Last One Holding The Chalk...Usually Wins!

(October 2004)

Assortment of plays, drills and ideas to help your program improve.

This month I will begin a three part series on developing your players individually and in small workout groups. I believe as a coach you must maximize each minute of practice and one of the ways you can accomplish this is to develop a solid set of "pre-practice" drills for your players to execute once they step on the practice floor. Gone are the days of "just shooting around, talking to their teammates, having a good 'ole time waiting for the coach to arrive." I hope you can use some of these drills as part of your pre-practice routine or included in your off-season individual or small group workout plans. These are the drills I will be using on a daily basis as I prepare my team for the season.

Practice Idea "Hour of Power"

Here is an idea I would like you to consider. I have participated in and observed hundreds and hundreds of basketball practices in my 20+ years in the basketball profession. One glaring observation is that kids will undoubtedly "pace" themselves (mentally and physically) throughout the course of a long practice (by long I mean up to 2 hours). I have also observed that during the majority of this "pace" time, the players are not getting the most out of practice, and therefore, their learning curve drops drastically, often learning to practice at a speed or mental alertness that is usually not acceptable or certainly not at "game speed" or "game conditions".

Here is what I propose and have used successfully in the past. I call it my "hour of power". I do not suggest you use this early on in the season. Unfortunately, we need every minute of this early practice season to get in our offensive and defensive techniques and philosophy. I am suggesting you implement this idea somewhere near the middle of the season until the end of the season. Perhaps you may want to pick a few days of the week for your "hour of power" instead of each practice, of course, it is your decision.

In the "hour of power" practice, I put 60 minutes on the clock to start practice. This 60 minutes starts AFTER we have concluded our "pre-practice" drills and stretching. Once practice starts the 60 minute clock starts to countdown. If your clock cannot count down from 60 minutes, you can make the necessary adjustments by dividing in two halves. In any event, the players MUST have a visual of how much time is left in practice.

As you work through your practice schedule for the day, your players have been prepped about the "hour of power". It is a simple message, "you (the players) will determine whether or not we are out of here in 60 minutes". As the coach, whenever you feel your players are letting down mentally or physically, simply turn to your manager and have him add 5 minutes to the clock. No need to yell or get upset, they have just disciplined themselves....you are not the bad guy. They know the rules. I believe this philosophy will create an atmosphere where:

1) Your players have ownership in their attitude, effort and mental concentration and ultimately the length of practice.

2) Less is more. You will find you will get more from that 60+ minutes than any 2 hour practice. Your intensity level will rise and your execution will undoubtedly increase due to improved mental alertness. Quality instead of quantity. I think as coaches we would all agree that is most important. Remember what Coach Wooden would always say, "Don't confuse activity with achievement."

For this philosophy to be even more successful, you as a coach need to prepare a practice plan that is well thought out and concise, working on areas you deem to be important. You must move quickly from drill to drill with little "lag" time.

Chalk Talk Pre-Practice Drills - Part 1 (click drills below)

First of a Three Part Series

Excerpts from Phil Jackson's new book.

In the first six weeks after the Colorado story broke, I did not speak to Kobe [Bryant]. I called for a third and final time from Montana, but again the machine answered. He never returned my calls. Imagining the anxieties in his new life, I was not offended. Kobe will confide only with the people he trusts, and I certainly have never been a card-carrying member of that group. Mitch [Kupchak] and I wondered whether Kobe, as some people have suggested, might elect to sit out the entire season. We also talked about perhaps offering him a leave of absence. No professional athlete, I believe, has ever tried to perform at the top level of his sport for any extended length of time while fighting to keep his freedom. We didn't wonder for too long: we recently received word from Kobe's people that he intended to treat the upcoming season like any other. He must be in denial. This season, if nothing else, cannot possibly be like any other.

Finally, earlier this week, Kobe came into my office at our training facility in El Segundo. He looked weak and gaunt, down to maybe a little more than two hundred pounds, ten or fifteen less than his standard playing weight. Most NBA players participate in pick-up games during the off-season and work out daily to maintain the conditioning they'll need to compete in top form. Many use the time to develop another move or facet of their game, something, anything, to provide them with an edge over their opponents. Kobe has been playing basketball since he was three years old. He loves the game more than anything else. To realize that he hadn't been doing much physically was quite a shock. "We really want you to survive this thing," I told him. He smiled. "Are you getting any help?" I asked. "Do you have anybody to talk to?" "No." "Kobe, you've got to have someone to talk to." "We have a minister." "That's a start." We didn't rehash our old conflicts. We were here to talk about this year, this team, and the necessary adjustments to make this coming season successful. We didn't go over his case. We discussed how he was recuperating from the injuries to his knee and shoulder. The conversation was fairly harmless. Until out of nowhere it became anything but harmless. "I'm not going to take any s--- from Shaq[uille O'Neal] this year," Kobe blurted out. "If he starts saying things in the press, I'll fire back. I'm not afraid to go up against him. I've had it." I tried to calm him down as quickly as possible. "Kobe, we'll watch what's being said," I assured him. "We'll make allowances this year so you'll be able to do what you have to do and then come back to the team. Don't worry. We're hoping for the best." I looked him right in the eye and gave him a hug. No matter what had gone on between us in the past, he is a member of the Laker family, and families stick together in difficult times.

I was sure that at least for the moment, the anger he flashed toward Shaquille was neutralized. After we wrapped up, Kobe headed straight to see Mitch, who later informed me that nothing had been neutralized. "Shaq didn't call me this summer," Kobe told Mitch. "Kobe, I gave you a message from him," Mitch responded. "He invited you to Orlando to get away from everything." "Shaq didn't have to leave a message through you," he said. "He knew how to reach me." The exchange with Mitch revealed the underlying contradiction in Kobe's attitude toward Shaquille, a symbol, in fact, of a much broader dichotomy in his psyche. On the one hand, he insists that he doesn't "give a shit what the big guy does," but on the other, he shows he cares a great deal about what the big guy does.