Nearly every year coaching I get the same question.. the same one that every coach in the country gets. "What can I (my son/daughter) do to play more?" Immediately, I think of one thing.. "What did you (your child) do this summer?" It seems to me that some kids/parents believe their entitled to playing time, that playing time is a right. I, obviously, do not agree with this because once the season starts all the kids work hard. They all come to practice, so in that case playing time would have to be exactly equal since they are all there, all the time. Of course that never happens because no coaches thing that way. Kids play more because they're taller, bigger, stronger, faster, smarter or fit whatever role better. Parents and sometimes players don't seem to understand this concept.
While I think "What did you do this summer" I don't usually ask that... not right away, at least. I tell them their weaknesses whatever it might be, and then I ask.. "When are you going to improve those skills because if you think during practice you're going to have to work 10x as hard as the other kids to pass them during practices. You have to work outside of practice so either now.. or this summer." For some reason, that deflates kids.. and their parents! Unreal that telling a kid to work hard or to do extra is depressing to them.. especially if they "love the game" as they so often tell me in these situations.
That being said, many kids do put in extra time and effort during the season as well as before and after. These are the kids that realize individuals are made in the summer and champions are made in the season. Yet, other kids don't put that time in during the summer. They sleep in, play video games, travel, eat.. a lot, go to the pool, play only another sport or whatever other excuse they have.. oh.. and kids "shoot around," during the summer.
Now, I'm not saying you can't have fun in the summer; I'm saying the time you put in shows come tryouts and game time. It's directly proportional.. the less you work, the less you improve. The more you work, the more you improve. Schedule in time for ball handling, shooting, driving and finishing as well as foot work and foot speed. And yes, in ball handling, I'd lump in passing with both hands and all different pass types. Even 30 minutes a day, rotating through the skills would help you, but remember the more time equals the more improvement.
Some kids "shoot around" because they don't know how to work hard or how to set up an off-season workout, so they blend "shooting around" with getting better. Don't confuse the two of them. When I was a senior in high school I'd go to the gym almost every day for 2 hours. I have have been better as a freshman because when I went as a senior.. I jogged around. I talked and laughed while shooting; I took long breaks. A rainbow 3 after dribbling off my shin falling out of bounds counted as work for me. I was an idiot, I wasted my time and career that summer. You can't afford to make that same mistake.
So, what should you do if you don't know how to set up an off-season workout? Scan the internet, ask your coach, send me an email (caclough@uwalumni.com), go to camps, rent/buy DVD's. I'd start with your coach and then work from there because he knows your game the best and SHOULD be willing to help design an off-season workout for you. For my 7th graders I spend a lot of time after our season writing up "scouting reports" for the kids. I put numbers in there (PPG and FT% as well as our team PPG and Points Against) because they like that stuff, but I spend a lot of my time discussing their strengths and weaknesses. Then, after all that's said and done I put together workouts for them something like 3-5 that they can rotate through and just do 45 minutes a day. After having done it for 3 years.. I'm going to guess that not 1 of them has been completed 3-5 days over the course of a summer. NOT ONE. Yet, I continue to do it.. because as soon as one kid does it and tells others, it's dominoes.
The final point being: If you have to ask DURING the season what you can do to play more and aren't willing to put in EXTRA time before/after practice.. it's too late for you that year. Get a hold of your coach after your season is over and you've had time to rest and think, then get workouts from him to really improve your game. Don't just go through the motions, work to get better. Workout with a partner, a parent, a stereo and record your workouts. Post them on facebook, twitter whatever you need to do to hold yourself accountable. If you work out even 3-5 days a week for an hour a day and really get after it, you should see improvement. But that's just a baseline.. to be the best, you have to work harder than the rest.
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