Milestones, TikTok drama and Game-Based Drills

 Welcome to this week's mailbag edition! We’ve received some great questions and comments on our recent articles and content lately.  I’ll be sharing our responses to those messages below, as well as a Camp update, and a reminder about our [30% discount on Coach Sanderson’s innovative Game-Based Training System.Â](  I hope you enjoy, and I’m wishing you and your families a great holiday season!  Coaching Articles, Drills & Videos:  [Pistol Set Vs. Zoom Set - What’s the Difference?](  [Bill Self Trickery - Zone Play](  [Steve Kerr - Easiest Time To Attack Defense](  [A "Viral" Zoom Offense Drill - 4v3 Drive-Kick-Swing Advantage](  [Is This Offensive Action Better Than Ball Screens? 7 Reasons the Zoom Action Might Work Better For You!](  YOUTH Coaching Articles, Drills, & Videos:  [4 Youth Practice Plans PDF](  [15 Practice Drills For Youth Basketball (Older Teams Can Use Too)](  Shoutout - 500th Win!  Before we get to today’s content, congratulations are in order:  On November 28th, Coach Mike Hilmer won his 500th basketball game!  That’s an incredible feat, and it’s very difficult to achieve for even the most talented and successful coaches.  Coach Hilmer has a reputation of being one of the best coaches in the state of Iowa…  And his record over the last 8 years is a staggering 209 wins and only 8 losses (96% win percentage). Plus, he’s made 6 straight trips to the State Title game!  He’s on an unbelievable streak, and we’re ecstatic for him here at Breakthrough Basketball!  By the way, if you’d like to learn from Coach Hilmer, last week we launched [this product called the Relentless Pressure System]( Coach Hilmer shows you exactly how to implement his one-of-a-kind Run & Jump Trapping Pressure Defense and High Octane Offense so you can cause chaos for your opponents too!  Today’s Mailbag  In addition to Xs and Os and skill development, an underappreciated part of coaching is effectively managing team dynamics. From big egos to complicated friendship dynamics, it can be difficult to manage it all effectively so that your players leave the drama off the court and can actually uncover their full potential. One of the coaches in our community was honest enough to share some struggles he and his team were facing:  I am coaching a 7th-grade girls' team in (location removed). Our 7th-grade team is better than our 8th-grade team. Our biggest issue that covers both teams is drama—had 2 girls arguing over a TikTok last night. Thanks (Name Removed)  Here was Coach Mark Brase’s response:   I'm sorry to hear about the issues you are having, and I wish this were unique, but I think many teams have some drama, whether it be boys or girls. Typically, during these middle school years, it is most prevalent. Having taught middle school for many years, and coached some middle school, I do understand what you are talking about.  I don't know that you will be able to completely eliminate all of the drama, especially if it is initiated outside of basketball. But a few ideas that might help you, or others who are facing the same situation are listed below.  * At the end of practices, close with some sort of positive message. It could be indirectly addressing the issues your team is dealing with. So topics could be: What Does It Mean To Be A Good Teammate, What Does It Look Like To Be A Good Teammate? Being Happy For Others Success, Value Of All Team Members No Matter Their Role. And obviously there is a long list of little messages you can give the team each day after practice. You can involve them in answering these questions as well. But whatever you do with this, keep the messages short, no long lectures. * You could also do a team circle at the end of each practice and have player circle up and then have a different question each day task for the players, such as "Say One Thing The Teammate To Your Right Does Well" or "What Is One Thing You Appreciate About The Person To Your Left?" Maybe just have them share something about themselves, favorite class, favorite food, favorite hobby....etc.  Sometimes I'd tell players in advance what the question was going to be...for example tomorrow I'm going to ask you to share something nice you did for another person in the last 24 hours (without using their name). *If phones are an issue, try to limit the time they have access to them (which you might already be doing). Meaning if it is game day, the teammates should be sitting behind the bench watching the game before or after theirs without their phones out. Basically, you simply continue to do the best you can to create a positive culture on the team and try to get them to be good teammates (and good people) to one another.  You may not always see the immediate effects you are looking for, but by being a positive role model and encouraging kids to be good teammates, you are having a positive long-term impact on these kids!  