Coach ,

Every day when a coach enters the gym to practice with their team as well as at the end of the day, we all ask ourselves the same questions?

“How can I help my team get better today?” and “Did my team get better today?”

It’s a constant source of frustration and keeps us continually looking for the best ideas and drills from other coaches.  We also look at other sports to see what they do to help their players gain skill mastery and understanding.

When you dig deep down to the micro level, coaches are trying to accomplish the following three things on offense:

1. Help my players with their decision-making (When do I shoot?  When do I pass?  Who do I pass to? When do I drive?)
2. Help my players be able to finish around the basket against defenders
3. Help my players take and make open 3 point shots

One of the best ways to work on these three areas is with Small Sided Games.  Borrowed from the world of soccer, SSG’s allow coaches to teach and refine skills with a smaller number of players involved, allowing more opportunities for learning.

A good definition of SSG’s is “A live constrained competitive situation in a smaller space or with a smaller number of participants then regular live play/competition to target the development of a particular skill, concept, or tactic.” (Thanks @CoachDayejr for this!!)

We wanted to spotlight Coach Tony Miller has put together a fantastic resource to help coaches implement SSGs into their teaching with SSGs for Player Development and Team Offense. 

Here is a clip from the course where Coach Miller discusses one of the drills they use to teach decision making against the closeout.

One of the teaching terms I liked that I am stealing from Coach Miller is “Give the ball room to breathe”. 

Often, players want to come to the ball instead of creating more space and forcing their defender to make a decision to help or stay, thus creating a bigger advantage.

To lean more about what Coach Miller has built to help coaches you can click here:

SSGs for Player Development and Team Offense-->

Growing The Game Together!

Lason, Leigh, and the Virtual Clinic Team