FREE THROW THURSDAY

Boys Basketball Practice – Thursday Nov 29

We always have a short practice on Thursdays and today we only had 6 players.  Practice was started by stretching and Coach Scott took this time to talk about rebounding.  Attitude and desire are the keys to rebounding. 

We played a new competition and  decided to call it the Wolf Pack Drill.  Two players compete, each standing underneath one basket at opposite ends of the court.  They are to run the length of the court dribbling with their right hand and shoot a right handed layup, grab the rebound and return to the other end shooting a left handed layup.  Players are instructed to run 3 sets.  Each player is timed and 5 seconds are added to the players time for each missed shot.  The player that wins 2 of 3 competitions from the same opponet is excused from running one Falcon at the end of practice.

Five minutes of  free throws followed this drill  and we moved on to the “IT” dribbling drill.  Once again five minutes of free throws followed our dribbling exercise.  Rebounding was the key thought for this practice and Coach Scott went over rebounding position while stressing; “Who wants the ball most”.  We divided the players into two teams, offense and defence.  Coach Scott was the shooter and we counted the rebounds for each team.  The teams switched from offense to defense after 5 rebounds.  We played 2 sets and the losing team was required to do 20 sit ups.

We did 5 more minutes of free throws and went into a 3 on 3 competition.  Fouls and violations were called and score was kept with a 7 minute running clock.  Practice was scheduled to end by running 3 Falcons but this time we added dribbling the ball while running to each line.  The players were given the opportunity to shoot for the last 2 Falcons.  Both shots were missed.  A short practice with 60% of the team but a very good practice.

WHY AM I HERE

Boys Basketball Practice – Wed, Nov 28

This was a day both the players and the coaches have looked forward to.  Our first scrimmage was scheduled and this would be our first opportunity to see the players under game conditions.  The scoreboard was turned on, the clock and the horn were tested and practice was underway.

We started with our normal stretching routine and moved to the copy cat dribble.  We tried a new drill called the Dribble Guantlet.  Players lined up in 2 lines facing each other.  The objective was for a player to dribble between the two lines without losing control of the ball.  The real objective was for players to get used to being hacked or hit in the arm and to keep on going.  Fouls are not always called during a game and even though basketball does not have as much contact as football, it is still a contact game.

The Gauntlet was followed by the Blue Devil Drill which was followed by the free throw ladder.  Joel VanDusen now sits on top the ladder.  Joel is our 4th player to sit on top the ladder, so far no player has defended this position.  Trey Barnes hit 8 of 10 free throws today which is a new team high.

We moved on to the Tar Heel Drill which gives the players a chance to set their personal best and be excused from end of practice conditioning.  Mitch Moore, Ryan Brown, and Joel VanDusen all set personal bests.  Mitch was the 1st player to break 40 seconds.  His personal best and the teams best is now 37:84 with 5 of the 6 baskets made. 

The firing line and the circle pass lead us into the team huddle.  Today’s theme was, “Why am I here”.  Each player and coach was asked why they wanted to play on this team and what they liked best about basketball.  From time to time, each player and coach is asked to share something of themselves with the rest of the team.  When a team gels, they have  in a way become a family.  By sharing information about ourselves we help develop trust and respect.

The players were divided into teams, the ball was tossed into the air at center court and the scrimmage was on.  A running clock was used, fouls and violations were called and score was kept on the scoreboard.  We played three 6 minute quarters and cut the 4th quarter to 3 minutes because of time restraints.  

We completed the practice by running three Falcons.  The players shot free throws for Falcons 2 and 3 but each time the shot was missed.  It was a good practice.  We are not ready for our first game yet, but the players have shown  considerable improvement from the beginning of the season.     

SCHEDULE CHANGE

The first boys game next week on Tuesday, December 4th against First Assembly of Monroe has been postponed until Tuesday, February 5th.  The facility we were planning to use was double booked and unfortunately we were the ones who got bumped.  The boys practice and game schedules have been updated.

