"Just Me"

The below is a poem that I've been sharing for at least 10 years with all of my youth basketball players. It is filled with really great basketball wisdom

by Tom Krause

"From the time I was little, I knew I was great
'cause the people would tell me, "You'll make it - just wait."
But they never did tell me how great I would be
If I ever played someone who was greater than me.

When I'm in the back yard, I'm king with the ball
To swish all those baskets is no sweat at all.
But all of a sudden there's a defender in my face
Who doesn't seem to realize that I'm king of this place.

So the pressure gets to me; I rush with the ball.
My passes to teammates could go through the wall.
My jumpers not falling, my dribbles not sure.
My hand is not steady; my eye is not pure.

The fault is my teammates - they don't understand.
The fault is my coaches - what a terrible plan.
The fault is the call by the blind referee.
But the fault is not mine; I'm the greatest, you see.

Then finally it hit me when I started to see
That the face in the mirror looked exactly like me.
It wasn't my teammates who were dropping the ball,
and it wasn't my coach shooting bricks at the wall.

That face in the mirror that was always so great
Had some room for improvement instead of just hate.
So I stopped blaming others and I started to grow.
My play got much better and it started to show.

And all of my teammates didn't seem quite so bad.
I learned to depend on the good friends I had.
Now I like myself better since I started to see
That I was lousy being great - I'm much better being me."

Never compete to be better than everyone else – compete to be better than yourself. ~Tilden

"High" Drills

I've developed a list of, what I call, "High Drills". These drills are primarily for Low Post players.

These drills stress the importance of a BIG man keeping the ball up high when around the basket.

Far too many times we see BIG guys get a rebound and bring the ball down only to allow smaller guards to strip them of the ball. The following are a coaches dream drill-set. Let me know what you think and what other drills I can add to the list.

"High" Drills

For Power Players (Forwardss and Centers)

Warm-ups: (Proper footwork and balance should coincide with ball control)

1. High Pounds (50)

2. Toss and Pound (Alternate Hands) (50)

3. Under-the-Chin Pivots (Alternate Sides) (10 sets of 5 Pivots)

4. Roll, Pick-up, and Protect (15)

Low Post:

1. Backboard to Backboard Lay-ups (25)

2. Backboard to Net Lay-ups (25)

3. Toss, Receive, Front to Backboard Shot (25)

4. Underneath High Jumping Lay-ups (20)

5. Left and Right Hook Shots Drill (20 on each side)

6. Reverse Lay-ups Drill (20 on each side)

7. Two-person penetrate and dish (20)

High Post:

1. Toss, Pivot, and Shoot (20)

2. Toss, Pivot, Pump, and Shoot (20)

3. Long Backboard to Net Short Shot (20)

Fun:

1. Statue of Liberty (Long Stride) (20)

2. Dunking Off the Drop Step (10)

3. Dunking Off the Vertical (10)

4. Run and Dunk (5)

The Best Basketball Drills

DRILLS:

Compiled by Tilden Corbett

DEFENSE:

ROLLING DEFENSIVE STANCE DRILL

FOOT FIRE

Z DRILL

CIRCLE BOX-OUT DRILL

EYE READING DRILL

THE PISTON DRILL

SHELL DRILL

FORMATIONS DRILL

N-E-W-S SLIDE DRILL

OFFENSE:

3-MAN WEAVE

TRIANGLE PASSING

PAIRS PASSING DRILL

UP AND BACK PAIRS PASSING

“SWING THE BALL” DRILL

ENTRY PASS DRILL

3-0N-3 TRIANGLE DRILL

PASS AND PICK AWAY DRILL

ROLLING PICK DRILL

GIVE AND GO DRILL

CIRCLE PIVOT DRILL

RUNNING PIVOT DRILL

SQUARE PASSING DRILL (TEAMS)

FREETHROW DRILL

FOOTWORK DRILL

BACKDOOR DRILL

CLOSE-OUT SHOOTING DRILL

3-MAN, 2-BALL DRILL (SHOOTER, REBOUNDER, & PASSER)

3-PT SHOOTOUT COMPETITION

COACHES DRIBBLING DRILL

SPECIAL:

REBOUNDING DRILL

PRESS BREAK DRILL

OFFENSE / DEFENSE ONLY DRILL

PLAY AUDIBLE DRILL

THE BOX OUT DRILL

THE HUSSLE DRILL

3-on-2, 2-on-1 DRILL

7 keys to achieving your goals

These are the crucial elements from start, to implementation, to achievement of your goals, that everyone must do in order to make them a reality. Again I want to emphasize how important it is to put into action the information that I am giving you here, it is vital to your success. Please don’t take it lightly.

1.) Desire – It all starts with a dream, a desire to have or accomplish something. If you don’t want it, then why bother going after it?

2.) Belief – In order to accomplish/acquire something, you must possess the beliefs that it is achievable and worth pursuing. That reaching this goal does not conflict with your values. That no one will be harmed or adversely affected by it. And lastly, you must possess the belief that you are capable of achieving it, and that you can learn whatever is necessary to accomplish it.

3.) Knowledge – You need to acquire the knowledge and information that you will need to know in order to do, accomplish, or achieve whatever it is you are attempting. This means learning the "how-to" of what you are wanting to do. You will also need to read about, listen to, and/or model someone who has already done what you wish to accomplish in order to learn the mental strategies that are necessary to accomplish this goal.

