Basketball Coaching Articles

1. Develop Email Marketing Campaign

Developing a great email marketing campaign will drive people to your basketball games by
keeping them continually informed and interested in the program. Here are a few tips for a
successful basketball newsletter campaign.
Provide Relevant Links: Incorporate relevant links into the newsletter.
Provide some links within the basketball page of your school site. Newly
posted blogs, articles, interesting forum discussions, schedules, podcasts, are
some examples. Also, incorporate some interesting 3rd party resources. For
example parents may be interested in injury prevention, injury care, summer
training, or hydration.
Catchy Titles: Make sure the titles of your newsletters are memorable and
exiting. Game headlines work great. A distinct look and personality should
be portrayed in each title. Doing this will help recipients easily identify your
email.
Establish a Schedule for Writing and Distributing: Establish a set frequency
based on resources and the ability to produce relevant information. This
makes budgeting and planning easier, and is required to hold people’s
attention and keep them looking forward to receiving your emails. For more
info on email distribution frequency read my article, “Email Marketing for
Schools: Why and How.”

2. Host Blogs/Forums

Hosting a blog is a very effective way to promote your program by keeping people
continually informed and interested. It is important to reach a distinct audience with a blog,
so create a separate blog on the basketball page rather than posting basketball blogs on the
school’s main blog page. Remember to include pictures in your blogs for visual reference.
Also, for a good resource for creating great blog content, visit
http://www.buildabetterblog.com.

3. Integrate Wiki Pages

A Wiki page is a webpage given the capability to be edited by website visitors. Not many
schools have wiki pages, which presents you with a great opportunity. Create a wiki page
that is linked from the basketball homepage. Coaches, parents, students, or anyone
involved can post pictures, stories, and comments. This creates a sense of involvement
that sparks interest and participation. The insightful content will also spark the interest of
visitors not contributing to the wiki pages. Wiki pages communicate real, personal
experiences and interaction, and invoke excitement. JotSpot provides a fully integrated wiki
application that makes creating wiki pages a breeze. While most wiki pages are mostly
text based, JotSpot allows you to create rich web-based spreadsheets, calendars,
documents and photo galleries with ease. For more information on general wiki page
creation, visit www.intersci.ss.uci.edu.

4. Post Regular Video and Podcasts

The excitement of your basketball games can be captured and communicated through rich
media content. Collect audio and video files during exiting game moments and post them
on the main page. Anyone can download the files and share them via ipod, email, or
MySpace post. Rich media goes a long way toward creating buzz. Be sure to provide links
to good media content in your email newsletters. Also, remember to post new content
regularly, otherwise the appeal is lost. In order to preserve talk and excitement, people
must have something new to talk about.

5. Incorporate a Web Calendar

It’s essential to integrate a web calendar into your basketball homepage. A web calendar
allows visitors to quickly view upcoming games or other events. The real advantage of a
web calendar is the ability to integrate an RSS feed (described below.) There are many web
calendar applications out there. Trumba event calendars (www.trumba.com) are easy to
use and boast a number of features. Google and Yahoo also offer free event calendars.

6. Establish RSS Feeds

An RSS feed is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of the above components. RSS
stands for “really simple syndication.” By subscribing to your school’s RSS feed, visitors can
receive automatic updates on new website content. Upcoming games, new podcasts or
video content, newsletter releases, blog posts, or relevant news should be put on your RSS
feed homepage. An RSS feed can also be integrated with your web calendar or published
on other web sites. In a time constrained world, people cannot regularly check your
website for news and upcoming events. An RSS feed will keep your school at top of mind
for potential event attendees. For more info on creating RSS feeds visit
http://www.wilsonweb.com.

7. Consider Social Networking

You might not want to get too entrenched with social networking sites, but you don’t want
to get left behind either. Place someone in charge of keeping track of changes in
technology so you can react strategically
Posting some of your better videos on YouTube and MySpace will allow for easy sharing.
Post any good pictures on Flickr, a picture sharing social networking site. Doing these
things might not directly affect event attendance, but will go toward creating a better web
presence. By making this content easily accessible, there is a better chance it will become
widely distributed.

