Progression In Teaching Skills

I believe there should be a progression to teaching any skill including Post moves/footwork. I think it is detrimental to learning if you introduce competition in the drill or the defense too early. The players must be able to do the footwork automatically. They need to be able to go one on none, and get out of their comfort zone in that format, before they move to the next steps of learning. If you add competition too early the players will cheat on the footwork to win the drill. If you add defense into the drill too early then they will try to score at any cost and not make the correct read and therefore not use the correct move or footwork. BUT if you don't add competition once they have the footwork, they are not challenged, they stop working outside their comfort zone and they will get bored. If you don't add in defense at some point, they won't be able to recognize what the defense is giving them, and will not use the correct move. Adding in the defense can be staged. It could be a coach with a pad, over playing high so whatever you teaching when going baseline they can read it, understand how to play against some contact, and do the correct move. Or you could later have them face a series of different defensive stances. A failure to add in defense will not prepare them for the amount of contact and the ability to make the correct read. I had a player who mastered the up and under in the post one on none. But in games he would do it regardless of what the defense was doing, he would shake a defender, not knowing he had done so and come back to the defender with his under move. Adding defense into the drills and competition helped this player as it will help all players

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