The Duke Jerk Back Dribble Move - Create Separation And Explode By The Defense

• Positive camp feedback from a camper all the way from the United Kingdom.
• Great rebounding tips for your team from a subscriber.
• Gun shooting drills from Don Kelbick.

We were on vacation from the UK and had the opportunity to put our 15 yr old son (Myles) on this camp as he plays basketball in the UK.

This camp was superb, the setup, structure and implementation of the teaching allowed all the pupils to learn new skills easily by a dedicated team. A big thank you to Prileu and the team for a superb two day camp, Myles will return to the UK a more confident player with the many skills he has learnt on this camp.

We will no doubt put Myles into another camp should the opportunity arise, 5500 miles is a long journey but worth it. Thanks again.

Great stuff, I've already bookmarked this post for next year.

Just for reference, I'll share a coaching technique I happened to come upon this year that seems worth sharing.

I coached a 3rd/4th team that got beat 38-1 in our first scrimmage, then won every game after that, including beating the team who beat us in the scrimmage (25-24) later in the season.

What we learned from the scrimmage was that we had a bunch of kids who had good skills and good athleticism, but who just weren't aggressive going after the ball. So we did a lot of the usual drills to help promote aggressiveness, especially rebounding from a 2-on-2 shell and loose ball transition to 1-on-1. But the best thing we did was that during pre-practice warmups, pair shooting drills, layup drills, ANY drill where one of the players took a shot, our rule was the team couldn't let the ball hit the floor after the shot. If it bounced once, you mostly got encouraged by the coach to try harder and get there quicker the next time. If it bounced more than once, the people in rebounding position did 3 to 5 pushups. If we had more than one double-bouncers in any practice segment, the whole team ran.

I was really happy with how quickly the kids learned to focus on the shooter and get themselves into position for rebounds and then go hard after the ball. But I was amazed at how well it translated to the games. Then I thought back on it and realized that each of our 9 kids was probably getting >50 reps on it every practice.

Verbal cues helped also. We had them yell "Shot!" when the player they were guarding shot the ball. I don't know if that made a huge difference during the possession, but it made sideline reminders effective when the kids started to lose focus. ("Guys! What are we supposed to do when we hear 'Shot?!'")

I am curious about Don's opinion of shooting guns. You can get a good volume of shots in a short period of time but you are receiving passes from the same spot below the basket every time. Not very game realistic. I've used it in team drills with one line receiving the gun pass and then passing it to a shooter. Do you ever use guns? If so, what do you drill with it?

There was a time where I really didn't like them, but now I do.

While it is true that anything that gets players in the gym is a good thing, I did not like them because of my philosophy of practicing game situations. Coaches like to say "Practice at game speed. Practice game shots!" But I don't know any situation where the ball gets passed from under the net to a player on the perimeter who has done nothing to create his shot other than wait for the ball.

That is what happens when most players use a shooting machine, with or without coaches. They set the machine under the rim, put the net up to get rebounds, stand outside and wait for the ball to come back out.

When I now work out with a shooting machine, the machine passes the ball back to me, the player makes whatever game type action to get his shot and I pass him the ball.

As I progressed, I realized that putting it under the basket was the worst place to put it. I now move it out to the perimeter, have players make game moves (V cut, L cuts, and fast break sprints) and have the machine make the pass.

It is especially effective in the post, where you can put it out on the wing, have it feed the post, make a post move and then throw the ball back into the net so it can pass another ball.

I used to think it was cumbersome (and it is) so I didn't like the older Dr. Dish, but now I do. It is fully programmable so you can control where, how often, how hard, the passes come. You can control the type of pass (chest, bounce, lob, etc.), time between passes, and the number of reps for a drill. It will rotate to different spots and it gives a 2 sec warning before the pass, you know when to act. With the older ones, the rebounding net and the passing machine were separate pieces. So, I set the net to collect rebounds with a ball cart underneath it to collect the balls. I load the passing machine with the ball feeder (also a separate piece in the old machines) with 10-14 balls and move it on the perimeter and have it pass so we can make real game type movements for shots. When the ball feeder is empty, we roll the ball cart out to the passing machine, load it up again, replace the cart and go back to work. If I have multiple players, or a team, I have someone stand under the backboard and have him throw it back to feed the machine, as the ball comes through the net. He no longer has to chase down rebounds because they are fed to him.

The new Dr. Dish, nor the Gun have that feature so someone has to chase down the rebounds. But, I find that preferable than having players pass the ball. The new Dr. Dish has a reversible net so you can turn it around to make it easier to pass it into the net, such as in post work, the post player can pitch out back to the machine.

If you want specific drills, let me know.