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.