4.) Opportunity – The opportunity must exist for you to take action. Is this something that you can do now? If not, when? Are there external (or internal) factors that are getting in the way?

5.) Vision – In order to accomplish the goal, you must have a clear idea of what it is that you want, and create a compelling internal representation in your mind that you can "see" vividly. You can also use external pictures of your goal that you review daily. The better you can visualize your goal and its achievement/accomplishment, the better your chances of getting it.

6.) Planning – Devise a concise plan for the achievement of your goal setting long-term, short-term, as well as daily goals. Also implement the use of a dayplanner type system to help you plan your time and to "track" your progress towards its achievement.

7.) Commitment – Stick to it, no matter what. You must be prepared to do "whatever it takes" (without hurting anyone) to accomplish your goal. Use vision and planning to create such a great picture of your goal that you fall in love with the thought of its accomplishment. Post the following statement up on your bathroom mirror and recite it to yourself every morning.

"I will not give up, no matter how many obstacles I encounter, or how much pain I endure. Because these things are nothing compared to my desire to succeed."

Vertical Leap Exercises

How to Jump Higher

Don't do jumping exercises 7 days a week. Four or five days per week is enough. If you do it every day, you may give up after a week or two. Also, if necessary, you would want to allow for healing time. The idea is to keep exercising for months, or years, consistently.

WARMING UP:

Before starting the exercises, warm up your muscles. Stretch properly, and jog around for a few minutes.

Push-ups --- Properly done push-ups will help increase your upper body strength; which will, ultimately, increase your leaping abilities. Do them often - perhaps for 50 reps twice a day.

You should jump rope for about 2 minutes during your warm-up. You will do more rope jumping later on during your main routine. Jumping rope definitely helps your conditioning. You can either use this as a quick warm-up or a full exercise.

Running up and down stairs for a while is very useful as a warm-up, or a full exercise. Don't do too much or else you may wear your legs. You can either use this as a quick warm-up or a full exercise.

JUMPING EXERCISES:

Deep Knee Bends --- Be standing. Slowly bend at the knees while keeping your back straight. Slowly crouch down as low as possible (it shouldn't hurt) and slowly rise back up. Do this 15 times. Over time, increase to 20, 30, etc.

Deep Knee Bend Jumps --- Be standing. Crouch down as described above but fairly quickly, almost touching your bottom to the ground, then explode upwards as high as you can. The moment you land, immediately crouch and launch back up again. Do this 15 times, and when you can, increase to 20, 30, etc.

Calf/Toe Raises --- Stand regularly, then raise up onto the tips of your toes; lower back down. Don't just rock up and down, do it slowly (not too slowly) but steadily. Repeat 30-50 times.

Calf/Toe Raises with Weights --- If you have any sort of weights, holding/wearing them while doing these toe raises will help. Use small weights (5 or 10 pounds are fine) and work your way up.

Jumping Rope --- Jumping rope definitely helps your vertical leap. This is the most important exercise you can do to improve your leaping ability. Make it a habit. It’s important that you pace yourself. You will jump rope during warm-up and during your main exercise routine. Also keep in mind that jumping rope, when done correctly, increases your upper body strength, which ultimately, aids in your leaping ability. Begin by jumping for 10 minutes then increase to 15, 20, etc.

In conclusion, just as anything you want to accomplish, increasing your leaping ability requires commitment. The question you will need to ask yourself is, “How committed am I ?”. Also, I’ve seen people who call themselves having a workout yet I never see them sweat. You will get out of this, whatever you put into it. Don’t short yourself.

Things that make an offense work

by Coach Tilden

1.) Have it in your mind that you’re going to MAKE the offense work. BE PATIENT.

2.) Don’t make it easy to figure out. Be able to improvise.

a. Read the defense (Overplaying, Sagging, etc).

b. Don’t be predictable (Don’t telegraph passes or movements). Use deceptive movements like V-cuts. Be deceptive in everything you do. Always misdirect.)

3.) Execute quick and think quicker.

a. Always stay 1 or 2 steps ahead of your opponent.

b. Begin the offense or play immediately

4.) Communicate

a. Call out or signal what the defense is doing. (The type of defense, half or full court pressure, etc. )

b. Verbal and Non-verbal signals like: backdoor, setting a pick, calling for a pick, come through, head nods

5.) Be Aggressive

a. Don’t do what your opponent wants you to do, but rather do what you want to do. (This applies to Posting up, Flashing, Cutting, Passing (Without forcing), etc

b. Fight for position

c. Attack opponents weaknesses

6.) Focus, Execute, and be Creative

a. Know the offense to perfection and utilize all its various options. (See Options Below)

b. Ask questions.

c. While keeping with the basis of the offense, be creative.

d. Discuss with the coach any ideas you may have that will improve the offense.

e. Relax, Focus, and Execute.

f. Don’t be hesitant in your movements or passes; as he who hesitates is LOST!

7.) Relax and Have Fun

a. If you’re having fun then you’re more relaxed and will execute better.

b. Bring chewing gum to games and practices. It’s proven that chewing gum relaxes a person.

c. Talk or sing to yourself (In your head if you are not vocally gifted)

d. Talk to your teammates

e. Get yourself pumped beginning at warm-up time

f. Clap when a person makes a bucket or plays great defense

g. PG should call out the Extreme Pound when everyone’s set in their defense.