Observations from WA and NT Clinic Series

As part of the national focus on coach development, Basketball Australia recently hosted Chicago Bulls assistant coach Damian Cotter for a series of clinics in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

The former Australian Opals assistant and Emus Under 19 head coach spent time in Perth, Geraldton and Darwin working with coaches at all levels of the sport and shared some insights into practice structure, teaching, player engagement and communication.

Thanks to the support of Basketball WA, the Mid-West Academy of Sport, Basketball NT and Hoops4Health, Cotter presented four clinics and four workshops over eight days across the three cities.

Here are some general notes and take-aways from the coach development actives –

Program planning –

• Your structure is underpinned by your concepts
• Your concepts are underpinned by skill
• The structure should be tailored to –
  • Level of talent
  • Preferences of your better players
• “The art of coaching is in the conceptual development”
• The three C’s of practice –
  • Element of Chaos
  • Competition
  • Cohesion
• Important to manage the “gap” with players – how long it takes for them to react and get to the next task – defensive transition prime example
• “If your drills aren’t producing errors, then you’re probably not stretching your players.”
• Concept of “coaching by suggestion”
• Coach Cotter practice philosophy and structure –
  • 1 v 1
  • 3 v 3
  • 5 v 5
  • Running drill
• 3 v 3 crucial to player development – teaches “breakdown basketball”
• Every competitive drill with a shot clock – 1 v 1 with a 5 second shot clock, adds element of context to the drill
• Previously used dribble limit as a constraint, now use of shot clock as more contextual – some times a player may need a third dribble in a move
• “If your better players are making mistakes in your drills, it is probably you

Teaching skill, communication & chaos through the “Blasone drill” at the ⁦@damiancotter⁩ clinic in Geraldton pic.twitter.com/nV3SYUHkGs

— Basketball Australia Coaches (@BBALLAU_Coaches) June 14, 2023

Skill development –

• The three F’s of passing –
  • Firm
  • Flat
  • In front
• 2 v 1 more game relevant than 3 v 2 in drills
• Play more 1 v 1 in your practices
• Important to teach “collision management” to young players
• Be intentional on how you teach skill and then quickly add the context of 1 v 1 or 3 v 3

Spacing –

• How your players are willing to run will define your spacing
• Analytics and data indicate shots in the first eight seconds are the most effective (NBA)
• Consider what you do on “makes” and “misses”
• What is your alignment and how do you run into it?

TA’s from @damiancotter clinic in Perth – play more 1 v 1 in practice, foundation of every practice – 1 v 1, 3 v 3, 5 v 5 & a running drill; teach young players “collision management”, constantly coach the eyes (see what they are seeing), build an element of chaos into practice pic.twitter.com/ZiEzRYQXRD

— Basketball Australia Coaches (@BBALLAU_Coaches) June 13, 2023

Coaching craft and function –

• “Sometimes we are guilty of adding structure to provide solutions for players”
• Use of scenarios in practice important – do these early in practice to stimulate thought and problem solving
• “Be aware of trying to help players by continually giving them more answers”
• Have an element of fun at the start of practice –
  • Stimulates learning
  • 1 v 1 early – sense of competition which players enjoy
  • Mini-games
  • Scenarios early in practice rather than always at the end
• Teaching contested shooting drills –
  • Has to be tailored to the level of competition players will face
  • Can get this through playing 1 v 1
• Importance of talking shot priority with players of all ages
  • Teach the shot fake to slow players down to assist their decision making
• No “overlap” with your assistant coaches, define roles and ensure teaching is efficient
• Importance of “coaching the eyes” – stand where you can see what they see

Teaching defence –

• Defence is easier to teach because there is usually a right and wrong
• Players want to talk but they often don’t know what to say
  • Define language
  • Have realistic one syllable words
  • If you want to improve defensive talk, teach rotations and switching early in your preparation – forces them to talk
• Defending “ghost screens”
  • Talk is crucial
  • “Square” – communication of player defending the “screener” to let on-ball defender to guard the ball straight up
  • “If there is no contact, there is no coverage”

Video from the on-court clinics will be available on this site in the coming weeks. Thanks to Coach Cotter for sharing his knowledge and to all the coaches who took part in these valuable development activities.