Blog Post #54, April 24, 2009

Coach Hank Part III: Producing Production-Packed Drills

Category: Practice

Returning from his visit with Coach Wooden, Coach Hank was on a mission to pack as much learning into a basketball practice as possible. In “Coach Hank Part I and II,” we learned he began by “trimming the fat off his practice sessions” by reducing wasted time, particularly in transitions and corrections. That was a good start; the amount of time for teaching and learning was greatly increased. But Hank saw yet another opportunity to increase production: pack each drill with as much learning as possible. 

On the way to work and waiting for a rather long red light, I saw a woman, in the car in front of me, get more done in our two-minute wait, than a beaver when a dam breaks. She put on her makeup, brushed her hair, fluffed up her lashes, gave her baby a bottle, and wrote something down on a pad of paper, all while talking on her Bluetooth. If her CEO knew how productive she was, he would probably have promoted her to VP.

“The Multi-tasking Mama” and Coach Hank have something in common; for the time allotted, they both were pressed to get as much done as possible. Hank revisited his drills, one at a time, with the mission of maximizing production. A blog is no place to present all of Coach Hank’s revised drills, but the one we will present, the well-known “Shell Drill,” will give the reader a good idea of what he did with the rest of them. As an introduction, the purpose of this defensive drill is to teach a team how to stop the penetration of the basketball. Every player, other than the one whose man has the ball, sags away from his man and toward the ball (see figure below). As the ball is passed around the perimeter, each defender readjusts and the defense shifts into a help position. 

Blog Post #54, April 24, 2009

Coach Hank Part III: Producing Production-Packed Drills

Category: Practice

Returning from his visit with Coach Wooden, Coach Hank was on a mission to pack as much learning into a basketball practice as possible. In “Coach Hank Part I and II,” we learned he began by “trimming the fat off his practice sessions” by reducing wasted time, particularly in transitions and corrections. That was a good start; the amount of time for teaching and learning was greatly increased. But Hank saw yet another opportunity to increase production: pack each drill with as much learning as possible. 

On the way to work and waiting for a rather long red light, I saw a woman, in the car in front of me, get more done in our two-minute wait, than a beaver when a dam breaks. She put on her makeup, brushed her hair, fluffed up her lashes, gave her baby a bottle, and wrote something down on a pad of paper, all while talking on her Bluetooth. If her CEO knew how productive she was, he would probably have promoted her to VP.

“The Multi-tasking Mama” and Coach Hank have something in common; for the time allotted, they both were pressed to get as much done as possible. Hank revisited his drills, one at a time, with the mission of maximizing production. A blog is no place to present all of Coach Hank’s revised drills, but the one we will present, the well-known “Shell Drill,” will give the reader a good idea of what he did with the rest of them. As an introduction, the purpose of this defensive drill is to teach a team how to stop the penetration of the basketball. Every player, other than the one whose man has the ball, sags away from his man and toward the ball (see figure below). As the ball is passed around the perimeter, each defender readjusts and the defense shifts into a help position. 

    Reinventing the Shell Drill
In its elementary form, the Shell Drill works like this: When the ball is passed to another player, all players adjust to positions that will allow them to cut off the dribbler, should he attempt to go toward the basket. Books and clinics will present extensions such as allowing basket cuts.  But Hank was convinced he could get a lot more out of the drill than what he saw in books and clinics. He reinvented the drill and took it to another level. Here are two examples.

1. 4-on-4 Roll Out: Instead of the defensive players starting in defensive position, the drill begins with them lining up along the baseline. When the coach rolls the ball to an offensive player, the defenders sprint into position. This is more game-like as it adds the defensive element of “closing out” on a perimeter player as well as the shifting of a defense—more production.

2. Three, Guarding Four, Series: Taking one defender away creates urgency, makes defenders work harder, and develops teamwork—more production. No skip-passing, please.

Even More Shell Drill “Bang” for the Shell Drill “Buck”
To teach defensive fundamentals, during pre-practice, individuals and small-groups were taught the basics of closing out, help and recover, and taking charges. During that segment, the team was also introduced to the drills that were coming up in practice by a “walk through” that included explanation and demonstration. This saved time having to explain the drill during practice.

During the season, Coach Hank taught Shell Drill in progression, transitioning from simple to more complex. Here are some examples of increased complexity. As you examine each one, keep in mind, the offense was improving as well as the defense, due to the fact score was being kept and the clock was on. This, in itself, increased productivity.
1. 4-on-4, Dribble-Drive: The offensive players were told, “If you can drive the ball into the key, you can score. But, no three-point shooting.” Defenders worked together to stop penetration and, if the ball got into the middle, take the charge and rebound.  

2. 4-on-4, Add Three-Point Shot: The three-point shot was added to stretch out the defense. Now, defenders had to stop the dribble and the outside shot.

3. 4-on-4, Defensive Rebounding and Outlet Pass: When a defensive rebound was obtained, the guards immediately got open, the outlet pass was made, and all players sprinted to beyond the three-point line.

4. 4-on-5, Open Post Player: To provide team defensive practice against a team with a good big man, Coach Hank put in a post player that was not directly guarded. That player was allowed to be at the low, mid, or high-post area, but not directly under the basket. However, that post player was allowed to offensive rebound. Can you imagine how hard that player was boxed out when the shot went up?

5. 4-on-5, Pick and Roll: Today, the Pick and Roll is part of almost every offense, at every level. One key to neutralizing this play is for the players not directly involved in the play to provide help. Putting the defense at a disadvantage makes the defense think faster, work harder, and depend more on each other.

Conclusion
Unfortunately, there is little video tape available of UCLA practices, but, what we know from Coach Wooden’s players is, they were highly productive. His assistant coaches tell us, season-to-season, he never stopped tinkering with the drills. After one season, Coach Hank’s practices took on a whole new look. In time, one would have been hard-pressed to find another person able to get that much done in that short a period of time. That is, of course, if you don’t count the “The Multi-tasking Mama.”