Mailbag! Top HS Program Practices Revealed

  Welcome to the mailbag! We’ve received some great questions and comments on our recent articles and content lately.  Before we get to that, we have a couple announcements!  Featured Products Of The Week - Sale Ends Today  This week’s featured product of the week is [How To Run Championship Practices With Ryan Schultz]( It’s currently on sale for $39 (regularly $49), but that sale ends tonight!  This is a great product from a 2x State Championship Coach. You’ll gain access to 2 complete practices. Within those practices, you’ll see over 20 drills that cover all aspects of the game (every drill is also diagrammed and explained in the accompanying Ebook).   Beyond the drills themselves, you’ll see how a master coach teaches the skills and techniques necessary to build an elite program. He also includes philosophy, tips, and advice for running your practices.  Undoubtedly, you’ll find drills and coaching points you can incorporate into your practices today to help your team improve.   The second featured product of the week is the [Multiple Licenses For The Youth Coaching System With Jim Huber](   If you run a high school or rec program, the Multi License option allows you to get all your coaches on the same page at a minimal cost.   The Youth Coaching system is a step-by-step curriculum for players ages 9-14. It takes the pressure off your coaches by giving them a tried and true blueprint for developing players (along with plug and play practice plans with interactive video links to drills)!  Coach Jim Huber will show your coaches how to teach the fundamentals of the game in a fun and age-appropriate manner.  Take advantage of this deal and see your program benefit for years to come!  NEW Coaching Articles, Plays, Drills & Videos:  [7 Reasons You Should Press This Season](  [Man To Man Play - 4 Out Swing Rattle](  [How To Flip The Script After Your Opponent Scores](  [Corner Closeouts Drill](  [The Zoom Offense - Creator Of The Big Advantage](  [How The Zoom Defense Defeats Denials](  [5 Man Baseline Out Of Bounds Plays]( (YouTube video)  [Grade “A” Offense: Why The Zoom Beats Ball Screens For Middle School & High School Teams](  [New 1-3-1 YouTube Video - 5 Ways The 1-3-1 Creates Turnovers](  [The Simplified Zoom Offense - The Jumping Off Point Of Conceptual Offense](  NEW YOUTH Coaching Articles, Drills, & Videos:  [10 Best Basketball Drills For Beginners]( (YouTube video)  [Beat Boxouts With The Rodman Drill](  [The Player-First Approach: Why Players Matter More Than Plays (Especially At The Youth Level)](  [2 Game Like Drills That Go Beyond The “How” Of Passing](  [5 Small Sided Games For Youth Offense]( (YouTube video)   NEW Training Articles, Drills, & Videos:  [Become An Elite Shooter In Just 5 Minutes](  [Why You Need Skill Development DURING The Season](  [Master The Footwork That Beats Even The Best Defenders](  [Why This Popular Move Might Be Hurting Your Your Game (And What To Do Instead)](  [Basketball Charging Drill #1](  NEW Sports Parenting Article, Drills, & Videos  [The Parents’ Dilemma: When Silence Is Golden In Youth Sports](  [Is Your Body Language Sabotaging Your Child’s Confidence?](  [5 Best Questions To Ask Your Child After Practice](   Today’s Mailbag  Article Feedback: What About Kids Who Don’t Pull For Teammates?  We recently shared an article on [The Parents’ Dilemma: When Silence Is Golden In Youth Sports]( In the article, we covered some times when it’s best for parents to hold their tongue.   Reader Nicole K commented:  “This all seems nice. However a lot of children don’t want to even see their own teammates succeed. The coach needs to see this and immediately begin to work on it.”  Jeff Huber’s response:   Nicole, you make an interesting point. I think each of your points deserves its own response.  A lot of children don’t want to even see their own teammates succeed - I would disagree that it’s a lot. In my experience, that is not a common thing. I’ve found players of all ages and both genders to be overwhelmingly supportive of their teammates.  In the instances where that isn’t the case, it almost always starts at home. This article was directed to parents. If you see your child not supporting their teammates, start by looking in the mirror. Are they learning that from you? The coach needs to see this and immediately begin to work on it - absolutely! The coach does not address those players who are not supporting others. I think most coaches try to do this. It’s not always easy, especially if the negativity is coming from home. But, as leaders of our teams, we need to confront that type of negative behavior.  Question: Can I Press Without Super Athletes?  Coach Ryan wrote in to ask, “I want to press this year but we are limited athletically. I’m worried that we will get exposed. True or false?”  Jeff Huber’s response:  Hi Ryan, your concern is one that a lot of coaches have. My answer is . . . it depends!  