I hosted my very first Speed & Agility Camp. It was a success. Thank you to all the participants that came out to learn how to be more powerful, explosive, and agile basketball players. By attending the camp, the young ladies also put themselves a step ahead of the competition in girls basketball.
Rob Weatherly of Velocity Sports Performance did an excellent job showing the young ladies the different ways to warm up and stretch, drills to increase agility and quickness and how it applies to basketball. And you know I could not let the young ladies come to a girls basketball camp and not go over basketball skills. I had the young ladies go through stations of shooting, dribbling, passing and free throw shooting.
Does the road to Division 1 Womens Basketball go through jump shots, block shots or 3 pointers?
Not exactly.
The road to Division 1 womens college basketball goes through ACADEMICS.
ESPN Rise’s Clay Kallam wrote an article describing a necessary process of getting to Division 1.
It all starts at the NCAA Eligibility Center (www.eligibilitycenter.org), and the fundamentals of this game are academic. To play Division I basketball as a college freshman, high school athletes must first complete 16 core courses in English (four years), math (three years), science (two years), social science (two years), plus five other courses that qualify as core courses. Oh, and just taking them isn’t enough — a minimum grade-point average is required as well.
ESPN Hoopgurlz’s Mark Lewis is no ordinary sports writer. Check out his bio:
Mark Lewis is the national recruiting coordinator for ESPN HoopGurlz. Twice ranked as one of the top 25 assistant coaches in the game by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, he has more than 20 years of college coaching experience at Memphis State, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Western Kentucky and, most recently, Washington State.
If someone with over 20 years of college coaching experience is offering advice, I would definitely listen.
Mark Lewis makes some great points in his latest article on Hoopgurlz:
It seems today that the willingness to spend time in the gym or studying and following the game is taking a back burner to simply playing games.
What do you hear college recruiters claim is missing? Focused skill workouts in addition to the games and practices of both high school and club teams.
Although shooting workouts are imperative, so are ball handling skills, footwork, passing and cutting and a host of other parts of the game that aren’t just going to appear come game time.
When you are shooting, be sure your goal is shots made and not shots taken. It doesn’t matter if you got in 500 shots before school if you only made 75.
Good coaches will tell you that skill development is about repetition.
TV coverage of both the college and WNBA game continues to grow, along with internet coverage, offering more opportunities to learn basketball from some of the best in a flat-screen classroom.
It’s great to know that Maya Moore is a great player or that Brittney Griner is changing the game. But beyond that know what exactly it is that sets Moore apart from the rest or why Griner made such incredible strides in her game since the start of her freshman season.
Have you ever heard the saying “Your Attitude determines Your Altitude”.
The way you think about situations in basketball will determine how far you will get in your basketball career.
In this video, I explain how coaches determine who will get in the game during certain situations. I also talk about my philosophy of how great players become great (Next Top Baller).
The Spring Break Workout is a general workout program to help you transition from your school season into the spring season. You may be trying out for an AAU/Travel squad or preparing for the AAU/Travel season or a league. This is a great workout to tune up fundamental skills of ball handling, dribbling, passing, shooting, and agility.
This workout program breaks down different drills that you can perform at home or at your school. It requires access to a basketball goal and also 2 basketballs to get the most out of the workout however one basketball will be ok.
Get it Now for $9.95
After purchasing the workout, you will immediately receive an email with the workout in pdf format.
I’ve received a lot of emails from coaches requesting help and plays for pressure situations. I looked at my library of DVDs and found that I had the best resource and it’s from one of the most recognized coaches in the game. I watched the DVD and there were several demonstrations of plays for pressure situations, press breaks, zone offenses, attacking junk defenses, special situations and late game situations.
I even drew up a play for you, that I got out of the DVD, to demonstrate a way to get a wide open layup and force teams to not put a person on the ball during a full court press situation.
Are you anxious to learn what the DVD is and who it is by?
The DVD is Mastering Special Situations by the infamous Tennessee Women’s College Basketball Head Coach, Pat Summitt. What’s even better is that you can get this DVD right now for $10 off .
Click here and use this code BP10BS until 3/22/10 to recieve $10 off.
If a player desires to play at the collegiate level, I would recommend that she watches womens college basketball games. Make sure to have a pen and paper available to write down how many times you see a player throw a behind the back pass or a pass between the legs or an AND 1 move.
You will very rarely see a college player do something fancy or flashy. As a matter of fact, I played collegiate basketball with a player that loved to be flashy, especially throwing no look passes. No one on the team ever saw them coming and it lead to turnovers. And Coach demanded that she stopped.
So should you work on flashy moves? Absolutely not. Keep it simple and work on the basics.
A screen, also called a “pick”, is a legal block set by an offensive player on the side of or behind a defender in order to free a teammate to take a shot or receive a pass.
Here is a great example for youth just learning how to set a screen. It demonstrates the point guard setting a screen.
Here is a more advanced example of a down screen and a back screen. The person in the video setting the screen moves slightly which can be called a moving screen. So be careful while setting screens and do not move.
Coaching girls basketball has its challenges, however it can be one of the most rewarding experiences. I’ve created a new workshop to help you through the challenges of coaching. Check out this sneak peek.
If you are on a girls basketball team with average or below average players, don’t yell at them. That’s when its time to step up and be a leader and encourage them. By yelling at your teammates you are further discouraging them and making them not trust you as a leader.
Find ways to make your teammates better and contributors to the team. Talk to your teammates and develop goals of what you would like to accomplish as a team. And always be encouraging and positive towards them.
