Getting on the floor – toughness factor

Often coaches coach the way they were coached. They stick to ideas that they learned not thinking the game may have changed since they were playing. It’s important that you look at situations with fresh eyes. How many coaches still run passing drills where partners facing each other are sliding and chest passing to their partner from one end of the court to the other end? When does this happen in the fast pace style of today’s game? The drill is just not relevant. Just like the importance of re-examining your drills to see if they are relevant it’s important to adjust your philosophies to match the rules of the game today.

We all know that possession is more important than position, but how does this affect your philosophy when it comes to alternation of the possession arrow. Does it make sense to have your players diving all over the floor in harms way just to give the ball up to the other team, because a jump ball was called? Are you as a coach aware of the possession arrow in loose ball situations? Should you be? Piling up on the floor is one of those situations that Referees choose to let any kind of contact go. You see players diving on each other, and the only time the Refs call a foul is when they are becoming untangled and out of frustration one of the players gives the other a shove. Referees are very willing to call ticky-tack calls...and coaches you know what I mean, but diving on a player during a loose ball…. Acceptable? It’s the same as a good strong screen when a player is unaware and gets clocked. No foul? Was there not a major collision?

Absolutely you should teach your players how to get on the floor safely in order to grab a loose ball. You should teach it, and then incorporate this into some of your drills. If you are not teaching these techniques, consider yourself negligent.

If two players are fighting for a loose ball and a jump-ball is called and it is determined by the alternating possession arrow, do you truly think the player that didn’t gain that possession now feels inferior? Do you think the arrow determined which player is tougher, and now the looser of the alternating arrow game will unravel? I think not.

Have you considered adjusting what your players do depending on the possession arrow? Would you consider having your player straddle the player in a crouched position and just like in a dead ball situation the rest of your players are in full denial trying to get a 5 second call or a travel as the player on the floor struggles to give the ball up?




Miscellaneous things you should teach your players
1. How to get on the floor safely
2. How to take a charge
3. How and when to save a ball going out of bounds.
4. How and when it’s good to foul

For more detail on items 1 through 4 feel free to contact me.

Coach Paul paul.patrick@sympatico.ca