First of all, I just want to say thanks for a really great first practice. It was great to see some familiar faces, and to meet some new people as well — parents and players alike. I had a lot of fun. (I hope you all did, too.) I’m proud of the effort everyone put in, and I look forward to more great practices like that.
For those parents who didn’t get a copy of the letter, you can click here, or hit the Coach’s Letter tab, above.
Tonight we worked on Shooting:
- Shooting with ONE hand (and using the other to support)
- Squaring up to the basket
- Taking your time on your shots
- Balance
- Eyes on Rim
- Extend your arm
- Follow Through (Floppy Fish and Thumb Up)
We worked on Passing:
- Snapping our wrists
- Stepping towards the person we’re passing to
- Ending with arms extended and thumbs down
- And moving to the ball to catch it
- NO FLOOPY GRANDMA PASSES
And we worked on Dribbling
- Keeping knees bent (like sitting, but not…)
- Keeping the ball low (dribbling below the waist)
- Dribbling with the pads of our fingers
- Keeping our HEADS up while dribbling (so we can see the court)
Our passing was looking GREAT! Our best time passing all around the 3-point circle, if I remember correctly, was 8.8 seconds! All the way from one baseline to the other and back!!! This is really good news, because passing is such a key part of the game, and one of the TWO MAIN SKILLS that I’d like us to nail down as soon as possible.
What’s the OTHER MAIN SKILL? Being able to make baskets consistently when we’re inside the key! We did a little of that when we did our pass and shoot drill. And you guys did a nice job squaring up and taking your time with the shots — last contest was a real close one (sorry Screamin’ Mimis, you almost had us!)
Next Practice is this Sunday at 3:30 in the JMUES APR.
We’ll be practicing some of the same things, and also adding a little more, including a little defense fundamentals. With the kind of effort you all put in tonight, I think you’ll notice your skills are going to keep improving and improving with each passing week.
Take care, and Happy Halloween!
Coach Jim
