Author: William Jenkins

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Two Words That Will Stop You From Realizing Your True Potential

Team Jenkins
Team Jenkins working out

Full-disclosure: I. Am. A Dad-Coach.

Which means if I’m not at my desk clickety-clacking on a keyboard or fixing my hair (im bald by choice) for a client video call – you will find me at the nearest (or farthest) gym, field, garage or driveway working with my kids (aka Team Jenkins) helping them to become the best athletes and (pick a sport) and humans they can be. As I’ve shared in numerous prior blogs…. the power and benefit of youth sports is taking lessons learned on the court/field and translating them to life off the court/field.

Now that we have the foundation set… Let’s get started because like my Nana used to say ‘You gone learn today.’

Double Cross-over; between the legs with your eyes up

Last week during our Team Jenkins ball handling workout, I decided to introduce a new ball-handling skill… double cross-over, between the legs with eyes up. Now for those of you who don’t follow/practice/play basketball- just know that this ball-handling drill is not easy to do…. especially, when you are 6 and 9 years old. Guess what? It’s not supposed to be.

After demonstrating the proper technique it was my kiddos turn. After about 5-minutes of attempting the move my son – clearly frustrated- stopped abruptly shouting two words that I never ever thought I would hear as a dad-coach. Clearly, the look on my face after hearing these two-word triggered my daughters fight or flight senses. My daughter, looked at me- looked at her brother- grabbed her ball and headed into the house.

Foul language is a no-no our house.

That moment, I would have preferred to hear any other ‘no-no’ words come from my son’s mouth (take your pick) than ‘I CAN’T (do this)’.

I now realize that those two words presented an opportunity to teach and to learn. Allow me to share with you what I explained to my son and daughter that day- hopefully it helps you other dad/mom-coaches out there. Here’s what I told them:

Don’t ever say ‘I can’t’

The moment you ‘I Can’t’, you are focusing on something you can’t do in that particular moment.

The moment you say ‘I can’t do something’, your focus is on convincing yourself that you cant do something and guess what? YOU are the best person to convince yourself of anything, so if you say you cant do this you are convincing yourself you can’t.

You have so much power and weight on your emotions and your potential……..

instead…ask yourself ‘HOW am I going to ….?’

When ask yourself ‘How?’ you are focusing on HOW you are going to get something done and strategizing ways to get it done…you are already convincing yourself that you can do it.

How am I going to get better at the double cross-over between the legs with eyes up? How am I going to become a better husband or wife? How am I going to make $1M this year?How am I going to become the #1 sales rep in my company?

We have so much power over ourselves and weight on our emotions and potential. So instead of putting ourselves down, let’s convince ourselves that we can accomplish anything by strategizing on what it takes to get us to our goal. Let’s decide to recognize and realize our true potential.

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    Move of the Week: Retreat Dribble

    When the ball-handler retreats in his/her dribble- it’s almost a natural reflex for the defender to relax and come out of their stance, which is when the player with the ball attacks.

    It’s also a great move for the offensive player to scope what’s going on behind his defender and base the next move off their reactions.

    Keys to the Move:
    🏀 Use your body and off hand to shield the ball (protect at all times)

    🏀 Perform an effective move after your retreat.ie crossover, in-and-out crossover, behind the back

    🏀 Change of Speed and explosion is your best friend. Whatever move you decide to do- explode out of it.

    Check out Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook and Kobe Bryant driplay various retreats below: 👇

    Would you like Elite Hoops ‘Move of the Week’ Delivered right to your inbox? Just drop your email below…

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    4 Steps for Great Team Defense from Coach Dick Bennett

    Dick Bennett — who is best known around these parts as the creator of the “Pack Line” defense (and as Tony Bennett’s father) — has a simple four-step checklist for defense that I believe every coach would benefit from adopting.

    As follows:

    1. Get Back and Stop the Basketball

    As we chat about all the time in these emails, transition defense is incredibly important for any team that wants to be competitive.

    Get back first, and then man up.

    While it can be better to quickly close down on the ball-handler in some situations, most of the time it’s better to put your first focus on protecting the hoop.

    2. Eliminate Easy Baskets

    If you lose because the opposition team knocks down a bunch of contested three-pointers and well-guarded layups, most coaches can live with that.

    What we can’t live with is losing because we allowed EASY points.

    > Layups

    > Fast break points

    > Wide open three-pointers

    If your team can eliminate the “easy points” and force opposition players to shoot with a hand in their face, you’ll dramatically increase your chances of winning.

    3. Keep the Ball Out of the Lane

    This is where Mr. Bennett’s famous “Pack Line” defense came into play…

    The strategy he employed was to instruct players one-pass away on defense to stay in the gaps instead of denying their opponent.

    While this made it easier for the offense to pass around the perimeter, this defensive strategy made it very difficult to get dribble penetration.

    Combined with great 1-on-1 defense, the offense is in for a tough night.

    4. Bother Shooters

    Last but not least…

    Ensure every opposition shot attempt is contested.

    This requires all 5 players to be locked indefensively.

    If someone gets beat on the perimeter, help defense must be in the correct position to rotate quickly and trap or contest the shot.

    Never allow them to get a clean look!

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    My 8-year old Just Reminded Me…

    Someone sent me this pic of me coaching my son this weekend and It prompted me to share a thought about criticism and feedback- clearly my 8-year old has got it down …

    Taking constructive criticism can (most often will) help you succeed. Sometimes we may not want to ‘hear’ it or we don’t ‘ask’ for it … yet it can give us a new perspective and open our eyes to things we may have overlooked or never considered.

    Whether it’s a peer review of our work or a coach sharing how to avoid a defensive double-team on the court ☺️- constructive criticism and feedback can help us grow.

    Do you agree?

