Posts Tagged ‘basketball skill development’

Innovative 2 Ball Passing Drills

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

Here is this month’s video with 21 2 ball passing drills.  I got the Chicago Bulls Passing series from Coach Forrest Larson and Eddie Andrist attending camp in high school.  They were a huge hit when I did them at Five-Star!  The Nash Series, John Willkom put together a couple summers ago when he was working camps for us and the Nike Skills Academy drills we did at the Girls Skills Academies last spring with Ganon Baker.  Our players always love them at camp and workouts and I know yours will too!

Click here to download the video: 2 Ball Passing

Click here to download the workout guide:  2 Ball Passing

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Off-Season Skills Training Part II, by Mike Lee

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Below is a compilation of 3 previous blogs that are relevant to off-season training.  If you haven’t read Part I of off-season skills training, please check it out here.  In order to know where you are going you need to figure out where you are at right now.  Watch some game film and do an honest evaluation of yourself or ask your coach to do one of you.  This will help you build your off-season skills workouts.

The Notebook

When you are working out it is crucial that you are organized before you get to the gym.  It’s not about how much time you put in the gym, it’s what you put into the time. What I mean by organization is this.  Get a notebook and write down your workouts before you get to the gym.  All great coaches make practice plans so why wouldn’t you do it with your individual workouts?

1.  This is a way to making a commitment to what is in writing, almost like a contract with yourself.

2.  You can use your notebook as a reference point to see what you have been working on.  This will give you the ability to vary your workouts and drills so that you are staying motivated.

3. You can look back on your notebook to see how much work you have been putting in.  Maybe you are in a shooting slump, but you can look back to your notebook and see that you have gotten up 10,000 shots in the last month.  That should give you confidence to keep shooting the basketball.

4.  Motivational Quotes:  Somewhere in your notebook mix in some motivational quotes.  It can be as simple as “Dream” or “I am passionate, I have a purpose, and I am unstoppable”.  Use something that empowers yourself.  Maybe you want to have a theme or quote for each week.  Be creative and make your notebook unique!

Example:

10 Minutes:  2 Ball Stationary or Tennis Ball

10 Minutes:  1 Ball Moving

10 Minutes:  Half Court Drives:  Dribble Attack Moves

10 Minutes:  Shooting off the Dribble

40 Minutes:  Shooting off the Catch

Challenge Yourself! But How?

As a trainer I am always looking for ways to challenge players during workouts to get them to understand that there is always another level that you can take your game to.  I meet a lot of players that are satisfied with where they are at because they don’t have someone pushing them, giving them goals to strive for or know what type of goals they should be setting for themselves.

So how do you get to that next level besides just “going hard”?  Like Alan Stein says, “Train Hard.  Train Smart!”.  One part of training that I see players get bored with easily is their ball handling.  Here is a great way to challenge yourself.  Let’s say you are working on the stationary 2 ball drill “2 Dribble Cross”.  In this drill you are taking 2 pound dribbles and then crossing one ball tight to your body and one ball out in front.  Have your partner or coach time you and see how many crossovers you can get in 30 seconds.  Let’s say you get 20.  This is now your record.  Perform this drill 2 times a week during your ball handling drills and try to beat your record each time.  If you practice this consistently you should see your record go up about every week.  If your record is going up I bet your crossover is getting better too!

You can do this with many different drills, especially your shooting workouts:

Goals for Shooting Workouts

  1. Certain # of Total Shots
  2. # of total makes
  3. # of total makes in a time period:  ie-10 makes in 1 minute
  4. Set a Record-Beat the Record
    1. Perform the drill 1 time and set a record of makes.  Let’s say the player makes 10.  They now repeat the drill and have to tie or beat 10.  If they don’t tie or beat their record they either have to repeat drill or do pushups, abs, etc.

5.  # of Makes before you miss 2 shots in a row.  10 Makes before you miss 2 in a row

1 on 1…Detrimental or Productive.  YOU CHOOSE!