By Lance Trebesch and Colt Lapham
lance@TicketPrinting.com
www.TicketPrinting.com

We put a strong emphasis on rebounding at Old Dominion. We believe our team will be very good at whatever skills the head coach constantly emphasizes. We also believe that you can emphasize too many fundamentals. If you’re going to be elite at particular ones, you must pick 2 or 3 fundamentals you feel are most important as a coach and be elite at them. You still can be solid at all other fundamentals. However, if you pick a few that are most important, put constant emphasis on them; you can be elite at those particular ones.

Rebounding allows you to fastbreak more often. Rebounding can make up for a poor shooting game, and limit the number of shots a good shooting team takes. If you’re an elite rebounding team it can demoralize an opponent and change their game preparation. If you are exceptional on the offensive glass, it can put your opponents in foul trouble and help you get to the bonus much faster.

Part of being good on the offensive glass is taking care of the basketball which allows us to get the shot we want with board coverage

Rebounding is certainly on the top of the list for our program. We were ranked 7 th nationally in rebound margin in 08-09 and 17 th in points allowed.

Many people have asked why ODU is always a good rebounding team. Some of the reasons are:

Constant emphasis by head coach!
Assistant assigned to rebounding & defensive transition
Emphasis through statistical and personal coverage during games and practices
When we recruit a particular player we determine if he is capable of rebounding and defending his position at an elite level.
Percentage oriented defensive philosophy.
Attempt to recruit size so we can defend 1 on 1 in post and eliminate having to double.
Have a positive assist/turnover ratio. Taking care of the ball allows us to determine when and where we will take shots from so we have board coverage.
Desire, determination and toughness as a group. This starts with the head coach putting a strong importance on toughness. We start instilling this in our players from day 1 of conditioning.
We work at it!!! Have several very good drills which create an environment of how important rebounding is.
TWO HANDS!! We are extremely adamant about our players going after the ball with TWO HANDS!!
PRIDE! Rebounding becomes a source of pride for all individuals involved from players down to themanagers who keep the statistics.

(1) 1 on 1 Rebounding. Defensive rebounder must box out his opponent. Defender must grab 3 consecutive rebounds before he goes to end of line and a new rebounder comes on. This can be an extremely competitive drill.

(2) 2 on 2 Rebounding. Two offensive lines at the free throw line area. Front two players off on defense. Coach or manager shoots ball. Offensive players can cross or screen to make defensive rebounding more difficult. Again, the defensive rebounders must get 3 consecutive rebounds before they go to the end of the line and new rebounders come on. There are no out-of-bounds and the ball is live until the outlet pass is thrown back to the coach or manager. As in the 1 on 1 rebounding drill, fatique can play a factor. 2 players can get "stuck" trying to get 3 consecutive rebounds. This develops toughness and desire.

(3) 3 on 3 Rebounding. 1, 2, and 3 are guarded by X1, X2, and X3. C (Coach or Manager) can either shoot or pass to the other C who can shoot. Passes from Coach to Coach require shifts in defensive position and these shifts should be monitored by the coaching staff.

Xs block out and all players go for the rebound. Note: Corrections for blockout mistakes should be made immediately.

If no shot is taken on the rebound, the rebounders team goes on offense immediately with the other 3 players on defense. Offense is allowed NO DRIBBLES. Play continues until a team scores.

Original offensive team gets 2 points for a score. Original defensive team gets one point for a score. Play continues for a designated number of points.

In this diagram, 2 has ball. 2 either shoots or waits for teammates to use offensive screens to get open. 2 passes to 3 and sets screen for 1.

If shot goes up, all 6 players go to boards hard. If ball is not scored team that retrieves the rebound goes immediately to offense. There is NO OUT OF BOUNDS.

