Tom Kelsey

As coaches, we all have favorite drills to use for workouts or practice.

We may like a drill from doing it as a player, seeing someone else run it or using it over and over ourselves.

But make sure your drills can accomplish what you want as a coach. There are three things I want in the drills we run.

1. Game-like. Is this a situation that will occur in a game? Or am I doing this drill out of comfort and know how to run the drill?

2. Competitive. Some drills will strictly be for teaching, but whenever possible, I want competition.

3. Keep players engaged. If game-like and competitive most likely it will keep them engaged.  If you feel you are not getting the most out of the drill and the players cannot run it correctly, or it does not challenge them, scrap it and find something else.

Here are some of my favorite drills that accomplish these three areas.

Each drill has a situation or situations that will occur in the game.

Each drill involves competition.

Each drill keeps players engaged.

A playbook designed to help your players improve their Offensive Skills.

Taken from successful Professional, College, and High School teams to give coaches and players the framework to be "Hard to Guard".

As with all of our Playbooks, make sure to go at Game Speed and Utilize Competition to get the most out of any workout or practice.

At CoachTube we help coaches by giving them the tools to improve their craft. Allowing them to coach with knowledge and influence and helping their players make the necessary strides to get better.

Have you ever struggled with getting the most out of your Post Players? Not sure how to help them learn how to get open, defend and score?

I’ve been there. Playing for the legendary Don Meyer and alongside an All American Post Player and MVP of the National Tournament gave me a base, but I knew I had a lot to learn.

I couldn’t just rely on using drills we used as a player or what I thought worked. I had to dig deeper.

Quickly I found out what Post Players needed.

Successful Repeated Repetitions under Game Conditions.

I had to make sure they did whatever the drill over and over successfully.

And then do the drill quickly.

Once I started this process of successful repetitions and going game speed, my players started showing steady improvement

I changed from just checking the box when doing Post Play Drills to being intentional and it showed. Now instead of having players go through a drill to say we did the drill, we made sure they did it correctly and at a quick pace.

When I watch a team practice or someone working with a Post Player the most common mistake I see is allowing a player to slide through a drill.

Not concentrating on the footwork to get open, catching with two hands, chinning the ball, playing with knees bent and following every missed shot with a put back on the offensive end.

Here is a series of drills for you to use with your Post Players.

Make sure they do the drill correctly and then make sure they are going a high rate of speed.

A Basketball Playbook for coaches and players of all levels.

Want to improve your skills and overall game? Master the fundamentals.

We share ball handling, passing, defense, shooting and rebounding drills that have a proven track record of success.

Even the most talented and skilled players work on fundamentals on their own or in practice with their team.

Our teaching focuses on building up a players confidence. You gain confidence by repeated successful repetitions.

For all these drills we want players to go at game speed. To be able to produce in a game you must have practiced the skills over and over at a quick pace. 

This playbook helps sets the foundation for players to increase skills and technique.

The Course is broken down into different sections. 

We give teaching points to focus when you are working with a player on a specific skill. Or for a player, point to remember while going through the drill.

Course Sections

Stationary Ball handling without the dribble

Stationary Ball handling with the dribble

Passing and Catching

Shooting

Layups

Rebounding

Defense

One simple basketball coaching technique made one of my teams much more aggressive.

As a coach have you ever had a time in the season or an aspect of the game, you knew a shift was necessary to have better practices?

One season I felt our team was stagnant and not aggressive at the beginning of practice. Also, we were not getting what we needed defensively. I knew them more engaged at the beginning of practice we would have a much better chance of sustaining the energy.

During this time, I read an article on Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints. He was trying to find ways to make his team more aggressive. He wanted specifically to convert turnovers into scores for his team.

As I read, I thought, "How could do the same thing in basketball?" So I wanted to find a basketball coaching technique where we could replicate ways to get steals and convert them into turnovers.

We began to implement a 10-minute section at the beginning of practice designed to turn steals or aggressive plays into baskets. We thought of ways within our defensive system and how to take advantage of our player's skills. As much as we could think of we wanted to replicate game-like situations.

Almost instantly our guys became more engaged. We saw a dramatic impact how our team competed, and they did a super job of carrying it over to games.

As coaches, often use drills we have always used. Drills we think may work well, and one's players know how to run.

To change the old way of thinking find drills to resonate with your team.

Here are some specially designed ways to help your team be more aggressive and turn a big steal into a game-changing basket.

A Basketball Playbook for coaches and players of all levels.

Want to improve your skills and overall game? Master the fundamentals.

We share ball handling, passing, defense, shooting and rebounding drills that have a proven track record of success.

Even the most talented and skilled players work on fundamentals on their own or in practice with their team.

Our teaching focuses on building up a players confidence. You gain confidence by repeated successful repetitions.

For all these drills we want players to go at game speed. To be able to produce in a game you must have practiced the skills over and over at a quick pace. 

This playbook helps sets the foundation for players to increase skills and technique.

