Coaches -
We posted a couple new articles for you that address some common issues...
Are your players truly comfortable using their non-dominant hand?
I find that 95% of the players out there are NOT truly comfortable with their weak hand.
If you watch them play, they might be able to take 4-5 dribbles with their non-dominant hand. But rarely go FULL SPEED or make plays to their left (finish or take a shot). Many players I see switch back to their strong hand after a few dribbles.
Are your players truly 100% comfortable with their weak hand? If not, does it make them easy to defend?
When we play other teams, you can quickly see which players are only comfortable with their strong hand. They might seem really good with the ball. They will go really hard to their right and score. But when going to the left, it's only a few attack dribbles and then back to the right. It's basically a bluff.
Those players are really easy to defend!
We all know the left hand dribble is just a bluff. So we never let them attack to the right -- and those players usually struggle as a result.
Why are SO FEW players out there truly comfortable with their non-dominant hand?
Meaning they can dribble and finish equally well with both hands.
It’s because players constantly defer to what is comfortable -- their strong hand!
When they are practicing, they defer to comfort. When they warm up, they defer to comfort. When they play in the backyard, they defer to comfort.
It’s human nature I suppose.
So it takes special drills and attention to develop this skill. You have to force players to use their weak hand more in GAME LIKE situations (not just the traditional block practice drills).
I have found one of the most effective ways to develop this skill is by using drills like Beatem to the Left. It forces players to use their left hand in game like situations.
There are many variations of the drill. You can see it run live here with 6th graders and the diagrams to go along with the video.
7 Simple Ways to Initiate Your Offense
Next, we get a lot of questions about how to get the ball entered against denial defense. And more importantly how to get it done efficiently without wasting a lot of time in practice teaching players how to enter the ball.
So we wrote this new article and included a video...
7 Simple Ways to Initiate Your Offense
As always, we hope this content provides you with new ideas and helps you in some way.
If you have any questions or have any feedback at all, let us know.
Joe Haefner & Jeff Haefner
Breakthrough Basketball