Here’s the deal - no matter what defense you run, it’s going to be better with great athletes. When Syracuse was torturing people with their 2-3, they didn’t have 6’2 guys with short arms on the backline.   So, does athleticism help? Of course.  However, don’t let a lack of great athleticism keep you from pressing. Here’s 2 ways to overcome this issue:  1 - Combat it with depth - if you can go deep into your bench, that allows you to play players in shorter spurts. That enables your players to go 100% all the time, instead of having to pace themselves to stay on the floor.  Because they are playing at maximum effort, your players play more athletically than they otherwise would, especially going against teams who don’t go deep into their bench and are fatigued from your constant pressure.  2 - Place your less athletic players in advantageous positions - in [The Relentless Pressure System With Mike Hilmer]( Coach Hilmer talks about how he would strategically place less athletic players.  He would put them in spots where they didn’t have to cover as much ground, minimizing their athletic deficits. He won 3 State Championships doing it this way, so I’d say it worked pretty well!  Email Question: When Can Players Shoot 3’s?  Coach Tim wrote in to ask, “At what age/point in a player’s development do you suggest allowing or encouraging them to shoot 3’s?”  Jeff Huber’s response:  For most players, the answer is, much later than they want to!  This is a tricky question. Let’s start by saying that the number 1 goal for youth players when it comes to shooting should be developing proper form.  In [Jim Huber Beginner Basketball Ages 5-9]( Coach Huber shows a number of form shooting drills he uses with young players. He also shows a handful of shooting games that allow players to test their form in a fun environment.  In none of those drills and games do players shoot beyond the free throw line. Why? Because for most players, they can’t maintain their form.   That’s the key to defining a player’s range - can they maintain their form at that distance? If so, then it’s okay for them to shoot from that range.  However, if they start changing their form to account for a lack of power, they are shooting from too far.   Thus, I would say it’s not so much about age as it is consistency of form. If you pinned me down to an age range, I see some boys in 6th grade who can shoot 3’s with good form. For girls, it’s often 7th or 8th grade. But it will vary by player.  If you’re not sure, err on the side of shooting closer to the rim.  There will be plenty of time to shoot 3’s in the future.  X Followup: Should We Teach The Drill Or The Skill First?  Breakthrough Founder Joe Haefner had the following interaction in response to a post showing a 3 v 3 No Dribble Drill.   Jeff Huber’s Response:  A lot of coaches struggle with the same thing Rich posted about.   If players don’t know how to perform a skill, do we need to teach that prior to teaching the drill? As Joe said, not necessarily.   This might surprise many coaches. However, by not giving your players the answer in advance, you encourage them to figure out solutions for themselves.   While well-intentioned, our coaching prescriptions can limit our players. They start to think that’s the only way to perform a certain skill.  When we let them discover solutions on their own, they often find ways that work best for them that we might never have considered.  Of course, if a player is struggling to figure it out, you absolutely should go back and teach the skill, perhaps in a [block fashion](.  Rich also mentioned the idea of mastery. I don’t think you have to have mastery to test a skill in competition. You could introduce a skill and then play. That allows players to try the skill out in a game-like setting. It also allows you to accurately assess their proficiency. We’ve all seen kids who look great performing a skill in isolation but struggle in competition.  Over time, they hone that skill and develop mastery through a mix of play and drilling.  In a broader sense, I love using 3v3 to teach various aspects of the game. 3v3 No Dribble does a great job of teaching how to handle pressure and move without the ball.  It gets every player a lot of reps and touches. Additionally, you can find a 3v3 game to teach every aspect of the game.   If you’re looking for some 3v3 drills to help your players improve, check out [3v3 Drills For Offense And Defense](    YouTube Question: Does The Back Pivot Actually Work?  [9 Best Basketball Moves To Score In The Paint]( is one of our most popular YouTube videos ever.   Viewer Jan commented: “Not convinced about the back pivot move. How much space does it actually create?”  Jeff Huber’s Response:  It creates enough space, if done correctly. Many players don’t perform the back pivot correctly. The first mistake players make is not correctly performing the stride stop.   Keys to a good stride stop include: - Outside foot hits first - Ball on chin with elbows out - Front shoulder pointed at the rim - Inside foot splitting the defender’s body - Feet wider than your shoulders If you get that part right, you will create space with the back pivot. The most important aspects are wide feet and your front foot splitting the body of the defender.  