Offensive players are overloaded left with defenders in normal help defense.

This is a great drill because it teaches defensive rotation and rebounding at the same time.

Remember....EMPHASIZE rebounding, preferably by the Head Coach, in order to become a great rebounding team.

Rob Wilkes is Assistant Basketball Coach at Old Dominion University. He can be contacted at 757-646-1886 should anyone have questions on this article.

A GUIDE TO ONLINE FUNDRAISING SUCCESS
FOR YOUR SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM
Why Fundraise Online?

1. Online giving is growing exponentially every year, from just over a half a billion
dollars in 2000, to more than $4.5 billion in 2005. (www.groundspring.org)
2. People are much more likely to turn their impulse into donations, raffle ticket
purchases, or auction bids when online. The instantaneous nature of the internet
promotes action by catching people in the moment. Being “close to the click” means
being close to donors and dollars.
3. Online fundraising eliminates geographic borders. With the right incentive you can
attract a world of potential donors outside your region.
4. People are more generous online. An email campaign launched by North Carolina
School of Science and Mathematics resulted in a 20% increase in the average
donation. Their overall efforts resulted in a 150% ROI. (www.bronto.com)
5. Online fundraising attracts alternative demographics. cMarket conducted a study
concluding that 71% of their online bidders are women. Women are turned off by
the highly competitive environment of the traditional auction, making them a highly
un-represented group.
6. The internet is quickly becoming the donors medium of choice because it’s quick and
easy.
7. Online Fundraising is a great option for a time constrained world. The typical auction
lasts 1 to 3 hours making it difficult for a lot of people to attend. An online auction
generally lasts 1 to 3 weeks, creating a lot more time for bids to be posted by a lot
more people.

10 Ways to Boost Your Basketball Team’s Online Fundraising Dollars
Fundraising
The nature of online fundraising is very different than traditional fundraising. Here are a
couple of things to keep in mind.
1. Offer Big Incentives for Big Returns
With online fundraising, you’re dealing on a much larger scale. The audience is larger and
more diverse but much harder to engage and coerce action from. Providing the right
incentives is key. Modonna School located in San Jose, conducted a raffle with a $1.5
million, 2800-square-foot dream home as the prize. They sold 32,000 tickets at $150 each,
for a total of $4.8 million. This shows just how effective an online fundraiser can be. By
eliminating geographic limitations, and providing the right incentive, the rewards grow
exponentially.
2. Partner With Online Fundraising Providers
To greatly expand the audience for your auctions, consider selling on Ebay Giving Works.
(http://givingworks.ebay.com/) Ebay Giving Works is dedicated to non-profit and charity
listings. To do this, start by signing up to MissionFish. MissionFish makes it safe and easy
for nonprofits to sell on ebay. AuctionPay (www.auctionpay.com) is another resource that
can help create bidding activity outside your school’s local geographic range. St. Mark’s
School instituted AuctionPay’s Online Auction Solution and managed to raise $25,000; more
than one-fourth of the school’s total revenue of $97,000. A bidding war even erupted
between two grandmothers, one in Florida and one in California, over a lunch with the
school’s teacher followed by a movie at a local cinema. The item sold for $2,200.
(www.nptimes.com) For raffles, RaffleSoft (www.rafflesoft.com) offers good online raffle
software.
Communications
Maintaining ongoing communication with potential donors ensures they are up to date on
upcoming games and fundraising events.

