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…in transition. For example, if an opponent has scored on a number of consecutive possessions the coach may wish to slow the tempo of the game and accordingly not shoot “quick 3s”. Whereas the coach may deliberately want to increase tempo if they are down late in the game. Sometimes…

…for cold water and 35-38°C for warm water. Pool Recovery Pool recovery sessions are commonly used by team sport athletes to recover from competition, generally as a form of “active recovery”. These sessions are typically used to reduce muscle soreness and stiffness, and often include walking and stretching in the…

…They have the same structure (four outside players) as is recommended for developing “man to man” defence, and is also used in teaching “motion offence”; 3. They are the most common alignments used by teams. Key Points When zone defence is introduced, players must understand that playing according to this…

…path of the defender. Often instead of a hand off, the player will throw a short pass to their team mate, however this should be discouraged. The hand-off works best when the two offensive players come together, as this is similar to a screen, where the player passing the ball…

Introducing Post Players The Receivers’ Principles also provide an offensive framework with post players, whether the offence has one post player (“4 Out, 1 In”) or two post players (“3 Out, 2 In”). “4 Out, I in” Principles With dribble penetration to the top of the keyway, a low…

There will be many times in a game where a ball is passed to a player who must be ready to shoot immediately. The most common examples are: (a) Catching a pass on the perimeter after the ball has been penetrated into the key; (b) Catching the ball when coming…

…or the players are available (e.g. representative commitments, school holidays). Lastly, on the calendar, the coach may note other dates such as: other games that they wish to “scout”; venue availability (particularly if there are blocks of time when venues are unavailable); factors impacting upon game preparation (e.g. if a…

…the coach should introduce game-realistic factors as soon as possible as the athlete learns the new skill and also make contested situations in practice as “gamerealistic” as possible. 6. Use video Some athletes will be assisted by seeing video of themselves performing the skill at various stages of learning the…

…about whether or not the defender had “committed” that was wrong. By using questions the coach has let that athlete reflect on the situation and realise the error they made (thinking the defender had not “committed”). If the coach had just said “you should have passed the ball”, the player…

…able to defend the player. A common mistake though is to make the shot fake: Too fast – moving into their next move before the defender has had time to react to the fake. Too small – not lifting the ball above their head (which becomes obvious to the defender!)….

Many teams incorporate stretching into the pre-game or pre-practice routine, which can be beneficial both to “warm-up” but also to help the athletes focus on the task ahead. Dynamic stretching, which takes joints through a range of motions are preferred for pre-game or pre-practice stretching. After a game or practice,…

…specifically for those games. The rest of the time, the coach should not use practice time for preparing for games. Whatever the main objective of the game, the coach should establish performance goals for all of them. For those games in which the main objective is winning, performance goals increase…

…towards the perimeter. If the defender “trails” (running behind the cutter) then the cutter should curl back into the keyway. Footwork – Forward Pivot Players need to be able to execute different types of footwork, coming off the “turn out” cut. First, they must be able to do a “forward”…

…cut. It is most effective when the defender is trailing the cutter and the passer is ahead of the cutter. The cutter will often curl and dribble to the basket. Commonly, a screen is set at the elbow on a horizontal cut. Staggered screens may also be set at both…

…the more likely another defender will come to steal the ball. The post player will often take a hook shot once they have moved closer to the ball. They should be trying to get position in relation to the defender’s feet. The post player may also “hesitate” on their dribble…

…defenders are playing a full court zone defence, 1 passes to whichever player gets open (here 2). 2 passes to 3, who dribbles at x2 to commit them to defending. 3 then passes to 1 who steps onto the court on the side opposite where the ball was initially passed….

The player steps toward their target and throws the pass across their body, twisting their body so that their chest faces the target as the ball is released. Young players will often start a long pass at their hip and their hand underneath the ball and then throw it…

…drag the ball across. After they have finished the reverse pivot and are moving in the new direction, they change hands. A common mistake is to reverse pivot, but to change hands immediately. This usually means that the ball is unprotected as it is not “dragged” across as they step….

“Throw Down” Dribble When a player has the ball but has not dribbled they can use either an “on side” step or a “cross-over” step. Onside Step Initially athletes are taught that if they make an “on side” step, the keep the ball on the same side of the…

Step Back Move (off the Dribble) The “step back” move is used by a player with the ball to create space for their shot. It is generally performed by a player that is dribbling “side-on” to the basket and then steps away from the basket to create the space….

…change direction and then returning to the original direction. A change of direction is often most effective when it follows a retreat dribble, taking advantage if the defender lunges forward. A second technique (most commonly used when moving across the court) is to turn and face the direction they are…

…dribbler will look for an opportunity to “split” the two defenders (i.e. dribble between them). The dribbler, pushes the ball between the defenders and then moves their body through the gap. Another opportunity to “split” defenders is when a help defender comes across to stop dribble penetration. The offensive player…

When the offensive player drives baseline, they may come from behind the backboard. Here the reverse lay-up is shot with the back to the baseline and releasing the ball above their head. When the offensive player drives in front of the basket, the reverse lay-up may be shot with back…

A post catch is again an example where one hand is behind the ball (the “target” hand) and the other hand is often holding position. As the ball hits their target hand, the post player quickly moves the other hand to get two hands on the ball. This style…

Forward Spin from Low Post The forward spin from the low post is used where the defender is playing behind but close to the offensive player. The offensive player may fake to the middle (keeping their feet still) and then, pivoting on their baseline foot, quickly spin past the…