By doing those two things, your back pivot creates separation from the defender. If the defender doesn’t close that space, you can simply turn and shoot.  If they do, you can perform an up and under to go past them and score at the rim.  The stride stop and all the finishes that come with it are a big part of [The Flow Motion Offense With Matt Lewis]( Check it out to learn how to teach it in a way that makes it easy for players to learn.   "Fast Pace" Comment: Scorebacks After Free Throws  We recently posted an article on “[Scorebacks]( A scoreback is when your opponent scores and you immediately transition and score on them within just a few seconds.  The idea comes from [Get Comfortable Playing At An Uncomfortable Pace With Rob Brost](  We got this reply:   Jeff Huber’s Response:  Great point. Scorebacks are often easier to set up after a free throw. That’s because you can align all your players exactly as you want them. Coaches should consider some sort of sideline free throw break to take advantage of this.   It’s a great way to reclaim momentum!  X Comment: The Zoom Is Taking Over! We shared an X post on the prevalence of the[zoom action]( We got this response:    Jeff Huber’s Response:  For those who don’t know, Coach Jagacki is one of the foremost leaders on basketball defense. He has coached for years at the college level and recently published a book on basketball defense. In other words, he knows his stuff! So when he tells you the zoom is hard to guard, believe it. If you want to take advantage of everything the zoom has to offer, check out [The Zoom Offense With Nate Steege](   Breakthrough Product Review - 5 Star Reviews Rolling In: “Well delivered content” “Good teacher,” “Explained well”  We continue to receive great reviews on many of our products, and I want to share a few with you today so you can see if they’re the right fit for you.  Here is a recent 5 star review of [The Youth Coaching System With Jim Huber]( “It’s really helpful that the practice plans provide a video showing and explaining what the skill/drill is. Easy lay out of topics, downloadable resources, and the video explanations are excellent.” -Kaitlin C  Here’s a recent review of [The Zoom Offense With Nate Steege](  “Very insightful and can be used by teams at the high school and college levels. Must buy!”  -Coach Angotti  Finally, here’s a recent review of [How To Run Championship Practices With Nate Steege](  “Excellent video - A+ I am stealing Nate’s practice organization concepts for my program. Here are some excellent points in the video: 1 - Juice drills- these are drills to get your team back into sync. Great concept 2 - Closeout drill- i will add this in as one of my daily drills. I love the rotation of players in this drill 3 - Four minute layups- Adding this to my pregame warmup series”  -Coach Kevin F  “Great camp”, “Enjoyed tremendously” “Well organized” and “Fun drills”: Soundbites From Breakthrough Camp Attendees  Check out these camp reviews:     Upcoming Winter Camps & Training Academies  Good news! We recently released our Winter Camp schedule, which includes 25 new camps all over the United States (in addition to our recurring training academies)!  So if you want to prioritize your skill development like shooting improvement to separate yourself from the competition...  You can[view the full Winter Breakthrough Basketball camp and training academy schedule here](  There are still a few spots left (you can also join the waitlist if they're sold out), so if you’re interested and in the area, just click the link below for more info.  [See ALL Winter Camps & Training Academies Here](  Closing Notes  Thanks so much for reading this edition of the Breakthrough Basketball Mailbag! Stay tuned for upcoming editions, featuring more of your questions and comments. We value your input and look forward to helping you on your journey to success.  If you have any thoughts on the type of content you’d like to see more of in upcoming mailings, please feel free to shoot us a reply and let us know!  All the best, Jeff Huber Breakthrough Basketball   This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you indicated that you'd like to receive emails and updates from Breakthrough Basketball on 2016-12-16 05:42:39. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please [Change Your Email Preferences]( or [Unsubscribe All]( Copyright © Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. All rights reserved. Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. | 5001 1st Ave. SE, Ste 105 #254 | Cedar Rapids | IA | 52402 [email.gif] . It’s our mission to build a strong community centered around basketball, personal development and most importantly - fun! We love to create extraordinary and useful products and share them with you! 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