You can’t play all year round. You can’t train all year round.
There is a time to play. And there is a time to train. Players need both. However, in the past several years, the time to train has been replaced with more events. More games. More showcases. More teams. More tournaments.
There used to be four seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter. There are no seasons anymore for youth players. The seasons just overlap now. Youth football starts in July. Youth basketball starts in Sept.
Youth athletes are no longer two or three sport athletes. They are 2-3 sport athletes in the same season. Overcommitted. Overtired. Overstressed. The season is always “more.” There is always another game in ten minutes. There is no cap to how many games a kid can play. That is why taking time away from the “game” is important.
Games are tough on the body. Games are a grind. Games are stressful. Games are where injuries occur most frequently.
Good basketball training is not often what some people make it out to be. It’s not just about “working hard” or training “harder.”
Good basketball training is about moving smoother. Refining techniques. Slowing down movements in order to sharpen them and gain better precision and control.
That is why basketball training with the right approach is so helpful to players in keeping them fresh and excited for wanting to play again. Basketball training and basketball playing need to work together in balance.
Play needs to be interrupted by purpose. Training needs to be applied (or at least attempted) in games. Time for evaluation, feedback, and review need to be made by both the player and coach / trainer in order to make adjustments.
Here is what the focus of basketball training with any player should be:
- Identifying the essential skills that players are ready to learn.
- Helping players push just beyond their current abilities.
- Helping players make incremental adjustments to enhance their performance.
The confidence that comes with mastery is always worth taking the time for.
Otherwise, it is just another workout. And it’s just another game.
Deliberately practicing with the sole purpose of improving skills will make the biggest impact on performance.
Without adequate time for skill development, repetitions (and feedback) during team practices, skill performance in games is not going to improve very much.
BASKETBALL TRAINING IS THE FASTEST WAY TO MAKE GAINS IN PERFORMANCE.
Every player should be spending 3-5 workouts or practices for every single game that they play.
SDC provides the specific content AND basketball training curriculum guidelines for player to know how to improve their skills in the most efficient way.