3. Start an email Campaign
Starting an e-mail or e-newsletter campaign is the #1 most crucial factor in the success of
your online fundraiser. If people aren’t informed, they won’t be willing to help. Emails
should be specifically tailored to each recipient’s interests. The tips provided below will
make your campaign a success.
Purchase email Marketing Software: Email marketing software will save a great deal
of time and money. This software allows your donor database to be uploaded
directly into an email marketing application, eliminating the need to manually upload
data. Emails can be easily tailored to a recipient’s interests. Emaillabs.com offers
great basic email marketing software. WildApricot, Convio, GetActive, and
LocalVoice are designed specifically for online fundraising and offer a handful of
specialized tools general email applications do not offer.
Do Not Solicit in Initial Mailings: The importance of not soliciting recipients with their
first email cannot be emphasized enough. Initial emails should be used to gather
information on the recipient needs and interests in order to provide more valuable
content. There is a direct correlation between the relationships built with potential
donors and the amount they will give.
Establish a Schedule for Writing and Distributing: The whole point of an email
marketing program is to hold a recipient’s attention by keeping them continually
informed. People will look forward to receiving your email. A set frequency should
be established based on time constraints and your program’s ability to produce
relevant news or content.
For more information on email marketing read my article “Email Marketing for School
Basketball Teams: Why and How.”
4. Integrate an RSS Feed
RSS feeds allow for subscribers to be automatically updated on new content without having
to check your website. New blogs, email newsletter shipments, and upcoming fundraising
events should be placed on an RSS page. Doing this will greatly increase fundraiser
participation. For more info on creating RSS feeds visit http://www.wilsonweb.com.
Community
Keeping people engaged with your basketball program is very critical. The more involved
they are, the more they will give. A few ideas are outlined below.
5. Start School Blogs and Forums
Blogs are especially great for school basketball websites. Hearing about current basketball
team issues from a coach’s perspective is something that’s very valuable to fans. A forum
gives students, community members, parents, and faculty a place to share ideas and
become involved.
6. Create Wiki Pages
A wiki page is a webpage that has the capability to be edited by website visitors. Wikipedia
is the most commonly known wiki site, offering a visitor edited, free encyclopedia. Consider
designing a wiki page for the basketball team. This will allow players, coaches, booster club
members, staff, or whoever is involved to contribute unique pictures and stories about the
team. This not only helps establish a sense of community but also informs the entire
community on current basketball events. JotSpot provides a fully integrated wiki application
that makes creating wiki pages a breeze. While most wiki pages are mostly text based,
JotSpot allows you to create rich web-based spreadsheets, calendars, documents and photo
galleries with ease. For additional information on general wiki page creation, visit
www.intersci.ss.uci.edu.
The Basics
Here are some basic tips that will help make any fundraising effort more successful.
7. Base Appeal on Benefits, Not Needs
Communicate how your basketball team and community will benefit from funds. Don’t act
desperate in an attempt to receive donations out of pity.
8. Provide Convenience for Donors
Give donors the convenience of paying online, over the phone, or via mail. Establishing
several mediums for submitting donations, or purchasing raffle tickets, will increase the
likelihood that people will participate.
9. Following up with a Thank You
Don’t forget to send thank you notes to any direct donors, big raffle ticket customer, and
purchasers of auction items.
10. Use Online Fundraising as a Supplement
Encourage online participation, but don’t let this be the only alternative. Many people do
not want to become engaged with the online process. Make sure traditional fundraising
activities are still in place, they are the backbone of your fundraising efforts.

Lance Trebesch and Colt Lapham
lance@TicketPrinting.com
www.TicketPrinting.com

When you think of basketball training what types of things come to mind? If you're like most people you probably think of things like shooting drills, speed & quickness workouts, developing the weak hand, footwork and etc. Those are all very legitimate basketball fundamentals that need to be improved and should be part of every players training routine. The point I'm trying to make however, is that there is something else that wasn't mentioned that most players don't even think about when it comes to training. Something that they don't realize has a far greater impact on their ability to succeed than the typical things like shooting, dribbling, speed and jumping do. What most players don't realize is that the power of the mind is more amazing than any other physical skill they can possess and that they need to take the time and energy necessary to train their mind like they do their body. If they do this they will start to see results ten times quicker than if they relied on just their physical abilities to make themselves a better player.

