Get 'Em to Go Fast

Coaches,

The last three months have been HUGE for us. In such a short time we have managed to become a small business, increase our visitors/following, and we even held our first clinic. Thank you very much for all your continued support.

We sent out a survey asking you what you would like to see more of on The Sweet Spot. One of the things we saw was a continued desire to see basketball strategy. I posed  this prompt in a few LinkedIn groups and will share what you guys gave back to us.


GET 'EM TO GO FAST

Getting your team to go up and down at a quick pace is no easy feat. It takes months of practice and conditioning (mental and physical) to secure these habits into place. The advantages of playing fast are endless, but are you willing to put the work in?

How to get your players going?
-Make HUSTLE an ALL THE TIME thing. This is so essential to getting kids to realize the valuable time they waste when they don't hustle. Get them in quickly after water breaks, in between drills, to and from the locker room. When they aren't hustling like they should be, send them back to where they came from and remind them the importance of hustle.
-Incorporate quickness into all of your drills. I'm not talking lateral quickness, I'm talking about getting up and down the court, or to and from a spot as quickly as possible. This will make your players realize what playing fast really feels like. Remember, try to make practices as game like as possible.
-Add transition and recovery drills into your practice plans. Specifically target the idea of sprinting up and down the court whether on offense or defense. Identify where your athletes need to be geographically on the court and show them the quickest route possible to get to a spot. Do your best to clear up the potential for an unbalanced set up by showing players how to balance the court without wasting time.
-TIME THEM. Adding a time to a drill or conditioning circuit forces your players to get the job done as quickly as possible. Try putting a shot clock on each possession in a scrimmage or even timing them on the Kansas/Carolina break (5-on-0).

Drills to reinforce this.

• 5-on-0 Transition drill. Get into your Kansas/Carolina break as soon as possible. Have your team get the ball out of the net and immediately transition. 2 guards on the wing, point is the outlet, 4 and 5 are interchangeable- one goes to the rim, one is the trailer.
• Progression Drill- Starts as a simple 2-on-1 and progresses to 3-on-2, 4-on-3, 5-on-4 and eventually finishes in a 5-on-5. Get your players to transition quick enough so that they can take advantage of the numbers they have on offense. 
• 12 Second Shot clock in scrimmages. Keep possessions short and sweet! This will teach your players to value the possession while also force them to make good use of their time.
• 4-on-4-on-4 : pending you have a squad big enough for it. Constant 4-on-4 will get your players to move the ball quickly up court. Have the defense sprint to half court or the sides of the court to create some transition like movement for them.
• 3 man weave- Don't let that ball hit the floor, unless its the last bounce pass for a lay up. Don't under-estimate this throwback drill. While it challenges fundamentals you can certainly enhance it to meet your needs.

Things to keep in mind.

1. While going fast is the goal remember that the quick movement up court is no good if you cannot maintain possession. Be sure to continue to remind your team how important taking care of the ball is. Since this is harder to do while going fast, athletes must realize that they have to be extra careful with their passes. 
2. Conditioning will make going fast even easier for you. If you condition your team (physically and mentally) for a quick, fast-paced game they will adjust much easier to it.
3. Don't allow them to cut corners. Remember that the level of play will increase as you go faster, but it will improve even more the more precise your players are.
4. Your players will execute what you emphasize. Be careful here. 
5. Let them learn from consequences. Continue to force them to get it right and do things the way they should be done according to your system. After doing the 5-on-0 break 6 minutes in a row they will realize how important it is to grab the ball out of the net. 

Going fast is one of the key changes I want to make at Hastings this year. If you guys have any questions about how to make this transition easier, want to share more, or need help with any drills be sure t o give me a shout. 

Special thanks to Jeff Peterson, Richard Lauer, Matt Rogers,  Andrew Barba, and Mike Meister. As always what we post on The Sweet Spot is never a solo effort.

be good

thirteen.