Hello Tic Tacs!
Just wanted to drop a quick note about the upcoming game, but first talk about last night’s practice, which will tie in.
If you remember, we did really well the previous time we scrimmaged that team, and I take a lot of responsibility for us not doing as well last night, mainly because I didn’t put out our “regular” teams, and I had Jenn, and Kelly W playing in the four spot, Katherine playing in the three spot, I had you guys pressing them (just to help out the other coach…)
And THEN I threw the pick in there without really going over it, even as a refresher, first.
SO! It’s no wonder we didn’t do as well as we could have, based on that stuff.
A special note on Sarah Shields’ predicament. She was being heavily guarded by Sam — that tall, really good player. So, although she was making some excellent drives, which would work nine times out of ten, they weren’t working against Sam too well last night.
I talked with Coach Mary and came up with some strategies for that. When our best ball handler is being heavily guarded (and maybe even double-teamed) like Sarah was last night, her job is actually to draw her defender(s) AWAY from the center of the court. In this case, she would take Sam far out of the play by moving out beyond the three point lane. That clears the lane for everyone else to step in there and make some baskets.
That goes along with the general philosophy of S T R E T C H I N G out their defense. This creates wide open gaps where we can CUT to the HOOP, like we’ve been practicing.
Another big point. I’ve said time and again: “We Need To Box Out”. There’s no way they should’ve gotten all of those rebounds. Period.
Control that 2 feet in front of the rim!! BOX OUT BOX OUT BOX OUT (I’m jumping up and down right now). Please don’t make me pull my hair out. There’s not much to spare.
If you box out your opponent, YOU WILL get more rebounds. I bet you we will score about 10 more baskets per game if we all box out consistently, both on offense and defense.
My main point is: don’t get rattled by last night’s scrimmage. That was mostly my fault for not putting you in your normal spots and having you do stuff you don’t normally do (but that’s what practice is for, sometimes).
However, on Saturday, please be prepared to make adjustments on the fly. I want to give this undefeated team a big run for their money. So BOX OUT, put up the strong shots, make the strong passes, and SPRINT the court!
We can do this tic tacs. We are on a ROLL!
In the meantime: Practice your shots. Practice hard passing. Carry a basketball with you around the home at all times. Box Out your parents, brothers, sisters, and pets. GET READY to PLAY TOUGH!
See you Saturday!!
-Coach Jim