The summer is a GREAT time to work on your 1 on 1 game, however, be careful how you play the games.  Make them realistic.  99% of the time I see players going 1 on 1 they are playing the game “incorrect”.

Incorrect:  Check the ball up at the top of the key, make a double between the legs, behind the back, double cross, repeat all that and then back your defender down into the paint, etc, etc…THAT IS NOT REALISTIC

Correct:  Check the ball up at the top of the key and you have 4 seconds and 3 dribbles to get a shot off.  You need to be able to quickly make correct and consistent reads to attack the defense.

Click here for a drill I picked up from Coach Frank Martin at Kansas State.  We are actually filming a 1 on 1 Drill DVD this weekend, which should be released in the Spring of 2010.

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Off Season Skills Training-Part I: Where do You Stand? by Mike Lee

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

This series is a combination of posts that I have used in the past, but they are time relevant with the season ending for most programs. Even though they have been posted before they are updated with new thoughts and quotes.

The first part deals with year-end evaluations and how to handle them.  Later in the week I’ll talk about how to build your own workouts and address areas from your evaluation.

With the end of the season right around the corner for many high school teams I thought I should touch on the subject of player evaluations.  When I was coaching we used to do them at the beginning and end of each season with individual player meetings throughout the year.  If your coach doesn’t provide you with an evaluation, ask him or her for one.*

When I played one thing I always looked forward to was being evaluated at the end of the season or at a camp.  I think the reason why can be summed up in two sentences I picked up from a book, Winning, by Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE – I haven’t asked him why yet, but for some reason Alan was not too thrilled about this book J – I thought it was great!

“Maybe some information is hard to swallow at first and yes, “bad” news often hurts, but soon enough, like all knowledge-it’s power-in fact, it’s liberating.  When you know where you stand you can control your own destiny, and what is more fair than that?”

So the question is, “What are you going to do now?”  Are you going to sit around and feel sorry for yourself because the coach said you needed to work on your jumper or get in the weight room? Or are you going to form your organized plan of attack and get to work?

In order for you reach your goals you need to define your VISION.  You need learn and in order to learn you need to seek wisdom of those who came before you.  Search for the truth.  Great players want the TRUTH.  Kobe wants the truth – Kevin Garnett wants the truth.  Michael Jordan wanted the truth.

Without the truth you really don’t know where you stand or where you can improve.  Bill Parcells said the first thing you need to do in order to start winning is to figure out why you are losing.  Figure out what is wrong with your game in order to improve it.

*click here to view a sample evaluation form that I have used in the past.  Be sure that your players know what you are basing their evaluation on.  We used a scale of 1-5.  “1” being a low skill level and “5” being close to, or at the level of, the best in country for their age level.  That’s what our kids strived for so that’s what we compared them to.

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Skill Development is Skill Specific, by Mike Lee

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

I spent last Wednesday working out a player in Eau Claire, WI.  We worked on freeze dribbles into pull-ups, creating space off the dribble, a bounce off move series, and separating into pull-ups. Normally this is a description of a workout I would do with a high level high school player who is trying to play in college or has even received scholarship offers.

She is in 5th grade.  She is a girl.  And she has PASSION.  I can see love in her eyes.

My point is this. Skill Development is not gender specific or even age specific; It’s SKILL specific. What a player works on should be determined by how skilled they are, not how old or whether or not they are a boy or a girl.  I have seen several middle school/high school girls that can handle the basketball better than men’s college basketball players, which is not any exaggeration at all!

I really wish I would have had someone film the workout so you can see what can be done with love, passion and a purpose.  It’s unbelievable what some people could accomplish if they would just believe and work.

If you haven’t seen this already, check out the video of Lexi Hanley getting 46 2 Ball Skips in 30 Seconds.  I got 63 and I hope she beats me some day.

