This same guy that played for this famous professional told me something else interesting. And this confirmed what I learned about 10 years into my coaching career. He said that during all the years that he had played at the higher levels - NCAA DI and professional - his practices consisted of about 80% offense and 20% defense.
Why is this important to you the youth coach? Because offense wins championships, not defense. We will save that nugget for a later discussion, but what you need to learn from this is that your practice should be spent with your kids doing something with the ball. Dribbling and shooting mostly. If a player can put the ball on the floor - playing any position! - and can shoot it, there will be a place for him on most teams. And you can address that starting right now. Practice offense. Practice dribbling so your guys can create their own shots, and practice shooting off the dribble, and practice catching and shooting. That is what you should do for most of your practice. If not all of it.
Why is this important to you the youth coach? Because offense wins championships, not defense. We will save that nugget for a later discussion, but what you need to learn from this is that your practice should be spent with your kids doing something with the ball. Dribbling and shooting mostly. If a player can put the ball on the floor - playing any position! - and can shoot it, there will be a place for him on most teams. And you can address that starting right now. Practice offense. Practice dribbling so your guys can create their own shots, and practice shooting off the dribble, and practice catching and shooting. That is what you should do for most of your practice. If not all of it.
