showed tremendous team spirit and support of each other.

Many of these young ladies will be the future of Melrose basketball, and we think it will be a bright one.

End Game Thinking

We didn't get a last shot, but here are some concepts other teams use.

Lessons Delivered

Basketball is like life; it forces us to learn to win with humility and to lose graciously. Preparation offers us a better chance to win, but no guarantee.

In the North Andover tournament today, the girls won the morning game handily, but lost an afternoon game by a single point in the last minute. The palpable disappoint must be digested uncomfortably, with lessons absorbed.

The difference between winning and losing can be razor thin. Although casual fans often focus on a play in the last moments of a game, we can win or lose via a series of opportunities, passes gone astray or other turnovers, rebounds not obtained, a missed layup or a free throw rimming out.

When we have done all we can to prepare and to play winning basketball or not, we can only go back to the drawing board, designing ways to prepare and to execute and to coach better so that perhaps we can change the outcome the next day. Basketball is like life...with work, relationships, and suffering.

Offensive Attack Options

Ball movement, player movement.

Toolbox

From the Toolbox.

Resource Room

There are lots of resources available online for those who want to find more drills, but the most important development comes from just PLAYING, and not just basketball. Playing other sports helps develop your coordination and overall athleticism.

I enjoy Rob Sarmiento's Beantownhoops.com.  Rob has lots of playing and coaching experience and has been a friend to Melrose basketball. He loves high school basketball and knows the game inside and out.

The Melrose Lady Raiders will compete for the EMASS Division 2 championship Tuesday at the TD Banknorth Garden. The team has worked toward COMPETITIVE GREATNESS through superior SKILL and TEAMWORK. They have shown what hard work and determination can achieve.

Some good video examples of women's and men's basketball from FIBA.

Work and Success

As we remind the young players, "the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary."

The fifth grade travel team is in its final days of the season, with stops in Burlington (Monday) and at the North Andover tournament next weekend.

Our vision for our players is simple: competititve success through the building blocks of conditioning, skills, and team work, and the cornerstones of enthusiasm and industriousness.

We will continue to try to work to help the girls become the players they can be, with the offensive skills of:

• Rebounding
• Pivoting
• Passing
• Shooting
• Dribbling

The first two skills are the most underappreciated, and shooting the least taught.

Floor Drill

Bulls Eye Drill

Westhead Drill

Free Throw Drill (highly important)

Free Throw Drill 2

Drill Baby Drill

Perfect practice makes perfect. We CAN see your progress. Keep practicing.

Some of your future Lady Raiders...great group of young ladies.

More Jeff Morrison photos here...requires registration.

The girls are wrapping up their season with the River Valley 'A' League tournament and a tournament at North Andover next week.

North Andover Tournament

We have received confirmation for entry into the North Andover tournament the weekend after next. Coach Labella will solicit input from the parents about where we proceed after the season. We encourage the girls to participate in other sports and other activities important to the maturation of student-athletes.

The Road to Success

The Road to Success has unavoidable off-ramps through Disappointment and Frustration. Our primary goal will always be to promote skill development and teamwork, with the integrated effect of playing well more often and playing at the highest level from time to time. In other words, our secondary goal after a player's individual development is creating an environment where "playing well" becomes the norm. Winning becomes a secondary benefit. 


"Where nothing is forced, nothing is left undone." - Eastern Proverb


Basketball, like life in general requires balance - work (defense) and play (offense), preparation and rest. 


All our players have gifts, but the gifts aren't the same. Some have extraordinary athleticism, others a better understanding of basketball principles, and a few special competitive drive. All have succeeded in adding value to the team, but in different ways. 


The highest level of achievement cannot be obtained without mistakes. The coaches made mistakes as players, and continue to make coaching errors. 

• Babe Ruth struck out 1330 times.
• Peyton Manning has thrown 188 interceptions.
• Michael Jordan had 2924 turnovers in his NBA career, and missed over 12,000 shots and over 1,400 free throws

What matters most is what we achieve, not what we do not. We say that we can control only two things on the basketball court, our effort and our focus. What we can control before a game or a test is our preparation.

“It's not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.” - Bear Bryant

"Never let what you cannot do stand in the way of what you can." - John Wooden

Screens: The Door to Score

Excellence comes from repetition. Remember our goals: conditioning, skills, teamwork.


I've used the trash barrels as props, as well as step ladders, and folding chairs.
____________________________________

We always teach 'read and react' to what the defense is doing.