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The founder of Mike Lee Basketball Services (formerly Playmakers Basketball), Mike is known throughout the country for individual player skill development.  He has been a speaker at several events and has also recently authored several instructional workout DVDs, which will be released over the next year.  Titles out right now include, 25 Killer Scoring Moves, Secrets of Unstoppable Guard Play and Secrets of Unstoppable Shooting.  Since 2006 Mike Lee Basketball has trained over 3,600 boys and girls through their skill development programs. Dozens of  players that Mike has worked with have gone on to play collegiate basketball, some at the NCAA DI level.  In addition to his own basketball services, Mike is a Nike Girls Skills Trainer and a member of the Nike sponsored, Ganon Baker Basketball.

From 2001-2006, Mike participated as a player and assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. During the fall of 2006 he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Coach K and Duke University Leadership Conference in Durham, NC.  In December of 2006 he graduated from the University of Wiconsin-Stout with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a self-planned concentration in Basketball Entrepreneurship.

mike@mikeleebasketball.com

Check Out More Videos, Add me as a friend on Facebook or Get Updates on Twitter!

www.mikeleebasketball.com

http://www.youtube.com/mikeleebasketball

http://www.facebook.com/mikeleebasketball

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All Access Preview: Skills Training Camps

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Here is a preview of what will be released in our Elite Skills Membership section.  We’ll provide an insider view of what we do at our camps to show you what the experience is like…Not a member yet?! Click here!

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Elite Skills Membership Video

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Here is the preview of the video included in this months Elite Skills Membership.  Bonus video coming soon!

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Elite Skills Membership Program

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Over the past year I have started to receive emails from players and coaches across the world asking for advice on skill development and other basketball related questions.  With our blog we have been able to address a lot of these questions through our free videos, blog posts and our guest, Alan Stein, however I wanted to be able to provide more.

Individual instruction has always been a passion of mine. As a player I was always looking for ways to get better and nothing fulfilled me more on the floor than learning a new concept or skill.  I don’t think I ever enjoyed any part of the game more, except for when I was younger and was engulfed by the kicks, gear, SLAM, the Fab Five and hip-hop dynamic of the game.

Even though I was always looking for ways to improve my skills I don’t think I truly understood how to work on my game until after my senior year in high school.  I didn’t understand how to organize workouts and efficiently work on my game.  This is the reason for our Elite Skills Membership Program.  I hope it not only influences you to work on your game, but shows you how to build your own individual workouts by recognizing your weaknesses and being able to effectively address them in your skills sessions.

With that being said, some drills have been tweaked, but it is mainly a collaboration of drills and teaching points I have picked up over the past 16 years of playing and teaching.  In addition to skill development we’ll be releasing thoughts on mental toughness, motivation, leadership and other mental aspects that are proven skills for success in life and basketball.  If you have the commitment to apply these life skills our Elite Skills Membership Program will assist you in achieving your basketball dreams.

For Coaches: Developing your players is essential to reach your potential as a team.  The more skilled your players are the easier it is going to be to get them to run your offense.  The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter offense you run if your players can’t handle the basketball, pass under pressure, and make plays you won’t be successful.

For Parents: If you are looking for someone to train your kids, but can’t afford one, are looking for new drills or don’t have any qualified trainers in your area this is a solution for you. Our Elite Skills Membership can provide you with all the resources they need to improve their game and get to the next level.  Whether that’s making the freshman team or learning what it takes to play in college, we have you covered.  GUARANTEED!

For Players: Want to know how the elite players in the game train?  We’ll show you how NBA players workout, innovative drills to keep your workouts fresh, and be there to provide advice when you have questions about your skills training.

Free Consultation: We will provide free consultation on skill development training for all of our Elite Skills Members.  Having a problem understanding a certain drill or move?  No problem.  We’ll make sure you are on the right track to improving your game.

Click here to subscribe!