Think of it like this. There is very little debate about how good of a player Michael Jordan was. 9 out of 10 people you ask will agree that he is the best player that has ever played the game. Since MJ has been out of the game it's accurate to say that there have been dozens of players come into the NBA that could jump just as high, could shoot just as well, could play just as good of defense, etc. But, how many players have we seen that have played the game as well as MJ? That's right, zero. And it has everything to do with what went on in MJ's head, that's where he was different and that's what set him apart. MJ had an amazing will to win, an unshakable confidence in himself and an understanding of how important it was to study the game - especially his opponents.

The fact of the matter is - most players don't have the patience to work on their mind. When they have an hour to focus on basketball they want to get on the court and do something physical. They want to form a pick-up game or work on some aspect of their game and you can't fault them for that, those are good things that need to be done. It takes practice to get in a routine of regularly working on your mind. The good news is it's not hard to do and it doesn't take very much time. Even if a player dedicates just 15 minutes a day on improving their mental basketball state, they will improve as a player 5 to 10 times quicker than if they focusing on just physical skills. The purpose of this article is to explain the specific things that need to be done in order to obtain a powerful basketball mind.

VISUALIZE YOURSELF SUCCEEDING

Players should spend a good 10 minutes a day (at minimum) visualizing in their mind themselves performing well on the basketball court. It should be uninterrupted and it should be taken very seriously. It doesn't matter if it's done while listening to music or in perfect silence, it's whatever environment the player feels most comfortable in. The point of this exercise is for players to imagine themselves executing successfully the types of things they will likely be doing during games. For example, I'm a point guard that has never dunked a basketball, for me to imagine myself stealing the ball and then throwing down a windmill dunk is silly. Instead I will visualize myself bringing the ball up the court with confidence, making sharp passes, hitting the open 3 pointer, coming off a screen and making a jump shot, things like that. You want to focus on visualizing yourself in scenarios that are very likely for you to be in during a game and visualize yourself doing them well.

If this is the first time you've ever heard of this and don't understand the power of meditation please don't be closed minded to this. IT WORKS. The mind is more powerful than any of us can comprehend and when it is conditioned to believe something, it does whatever it takes to make it happen. Does that mean that a horrible shooter can simply just imagine themselves making 10 out of 10 three pointers before a game and automatically come out and miraculously go 10 for 10 from 3 point land? No. It doesn't work that way. It's a process, not a silly hocus pocus, superstitious, magic act. When you see yourself performing well in your mind over and over again eventually your body syncs up with the mind and starts perform in harmony with the mind. The opposite is just as true. If you continuously doubt yourself and visualize yourself as a bad player, that's exactly how you'll perform on the court.

Another reason players want to visualize their success is because it builds confidence. A very common reason players don't perform well in games is they don't handle the stress very well. They know that the shots they take all of a sudden mean something and so they get nervous about missing. If you've gone through in your head how you will shoot during a game, it will come much more naturally and you'll shoot with more confidence.

Be a student of the game

It's not enough to simply know the rules of the game. If you want to become a top caliber basketball player you have got to study the game. When you study the game you find all sorts of angles that give you advantages while you play. These little advantages can mean the difference of scoring 18 points a game vs. 14 or averaging 12 rebounds vs. 8.

Instead of just watching a game for pleasure try to focus more and really take away some things that will help you on the court. Watch the player that plays your same position and pay attention to everything he does. Try to pick up on the little things that are going on and if something takes place that you can't explain, write it down and talk to your coach about it.

Buy or rent an instructional DVD. If there is something you know you can improve in, find out what other coaches or successful players have said about the topic. Your coach probably has a whole library full of DVDs, if not they are all over the Internet. Do some searches and really try to study the topic because you aren't the first to have questions about whatever topic it might be.

STUDY YOUR OPPONENT

Players that take some time before each game to really think about their opposition perform better than those that don't. You can't just take the exact same approach into every game you play. Is the team you're playing going to play you mostly man-to-man or will they zone you? That makes a huge difference in what type of activities you'll be doing in the game and if you take 5 minutes to think about that you'll play better. It's that simple. Other things to think about are things like how good of an offensive player is the player you'll be guarding? If they are really good you are probably going to get pretty tired guarding them and therefore you may need to adjust your philosophy on offense. If they aren't very good then you'll want to formulate a plan to help out more on defense and look for opportunities to push yourself on offense. The bottom line is this - players that goof around and take no time to think about their opponent before a game underperform.

