The Pentagon of Basketball
"COACHES CORNER" with John Heard
FOCUS: Focus: "The Pentagon of Basketball"
Through my experience and observation of Basketball over the years, I have identified five areas as points of importance to develop players and teams.
Rebounding
Shooting
Defence
Ball-Handling
Balance
This has been derived from the idea of “offensive efficiency” that was introduced to me in the 70’s. Simplified, this is worked out thus. Basically, both teams have the same number of scoring opportunities over the course of a match. So the team which is most efficient normally comes out on top. But what affects efficiency?
Answer: Turnovers, rebounds & shooting percentage. So applying the points above: If players have good balance, they can start, stop, change direction effortlessly and develop good shooting skills. If teams play good defence, they can cause more opposition turnovers and put pressure on their shooting, lowering their percentage. It is often said that the team that controls the boards, controls the game. Most of the above can be developed through coaching, practice and commitment. Rebounding is also an attitude, a desire to get those rebounds.
Finally, the adage that “practice makes perfect” is misleading. Practice is important because it develops habits (skills executed without conscious thought), so we should refine the adage to read “proper practice makes perfect”, although this is not quite true as perfection is unattainable. However, practice does make permanent. It is a well known fact that it takes a great deal more effort to break a bad habit than it does to develop a good habit initially.
So, as coaches, we have a real responsibility to ensure players practice the right things correctly if they are to improve and grow as players.
If you'd like me to come out to your training sessions and run you through more of my training then please contact the association through email.