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The founder of Mike Lee Basketball Services (formerly Playmakers Basketball), Mike is known throughout the country for individual player skill development.  He has been a speaker at several events and has also recently authored several instructional workout DVDs, which will be released over the next year.  Titles out right now include, 25 Killer Scoring Moves, Secrets of Unstoppable Guard Play and Secrets of Unstoppable Shooting.  Since 2006 Mike Lee Basketball has trained over 3,600 boys and girls through their skill development programs. Dozens of  players that Mike has worked with have gone on to play collegiate basketball, some at the NCAA DI level.  In addition to his own basketball services, Mike is a Nike Girls Skills Trainer and a member of the Nike sponsored, Ganon Baker Basketball.

From 2001-2006, Mike participated as a player and assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. During the fall of 2006 he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Coach K and Duke University Leadership Conference in Durham, NC.  In December of 2006 he graduated from the University of Wiconsin-Stout with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a self-planned concentration in Basketball Entrepreneurship.

mike@mikeleebasketball.com

Check Out More Videos, Add me as a friend on Facebook or Get Updates on Twitter!

www.mikeleebasketball.com

http://www.youtube.com/mikeleebasketball

http://www.facebook.com/mikeleebasketball

http://www.twitter.com/mikeleehoops

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Billy D and the Three, by Luke Meier

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Last year I got a chance to hear University of Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan speak at a clinic in Chicago. The focus of his talk was using the 3 point shot.  Here are some of the key points from his talk.

  • Each game Florida has the goal of making more 3’s than their opponent
  • They want to get their 3 point shoots three different ways, which Coach Donovan terms “The 3 Concepts of the 3”
    • In transition
    • Post feeds
    • Dribble penetration and kick
  • Passers should make passes to the shooters inside shoulder, leading them into the shoot
    • Have players pass to shooters in drills to develop timing and skill
  • Shooters should get 1 to 1½ ft behind the 3 point line and step into their shots

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Weaknesses Part II: Reading Screens, by Luke Meier

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

First off, let me start by saying that I’m not trying to rip coaches or tell them how to do their jobs, I’m trying to address this weakness and give my ideas on why it is so common.

A lot of players, especially younger ones, struggle to set up and read screens properly.  I believe that these struggles are caused mainly by a lack of knowledge.  This summer I worked out a high school freshman who had never been taught a single way to come off a screen.  Unfortunately this is very common.  As a result of this lack of knowledge, players are impatient with their cuts.  They simply make cuts to move instead of cutting with a purpose.  Understanding how and why to make specific cuts is crucial to reading screens correctly.

Set up your screen

Before you can read the screen you need to set it up.  Take your defender away from the screen before coming off of it.  Change speeds when you make your movements and keep the defender guessing.  Create contact with the defense: Initiate to separate. Remember to be patient. It is better to be late than early off a screen.  The screener must be set before you can their screen.  When you get to the screen make sure your inside shoulder is tight to the screeners hip.  Don’t leave any room for the defense to sneak through without being hit by the screen.

Reading the screen

Your three most basic reads off screens are the curl, pop, and flare.  The following section will break down these three reads and give an example of a situation where the read should be used.  For the purpose of this blog, we will assume all these reads are being made off a down screen.

  • Curl – Use a curl cut when you are coming off a screen and your defender is “on your numbers”, meaning they are trailing right behind you as you come to the screen.  Rather than pop out to receive a pass, wrap (curl) around the screen.  This will allow you to create space between you and your defender, giving you the opportunity to score or get into the defense and create for a teammate.
  • Pop – Use the pop cut if your defender runs directly into the screen.  Execute a pop cut by coming straight off the screen to the point of attack.  If you curl or flare in this situation the defender has a much easier recovery.
  • Flare – Use a flare cut when your defender tries to get over the top of the down screen.  When you see the defender going over the top, cut “flare” away from the defense.  Make sure to get at least one foot above the screen before you flare out.  If you flare to early, the defender will be able to slide under the screen and make a recovery.

Keep drilling these situations until the reads become second nature and you make them without thinking.  If you have trouble visualizing these situations, watch NBA and College players who are known for moving without the basketball.  Richard Hamilton and Ray Allen are two that immediately come to mind.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help.

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