ELIMINATE FEAR

Fear can be one of the biggest barriers to success a basketball player can face. Fear of not succeeding, fear of looking stupid, fear of failure, etc. For you to become the player you want to be, you have to overcome your fears by addressing them head on. What I mean by that is taking some time to really think about what you are fearful of. In most instances you'll realize that what you are fearful of is actually kind of silly but you'll never come to this realization if you don't take time to address it. What's the worst thing that can happen if you miss a shot during a game or perform poorly? Would you be the first one to ever go through that experience? Could you deal with it? Of course you could. Would it be the end of the world? Of course not. And if it's your coach your fearful of realize this - I don't know a coach out there that likes to see their players play tentative. All coaches I know would much rather you play with complete confidence and take a bad shot every once in a while than run around the court so nervous to make a mistake that you never really do anything. Really, what is there to fear?

SUMMARY

Basketball players that use their mind to make themselves better are the cream of the crop. You could be the best conditioned and most skilled player in the world but if you're mind is a wreck it will all go to waste. Bad players that understand the potential of their mind become good players. Average players that understand the potential of their mind become elite players.

Here is a sobering thought for any coach or player….. that in the entire history of high school and collegiate sports, the most important individual and team championship skill is often the skill that is practiced the least…namely the ability to perform extremely well under pressure. Of all the sweat, effort, energy and time that is invested in strength training and conditioning, individual and team offense / defense, and pre-game preparation; a relatively small amount of time and emphasis (if any) is placed on this all important athletic trait. Few would argue that the ability to perform under pressure is a critical skill that is often responsible for bringing all of these components together, and a skill that will be the deciding factor in so many games this season. This sobering thought is even more of a reality in the pressure filled crucible of the playoffs. However, with high school state championships and collegiate conference/national tournaments now complete, progressive programs are providing their athletes with training ideas in the off-season and pre-season that will improve their mental toughness, poise, focus and resiliency under pressure. This article will continue with the theme of pressure performance by focusing on success tips to improve mental toughness and success in the one area that arguably decides the outcome of more games than any other area, the ability to consistently make free throws under pressure.

Numerous studies have reported on the immense value of free throws in games, and especially in tight games. An in-depth study reported in Scholastic Coach noted that the team with the highest free throw percentage won 80% of the games (Jenkins, 1977), while a Hays and Krause study determined that free throws determine the outcome of 50% or more of all games, generally make up to 20-25% of all points scored in a game, 35% of all points scored in the last five minutes, and 69% during the last minute of the game (Hays & Krause, 1987, Walker, 1985). However, after analyzing NABC records, Ryan and Holt reported that over the last 20 years, collegiate teams averaged an anemic 68-69% free throw accuracy in games (1988). Vaughn and Kozar (1994) also reported that a significantly larger percentage of free throws are missed in games vs. practice.

What are some of the immediate implications of this data? First, despite the overwhelming evidence that underscores the importance of success at the foul line, many programs still do not invest enough time and energy toward free throw excellence. Second, practice vs. game percentages indicate that many programs have not found a way to successfully translate good practice habits and success at the foul line to game time free throw success.\