A Basketball Playbook for coaches and players of all levels.

Want to improve your skills and overall game? Master the fundamentals.

We share ball handling, passing, defense, shooting and rebounding drills that have a proven track record of success.

Even the most talented and skilled players work on fundamentals on their own or in practice with their team.

Our teaching focuses on building up a players confidence. You gain confidence by repeated successful repetitions.

For all these drills we want players to go at game speed. To be able to produce in a game you must have practiced the skills over and over at a quick pace. 

This playbook helps sets the foundation for players to increase skills and technique.

所有程度都适用的篮球战术图解(教练和球员皆可)

想要增进你的篮球技巧和篮球战力吗?掌握这些基本动作。

我们会指导保证见效的篮球技巧，包括控球、传球、防守、投篮和篮板球等。

即使是最有天分和最厉害的球员也会独自或与队友练习这些篮球基本动作。

我们的教学强调于增进球员的信心，从信心来自于持续不断的有效练习。

练习基本动作时，我们会要求球员把练习当成正式比赛，因为想在比赛中有最佳表现必须透过快速的重复练习。

本篮球战术图解可打下良好篮球技巧与技能之基础。

So you ready to take your game to the next level?

Looking for something to challenge you as a player or as a coach want to give your players something more?

Here is a Basketball Playbook with Advanced Fundamental Drills.

Why do we call it Advanced Fundamental Drills?

Because every time you hit the floor work on staying to the fundamentals. Even though a drill may be more challenging doesn't mean to forget your foundation.

As with any drill make sure to:

1. Go GAME SPEED. Without question, going game speed helps keep your game sharp and allows a quicker path toward improvement. Going at a quick pace best prepares you for what will happen in a game.

2. Add Competiton. Whether going another against another individual or competing with yourself, this helps keep drills energized.

3. Get Feedback. If a coach is helping you listen to their pointers on how to improve. By yourself? Video the workout and then go back and review. Even better, video and then ask someone who knows the game to give you advice.

Let's get better starting today!

How to Score in the Post is a course for players and coaches designed to give drills and teaching points.

Watch what the best Post Players do and how they score.

Being on a good team, having a good point guard and being in the right system are all critical.

But here is what the best Post Players do:
They run the floor.
They go with simple moves.
They get position.

You want to score more points, get more playing time and be a valuable contributor to your team?

Learn How to Score in the Post.

We will show how you can be that player who is on other teams scouting report, your teammates will get you the ball, and your coach will want you on the floor.

How to Score in the Post is your next step toward being the player you want to be

Do you get frustrated coaching defense or not know how to get the most out of your players on the defensively?

It took a reality check for me to help my players get better in not only their ability but their approach.

I found I was not spending time on the necessary skills and techniques of defense.

We were doing a lot of defensive of drills and spending time in practice on defense, but we were still getting the same results.

Teams would drive too easy, get too many open shots, and our ability to sustain effort was lacking.

I went back and broke everything down. From hand placement, footwork, vision, and communication. We did this for every part of our defense.

Man to Man, Zone, Full Court Presses, everything.

We went back and spent time emphasizing our defensive skills.

Yes, defensive skills. I believe it takes skill to play defense.

The effort is vital, and energy is critical, but to be a good defender or good defensive team you have to have the right skills.

We broke it down into the smallest parts of the techniques.

Instead of hoping another team would have an off night shooting the ball, we could control the shots they got and where they got them.

Instead of hoping their star player would get into foul trouble, we had ways to slow that player down.

Instead of hoping they would turn the ball over we had ways to force more turnovers.

We started by changing our mindset.

We took more time at the beginning of practice to work on defensive skills.

Doing so did two things:
1. Got our players thinking defense at the outset of practice. Instead of doing offensive skill work we flipped the script and invested the time on defense.
2. Brought instant energy to the start of practice. Now we didn't have to wait for the intensity as we went along. The drills forced the players to go all out.

The most common mistakes I see coaches make is not placing enough emphasis on the defensive skills. Believing you just have to have great effort and play hard then you can be a good defender. Or thinking the best athletes are the best defenders.

Not so. You have to have the right skills.

Ask yourself these questions when looking at your defensive drills:
1. Is this Game like? Will this action occur in a game?
2. Is the drill competitive?
3. Does the drill keep the players engaged? If there is any chance where a player can coast or not go full speed, then I want to eliminate the drill or find ways to make sure a player keeps up the intensity.
For example, on Wing Deny Drill or any drill that requires sliding to a spot. Put cones out, so players have to touch a cone. Instead of arbitrary spots give players exact spots where they need to touch. Then keep them accountable.
One of my pet peeves is not touching lines in a drill. So if you have a Zig-Zag Drill make players get to the line on slides and touch a cone or a coaches hand.

Using this playbook will help your players understand the proper stance, how to guard the ball, to keep their opponent from catching the ball, and how to be in the right position to help a teammate.