The first boys game will now be held on Tuesday, December 11th against Garr Christian Academy.

FINISH STRONG

Boys Basketball Practice – Monday, Nov 26

It was good to get back on the court after taking a week off for the Thanksgiving break.  We introduced a new drill called the copy cat dribble.  The players dribble for 5 minutes doing everything the leader does.  It forces the players to keep their eyes focused on the leader and not the ball.  We had some loose balls but it was a good exercise that went very well.

We moved on to the defensive slide and the slide pass.  We share Monday’s with the girls team which gives us access to only half the court.  The slide pass is designed for full court and became a little congested.   The Free Throw Ladder was next.  Since we had only 3 baskets, part of the team practiced sit dribbling while the rest completed their free throw competition.  Matthew Pedemonte now sits on top of the ladder, making 6 of 10 free throws.  Matthew is the 3rd player to move into the top spot.

We ran the tip in drill for the first time.  The drill is impressive to watch when run correctly.  It takes concentration, timing, and speed – a total team effort.  We will improve as the season goes on.  Coach Scott introduced spacing, area, and movement as part of our offense.  Side basket layups lead us into the team huddle.

Finish strong was the theme for this practice.  The huddle started by showing two clips from the movie Hoosiers.  We have been trying to stress the correct shooting technique since the first practice.  So far, not one of the players shoots the ball correctly.  The movie clips put into slow motion the correct shoooting form and release.  Friday practices are open shooting, the clips will be shown every Friday and we will work with each player on an individual basis until we get all ten players shooting the ball correctly.  Back to the theme, Finish Ftrong, never coast across the finish line.  This applies to life situations as well as sports.  The players are learning to not only play with all their heart, but to finish what they start and finish strong.

We are planning to hold our first scrimmage at the Wednesday practice, so it was time to start practicing defense.  Man to man and the 2-3 zone were introduced.  Coach Scott walked the players through spacing and movement for a zone defense.  We have some work to do here but it will come.  We practiced movement by 3 on 2 / 2 on 1 competiotions.  Practice ended with wall sits/laps.  The players beat their previous best and practiced ended. 

THANKFUL FOR, THANKFUL TO

Boys Basketball Practice – Monday Nov 19

We started practice today with the circle pass competition. There were 5 players on each team, the first team to reach 100 passes without the ball hitting the floor would be the winner.  The losing team would be required to do 15 push ups.  We ran three competitions since the teams split the first two.

Coach Scott went over the correct way to shoot the basketball.  Five stations were set up with 2 players per station.  The objective was to work on each players shooting form.  Station 1 was set shots against the backboard, station 2 was small ball, station 3 was jump shots against the backboard, station 4 was small ball, station 5 was jump shots at the basket.

The Team Huddle followed.   Since this is Thanksgiving week, Coach Scott asked the players what they were thankful for.  There were many answers, all very good.  Coach Scott then told the players not to forget what they were thankful for but also who they were thankful to.  Coach used the example of their parents and the commitment the parents have made to the basketball program.  The players were reminded to thank their parents and to think about who else they were thankful to.

We moved on to a review of offensive basics; give and go, pick and roll, and the back door.   A third player was added to the offense and the players were instructed in off the ball picks.  The players were divided into 3 groups, 3 at each basket where they practiced off the ball picks.  We went into a 3 on 3 competition.  The players that were not involved in the 3 on 3,  practiced wall passes.

We ended practice with wall sits/laps.  The players had to beat their previous record or they would be required to run 3 sets of Falcons.  If they beat their previous best, they would run  only one Falcon with a chance to shoot for it.   They started out slow and it looked like they would be running 3 Falcons but they picked up speed and beat their record by 10 seconds.    The free throw was missed and the players ran their one Falcon.  One of the rules in running a Falcon is that each player is required to touch each line with his hand.  If any one player does not touch one of the lines, the Falcon does not count. 

Happy Thanksgiving from Coach Scott, Coach Randy, and Coach Kevin.  Remember not only what we are thankful for, but also who we are thankful to.