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    Five Spot Basketball Shooting Workout

    Five Spot Shooting is one of the best all around shooting workouts developing players can utilize. In fact, if there’s ONE workout you ever use to become a good shooter- this would be it!

    Five Spot Shooting is a progressive workout that covers every aspect of shooting from every spot on the court. It’s extremely thorough and ensures that you are getting in the right repetitions.

    Additionally, it helps you develop distance control because you methodically move your way out from the basket. 

    Why Five Spot Shooting? : 

    Most players like to start outside and shoot shots they are not ready for (should not be shooting).  That is very counterproductive and one of the biggest mistakes that players make.

    Five Spot Shooting workout forces the player to focus on fundamentals, shoot from the proper distance and progressively build their shots the right way.   

    The Set up :

    As shown in the diagram and shot chart below, you will be shooting from five different angles on the court (left baseline, right baseline, left wing, right wing, and middle). taking 50 total shots from each of the five angles.

     

     

    You will begin on the left wing, setting up four feet from the basket (spot one in the diagram below). Take 10 shots from spot one, keeping track of how many you make out of 10. If you make at least six out of 10, you are able to progress back to spot two which is four feet back from spot one (eight feet from the basket).

    However, if you fail to make at least six shots from spot one in round one, you are not able to move back to spot two. You must stay in spot one for round two. In round two you will again take 10 shots and keep track of how many you make.

    Again, if you make at least six shots, you can move back to the next spot. Each new spot is four feet farther back from the previous spot.

    The same continues for rounds three through five. Once you have completed round five you will have taken 50 total shots and you will then move to the next angle (ex: middle). After finishing all five angles you will have attempted 250 total shots from all court angles.

    This drill is great because it requires players to master shooting from a certain distance before they can move back. Do not be disappointed if you do not make it back to the three-point line.

    Most players will remain in spots 1-4 for the entire workout.

    Five Spot Shooting keeps players within their appropriate range and provides them goals to achieve.

    Feel free to use the following Shot Chart to record your progress!  


    Download Shot Chart Here!


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    Why Young Basketball Players Should NOT Watch the NBA


     

    Yesterday I read an interesting article by a man who says young players shouldn‘t watch the NBA.

    And he backs this up with many solid points:

    The NBA is chock-full of:

    • Poor sportsmanship
    • Yelling at referees
    • Technical fouls and ejections

    And it’s not great for our young, impressionable youth to see these things on a nightly basis.

    Especially when we’re doing our best to teach them the opposite…

    • Good sportsmanship
    • Controlling emotions
    • Respect for others

    Repeating myself for emphasis:

    It’s incredibly difficult to convince our youth players of the importance of these traits when the world’s best players — who are the idols and role models of the current generation — are doing the exact opposite of what we preach.

    Watching them is undoubtedly going to have a negative influence.

    He even points out how the commentators encourage these *dirty* acts during the game by saying things like:

    “A good elbow to the midsection just sends a good message to your opponent.”

    And while this may be accepted in the NBA where millions of dollars and world championships are on the line, it becomes a big problem when young players start to believe that it’s acceptable for their level.

    Now, to be clear…

    I’m not telling you to forbid your team from watching the best basketball players on the planet (NBA, of course). I watch a lot of it myself.

    It’s just an interesting topic that I thought would interest you.

    I’ll leave you to decide what to make of it.

     
    *Originally shared via Coach Mac of the Championship Coaching Course May 2019

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    The One Skill Young Basketball Players Must Have to Become Elite

    “Coachabilty describes someone who wants to be coached. This manifests itself as someone who likes being challenged, loves learning, strives for more and more and then works tirelessly at what they’re taught.” – Coach Geno Auriemma

    Yeah, I get it. When it comes to basketball we all want our child to be the highest jumper, the quickest and best athlete on the floor. After all, if our kids are going to make their middle-school team, that AAU select team, or start on Varsity at the local high school- they gotta be the best…right?

    Here’s a little secret- While all those physical attributes (quickness, agility, strength) are advantages to excelling in basketball- there’s one aspect of the game that young basketball players must embrace to become elite.

    COACHABILITY

    Being coachable and being teachable go hand in hand. Go ahead and let that sink in. Coaches are teachers and players are students- basketball is the subject. As a coach/teacher we want to feel that our player/students care about what we say.

    Coach Jenkins Tip: Parents. Please let the coach ….’coach.’

    How do You Know if Your Athlete is Coachable?

    There are three main traits that a player needs to possess to be considered coachable:

    • HUMILITY A player that has humility accepts and admits that there are things they do not know, and cannot do, within the sport of basketball. Further, the player is willing to concede when they cannot accomplish a certain task alone and are willing to allow the coach to help
    • SENSE OF PURPOSE A player who is willing to state their goals and demonstrate their motivation will typically be easier to reach through coaching.
    • FAITH Improvement or non-improvement as a player can only be determined after the player has been through the experience with you as the coach. A player that puts faith in you is forgoing the benefit of hindsight, understanding that sometimes things need to get worse before they get better. At the same time that you are seeking or imparting these characteristics to your players, you should also encourage players and their parents to seek the same in a prospective coach.

    What Can You Do to Make Sure You are Coachable?

    Teaching your young basketball athlete/s to be coachable is not easy- it’s not impossible either. There are many things that we can do, say and teach as parents to help in this effort. But would be shocked to know that it starts with YOU?!

    Set an Example and Stop Speaking Poorly of Coaches…

    Way too often I hear parents speaking poorly of coaches in front of their children. The next time your young athlete comes to you with a complaint about his or her coach, think twice before you undermine that coach. It may be hard, but trust me- it will be worth it.

    How about you? What are you doing to help your athlete be more coachable? Please share in the comments below.