Don,

I own your A&C, Zone Offense AND your Motion Offense videos and I'm a big fan-- you've changed how I coach. I've also played around with the flex offense and was thinking about picking up that one too, but I coach middle school kids and definitely can't run Flex, zone and motion. If you had 7th/8th grade girls of average skill, would you run Motion, Flex, or zone? I need to focus on one and then build out from there. We face a lot of zone but certainly not all zone.

Thanks for your help,
todd

Todd

Before I answer directly, you have to understand a little bit about me. I believe is making better players, not better plays. I also believe that, if you teach a player a play he can run that play, teach him how to play, he can run any play.

I believe that the starting and ending point for every player is a motion offense. Even beginners, even unskilled, boys, girls, everyone. It might take a little longer, but in the big picture, it is better for them. Teach them concepts and situations. They will make a lot of mistakes yo have to live with a lot. But, isn't that true of structured and set offenses as well?

It is easier, and more productive, to transition from a motion to something more structured, if you wish to somewhere down the line, than it is to go the other way.

If you need help, let me know.

Thanks, Don-- I appreciate your answer and definitely know you are all about learning TO play as opposed to learning plays. I share this value and will teach an open offense. To that end I am wondering about how you fuse the tiny pieces together on a day-to-day basis. That is, if we look at motion as the core, and I've chosen a handful of cuts and picks to implement, what is the best way to structure the breakdown of these motions into their isolated parts? For example, in a given day I could:

1. Work on all the cuts and picks (ie the "motions") but keep the same pivots the same, perhaps working on the front-pivot/step-through as the finish on different parts of the floor following a variety of selected cuts.

OR

2. Vary the pivots/finishes (and even dribble-moves) within a particular motion, say the high post flash?

To me those are two different experiences for the player. Curious how you sort this kind of thing out.

Thanks again for personally getting back to me. That means a lot.

Todd

Your pivots and cuts are apples and oranges.

The pivots are skill work. You work them to get better at them so when you create actions, they are more efficient and effective. In the big picture, they are both individual and situational. One piece of footwork might be more effective for one player in a given situation than another. It might vary from player to player. The main goal is that what they do is effective as opposed to just walking around. After your players are better at their footwork, you may find the cuts have become more effective, quicker and crisper. ll it takes is one or two successes for them to really explore.

The cuts and screens are completely different than the footwork. You will be able to see how the footwork can make your cuts off screens and actions after screens have become more effective and efficient. I usually, especially early in the season, pick a situation, for example players on the top and both wings or player on the top, wing and post, and let them explore all the things that particular alignment and develop into. Every thing I do that day, will come from that alignment. I will challenge them to see how far they can take it and point out things (such as other alignments) that develop from their movement. the emphasis is on spacing, court balance and not stopping, no matter what happens. Bad cuts can develop into great actions. Latr in the season I will then go to 4 man alignments.

Does that help.

That helps a lot, Don. I am inclined to try to sync up the footwork with the motions so that we are practicing it all at the same time but I'm hearing you say that's not necessarily the way to go. In other words I might designate a particular pivot coming out of a particular cut, or a particular dribble change or particular finish, while we are working on a a cut or motion. So it might be 3v0 pick-away and curl cut, and I might say "finish with a front-pivot/step-through". Are you saying that's too much to work on at one time?

Instead, I think you would advise to first work footwork in a general sort of way (say, focusing on one pivot from a variety of spots on the floor) and then move on to the motions as a separate part of practice. Correct?

Thanks again, Don!

I think you are being way to complex and way too technical for me.

I teach the footwork as a matter of course. After that, everything is situational. I take pieces of whatever offensive situations I want to create and work those situations. There is optimal footwork to use in each situation, such as front pivots for curls, but I teach the situation and then connect it to the footwork, but the focus of the work is to recognize the situation and act accordingly