Does anyone know who these three guys are?  I think we probably heard our parents say those names when telling a story when we were kids, when they didn't remember the persons name involved in the story. I had a coach in high school who use to come up with creative names for drills, plays and defenses, so that it was easy for us to remember.  Every drill had a name and a meaning for the name.  It was fun to hear the history of the origin of the play, whether is was a basketball story or from life or maybe even a movie.  So that way, when he said we were doing the South Carolina drills, we knew it came from Dick McGuire in the 50's and you wanted to know more about Coach McGuire.  Now that I coach girls, we have incorporated plenty of princess references!  So make it easy for you and them, and come up with creative names for all parts of the game.  One coach use to use red, white and blue for 3 forms of our pressing defense.  Another, would have a number series, so that you knew where the defense started (half or full) and weather it was man or zone.  Here is the best way I know this works long term.  Last week I went to watch 2 former assistants of mine play a game versus each other for the first time.  When it came time to run an out of bounds play, the coach yelled out, "Harry!", and the other teams coach started to laugh and I could here a kid on defense say, "Hey, they are running our play!"  By the way, Tom, Dick and Harry actually come from a very famous movie about World War II, do you know it?

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 02:13 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

 My son doesn't use the glass when shooting layups? Is this something he should be doing?

 "Going Glass" as we like to call it, is essential when we talk about shooting from any distance in basketball at an angle.  What you have to teach your son is that the box on the backboard is there for a reason.  Basketball is a sport that geometry people love because it is always about angles, weather you are talking about passing, shooting or dribbling.  When shooting, on the side of the basket, I always have taught my players that if they aim for the corner of the box on that side of the backboard, the ball will usually go in.  So your job is to prove it!  Stand near the basket and show them and keep moving back and you will see that it is true!  The best angle for using the back board is usually 45 degrees, but around the hoop, you should always try to use the board.  You will see most good shooters all the way up to the pro level use the board as far out as 15 feet.  Tim Duncan of the Spurs throws it off the window with a great deal of confidence and he has done well for himself!   

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 03:25 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Coach,

We just moved to Brooklyn and I am looking for a place for my 11 yr. old son to play basketball, any suggestions?

 Maria

 Maria,

Thanks for checking out PlaysportsTV.com and submitting your question.  Generally in most large urban areas like Brooklyn, NY, you can find local recreation level sports at your local YMCA or church.  Being from the NY Metro area myself, I am very familiar with the Catholic Youth Organization, or CYO, which at your local Catholic church, will have teams for all ages and skill levels.  They play a competitive schedule against other teams in NYC and is a great feeder route for playing in high school and beyond.  They accept a certain a number of non-catholics as well.  Check out this site and see if they can help in your local community as well.  Good luck and please check back to PlaysportsTV.com for updates, and click on the basketball tab for videos and a link to my blog as well!

http://www.bcba.com/

http://www.aauboysbasketball.org/blue/index.asp

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 03:17 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)