Hopefully the tips help a little, good luck with the season, and let me know if you have any other questions.  Mark Brase Breakthrough Basketball   Next, we also recently shared [this article]( called “Speed Dribbling With Only One Basket? No problem!” In the article, we point out how what we sometimes perceive as challenges or roadblocks might actually provide opportunities to teach new skills that we don’t even think of at first! After we shared the article, we received the following feedback from a coach in our community. If you like what you see, feel free to take a look at the article yourself–it could be a great drill addition to your practices this season!  Joe, I really like this drill. I can’t wait until practices start and I can use it! I can’t remember if I’ve ever mentioned this, but I love Race Car. Our girls love it, and we are so much faster in transition than ever before. The Utah drill that Jim Huber used in the three camps I worked with him is also so effective for my girls’ development. As always, I am truly grateful for learning about Breakthrough eight years or so ago and getting to be a volunteer coach. It has revolutionized my coaching, and I’m deeply appreciative. Thank you too for the regular emails! Tom (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)  Breakthrough Basketball Camp Update  2024 Spring and Summer will be here before we know it, but that means it’s officially [Breakthrough Basketball camp]( season!  In less than 3 weeks, we’ll officially accept payments for camps…  And we’ll also be sharing some unique discount and bonus opportunities.  That’s all I’ll say for now, but keep your eyes peeled as the New Year approaches for more specific updates!   Featured Program of the Week This week (ending tonight!), we’re having a [special 30% off sale on Coach Nate Sanderson’s Game-Based Training System.]( Coach Sanderson has developed an innovative way to make his practices more engaging and get more players involved… While also working on skills and situations that directly translate to in-game success!  You can take a look at some of the 5-star feedback below and [get access at this link here]( if you’re interested in practice drills that give ALL your players a true competitive edge in games. “Outstanding video! Useful throughout your basketball program. I've purchased well over one hundred videos and this ranks easily in the top 3. Well presented , easy to follow and implement. A slam dunk.” —Robert M. “Excellent video! Coach Sanderson does a great job of explaining the drill and why he uses them. I think all levels of basketball can benefit greatly from using this type of practicing. I've used just a couple of the drills at summer camp and the players are more engaged and are doing the drills at a faster more game like pace which is exactly what we needed.”  –Phil  “Simple AMAZING! If are a fan of straight line drills than this is not for you. However, if you can give up a bit of control to allow the kids to play, then you will find the drills in this fantastic.  A lot of competitive drills focus on running around cones from the baseline. This does not.  It puts the players in situations that they see in games whether in transition to the perimeter to the post and allows them to come up with solutions to the different situations they get in to in games.  Not only this, it also teaches them to be aggressive to the basket.”  –Barry J.  [Claim your exclusive 30% discount “Game-Based Training System” discount before TONIGHT’s deadline (Expires at 11:59 pm EST)](  Additional Product Reviews & Feedback Below are a few recent reviews we’ve received on a number of our most popular products. You can click on each individual product for more information if you’d like! [The Outer ⅓ Defense With Coach Nick LoGalbo:]( “I really liked the explanation of the system and the step by step progression of instructions. Coach did an awesome job. Very grateful to you guys at Breakthrough Basketball for always putting out great basketball material. Thank You.”--Jose R. [The Youth Coaching System With Coach Huber:]( “The simplicity of the instruction and the way Huber includes everything important; Including the video to back up, the demonstrations are very valuable to the instruction.”--Mary B.C. [The Zoom Offense - Conceptual Basketball With Coach Nate Steege:]( was very informative and easily applicable to to my team. So much information for the price. I would highly recommend the product to anyone wanting to learn the zoom offense.”--Dan 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, Joe Haefner 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! We love to help people learn how to enjoy the game of basketball at the next level by simply creating the right products that they use in their practices and games. Every day we are building and strengthening partnerships with companies and coaches that are in alignment with our own values. 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