In 1994, some researchers decided to take a close look at some of the factors that are responsible for these important differences in practice vs. game time success. Vaughn and Kozar studied an NCAA division I school and videotaped 1011 free throws, 366 of which were game time attempts, and 645 of which were regular practice attempts (Whitehead, Butz, Wilson & Kozar, 1996). What they found was that the first two free throw attempts in a practice situation where at least 5 free throws were shot in sequence by one athlete, resulted in a similar percentage to the game time average, while the rest of the practice free throws that followed the first two practice shots enjoyed a much higher success rate. The researchers reasoned that after the first two practice free throws, players often found a ‘rhythm’ and a much greater percentage of shots made. So what does this mean for the design of practice? Clearly, to simulate game conditions, more shots need to be taken in sets of two, and taken in scrimmage conditions while players experience fatigue and varying circumstances. But this recommendation is old news, and this is only part of the story………..Many programs already shoot free throws in sets of two under game-like conditions, while other programs choose to shoot their free throws in larger sets. The very latest research shows that BOTH training environments need to be utilized in each practice vs. the habit of most programs who utilize just one of the two environments. Ensuring that each athlete shoots large sets of free throws (25 or greater) in one sequence in practice is important for the athlete to refine and polish the mechanics of free throw shooting and find that touch/rhythm that is critical for excellent mechanics, and it is equally important to ensure that athletes also shoot sets of two free throws under game conditions in a different part of practice. The value of this recommendation transcends mere statistics and research. From a personal perspective, when I initially completed the transition from high school to college, my free throw percentage jumped from 79% as a high school senior point guard to 90.1% as a college freshman and a 3 rd place national ranking for all college players, by utilizing these same practice habits.

We have already discussed that game time conditions differ from practice conditions for a myriad of reasons that include fatigue, varying game conditions, and game time distractions. However, a much more important difference exists that often remains unnoticed and unaddressed. Shooting is a skill that is best executed under ‘auto-pilot’ conditions when an athlete allows the trained skill movement to take over without thinking about the ramifications of making or missing the shot. Yet, the preoccupation of expectation and making or missing the shot is exactly what causes athletes to have a lower percentage during the first two free throws in a multi-shot sequence practice scenario or during a game time scenario. Physical pre-shot routines are often utilized by athletes to help them find their rhythm while occupying them to reduce the ‘dead time’ before shooting a free throw. However, what about the all important cognitive (mental) components? After all, it is the mental expectations of reward/punishment and success/failure that often results in increased game time anxiety, elevated muscular tension and general physiological stress. Thus, the mind must be kept just as busy as the body with a sound pre-shot mental routine (that can involve mental rehearsal and key inner voice cues – mental skills techniques that have been discussed in general terms in some of my previous WBCA Journal articles). Together, sound practice habits (with a combination of game simulation two-set free throws, and large set practice free throws), in addition to game time mental and physical routine sequencing, can increase rhythm, shot mechanics and overall accuracy, while reducing ‘dead time,’ shot outcome preoccupation, and game-time stress for the all-important free throw.

Here’s wishing you, your athletes, and your programs, tremendous success with these steps to master mental toughness at the foul line!

Hays, D., & Krause, J. V. (1987). Score on the throw. The Basketball Bulletin, 12, 4-9

Jenkins, R. (1977). Win the big ones from the foul line. Scholastic Coach, 47(5), 42, 88-89

Ryan, D. & Holt, L. E. (1989). Kinematic variables as predictors of performance in the basketball free-throw. The Basketball Bulletin, 60-63

Vaughn, R. E., & Kozar, B. (1994). Practice and game error tendencies of skilled free-throw shooters. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport: Abstracts of Completed Research, 65, 67.

Walker, F. (1985). Take P.R.I.D.E. in your free-throwing: It will win for you. Scholastic Coach, 55(3), 18-20.

