I Made the Team, YEAH!!! .......now what?!?

Sorry about the delays in updating the drills section! We have been sooo busy trying to move. Our son changed schools to get in a great basketball system, so we had to move to get closer to the school and make our lives easier. Answering e-mails is usually easier than changing web pages, so please e-mail questions or requests. We will try to answer them. This was our last Drill of the Month Feature and it is still timely. We will work on updating & re-designing the pages soon. Look for new t-shirt designs in the next millenium!

Anyway, you worked your butt off during the summer, and checked back on our archive Drill of the Month on making the team and ... TA-DA!! You made the team!!! I'm so proud of you, but you know that you get all the credit for putting in the time and effort. Now what do you do to move up the pecking order and get subbed in early or move into the starting five?

First thing to do: work harder than anyone else in practice. Are you dead last in suicides? Suck it up and work on beating the next person. Are you first? Turn it on and blow them out of the water!
Next: Work up a sweat in the warm-up drills - that's why you do them. Don't think of them as lame time-wasters that the coach is forcing you to do. Get ready to practice hard by warming up hard. Talk up your team mates and get them to work harder.
Next: Learn the freakin' plays and execute!! You playground rockheads think the coach is trying to keep you down by using plays, when you have so much talent, you don't need no stinkin' plays. The plays are designed to score points. If you can't see how, ask the coach, and study each player's responsibilities in each play. If you are asked to set a screen for the post, you screen out the defender, open up to the ball, and look for the rebound and put-back. When you set a good screen, the post player either gets open, or gets a mis-match with a smaller player. Either way, the post player gets the shot off, or passes to you (remember opening to the ball?). If you set your screen well and open to the ball, the defender should be on your back, and you have an open shot to the basket if you get the pass, or you have inside rebounding position for the put-back. No matter what your position, the plays usually will get you and your team a scoring opportunity if you execute your part.
Next: After learning the offensive plays and defensive sets (oh yeah! defense will get you in the game and keep you there if you hustle), learn about when and where you can be creative. The plays are skeleton plans, and give the happy wanderers something to do. The players work the play, and look for the openings to attack the basket. Say you get the ball in the corner from the wing. The play says look into the post to pass inside. If the low and high posts are covered, pass back to the wing & cut baseline. That what the coach drew up and that's how you practice it. But, if you make the play score points, the coach looks good and you stay in the game. Here's what to look for: First, if either high or low post is open, get them the ball NOW while they are open (open means you can get the ball to them, not that they are all alone on the floor). The defense won't rest while you try to decide who you like better. If the posts are covered, meaning you can't get a pass to them because the defender is between you and them, guess what? The posts must be in great rebounding position to put back your shot if you miss, so take the shot. Remember passing back to the wing if the posts aren't open? Put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket. If you get through the middle, great! If the wing defender drops off to help, you pass to the wing as the play was designed, and cut baseline. How long do you stop and think about what to do? Don't think!! Catch the pass, look at the posts. Pass, shoot or drive right NOW! If you drive, go to the basket hard (STRAIGHT TO THE BASKET), don't pound the ball in the corner. If you kick back to the wing, pick the ball up off the dribble and pass, don't stop, pick the ball up, then look for someone to pass to.

So , there you have it! Work harder than anyone else, including during the warm-ups. Learn the plays, execute the plan, and find out where you can score or get someone else open to score. Be creative within the play (do not go one on one everytime you get the ball, look up Harold Minor on the web), and create opportunities for you and your team. The coach will reward your hard work with major minutes.

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