Learning to practice the right way...on your own

I’m always amazed when kids come into the gym to shoot hoops or work on their game. More times than not it consists of picking up a basketball, taking a couple of dribbles, moseying around the court and finally launching some 3-pointers. And this is how the process continues the rest of the time spent in the gym – get the rebound, trot back out behind the 3-point arc and shoot again…over and over.

I’ve always been a firm believer that practicing hard and smart will produce those same results in game situations. The mindset of many of our young players in this country is that if they are in the gym putting in the time, they’re going to become better players. In an ideal situation, this would be true, however, a lot kids today just don’t know how to practice on their own.

Earlier this week, I received one of the best compliments I could ever receive as a basketball instructor. A father of one of our former On Court participants, who has moved to Sweden, was back in the United States over the holidays. He told me that his son’s basketball fundamentals are much better than the rest of his teammates in Sweden but what he was most happy with was the fact that his son knew how to practice effectively on his own after learning through the On Court program. That certainly put a smile on my face!

During basketball season, coaches have to spend the majority of the time working on strategy to prepare for opponents. This leaves little time for fundamental skill development and for the players, no knowledge of how to improve their game on their own.

If the kids that think of their time in the gym as more of a social gathering, would learn how to practice on their own, the game of basketball in the United States would improve dramatically.

Imagine kids going to the gym and beginning their workout with five minutes of intensive ball handling drills following by 15 minutes of footwork and body coordination drills. They then begin their shooting exercises with lay-ups from both sides of the hoop followed by free throws and jump shots off the dribble….I think you get my drift.

As basketball coaches and instructors we need to educate our young players on how to effectively and efficiently practice on their own. If we can accomplish that, fundamentals will make their way back into the game.