Whitehead, R., Butz, J. W., Kozar, B., Vaughn, R. E. (1996). Stress and performance: An application of Gray’s three factor arousal theory to basketball free-throw shooting. Journal of Sport Behavior, 19, 354-362

About the author and founder of the IceboxAthlete Mental Skills & Toughness Training System:

Spencer Wood M.S., C.S.C.S., P.E.S., Member A.A.S.P., is an internationally renowned speaker, author and trainer of athletes and coaches in the area of Winning Mental Skills & Toughness Training. Spencer is a featured speaker at events such as the NCAA Final Four, and an on-site provider of Mental Skills & Toughness Training Workshops for championship teams across the United States, Canada and Europe. Spencer’s work with the Olympic Committee for Trinidad and Tobago has garnered international acclaim, and his work with C. Vivian Stringer’s Rutgers Women’s Basketball program was featured on ESPN at the 2007 NCAA Final Four. For more information or to request a Mental Skills & Toughness Training Workshop for your team, please visit www.iceboxathlete.com

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Great scoring guards know how to create space and get open. Practice and work hard at establishing position by either performing a solid v cut or using the lane to get open. Once you've come up the lane and popped out the ball should be on its way to you. You should have taken a mini hop-step already to get in position to shoot the ball. Now instead of going right into a jump stop, take an immediate dribble and go in for the lay-up. The footwork on this is tricky. Some players travel because the hop-step throws off their timing a little bit. It takes practice. If you've hopped in the air and landed with both feet you should be in an excellent position to drive for the lay-up.

Come up the lane and pop out to the wing. Take the hop-step before the ball arrives and immediately take one hard dribble in either direction. After one or two hard dribbles, immediately go into your jump shot. The hop-step will set up everything if you've done it correctly. It prepares you to shoot quickly and tells the defender that you can shoot quickly. If he gets close to you simply drive past him and if he's worried about you driving past him then the shot off the dribble will work every time because he will be on his heels.

When I work on these drills, which I still do today, I do them in order starting from the jump shot. The jump shot sets up everything else. It is like a great fastball from a pitcher. Once a great pitcher shows his fastball and that he can throw it for a strike, the pitcher has the edge. Good scorers use the jump shot as a way to set up everything else.

This drill should be done exactly as the drill above with one exception - there is no dribble. As you get the ball you immediately go up for the shot. This will probably feel a little uncomfortable for most players in the beginning but it's crucial for you to eventually be able to hit this shot. If you can't hit this shot your defender will constantly sag off you when you receive the ball and prevent you from making a break to the basket or getting a shot off the dribble.

As young players get older a couple things happen. First, everyone gets bigger, stronger and faster. Secondly, as a result it gets tougher to get open and create a shot. Something I've learned over the years has made it very easy for me to be able to get off a shot quickly and effectively. Start with the ball at the top of the key. If you are a coach, I suggest starting this drill with two lines on both sides of the top of the key. A line of shooters should also be formed on the wing or the corner. When the pass is made from the top of the key to the wing player I want the wing players to take a mini hop right before the ball gets there. Immediately shoot the ball when it arrives. If you have to gather yourself before the shot goes up then you have a problem that needs fixing. Players ask me how they can practice this by themselves and I tell them to get a toss back. What a great invention. Some people talk about their car in high school when I talk about my toss back. If you aren't comfortable shooting off the hop yet, then practice by throwing the ball off a wall or the toss back and just getting your feet correct. Have each player shoot within their range from the two spots then switch out to different areas. After all, nobody only shoots from the wing or the baseline. Don't just stand there and shoot jump shots either as that doesn't help nearly as much as shooting off the hop.

A little bit of a modification of the drill I just talked about is the pass, cut and shoot. A player that stands still is extremely easy to guard so I coach my guards to cut once they pass the ball. To practice this drill, have a player line up at the high post and start the ball on the wing. The line should be at the wing position. Once the ball is passed to the high post the player should cut to either the baseline or the top of the key. Once the cut is made, the passer throws the ball with the wing player taking the hop-step before the ball comes so he can get off a quick shot. The drill should be practiced with the ball coming from the high post and also from the low post as those are the most common areas of double teaming. When the high post receives the ball many times you'll see 2-3 defenders collapse on the ball and if you, as a shooter, can get to an open spot where the defense can't recover quickly, you'll get an uncontested shot. This drill isn't one to practice at a slow pace. The cuts need to have a point and has to be quick. Players that play hard are not easy to guard. That's worth repeating, players that play hard are not easy to guard.

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