Practices over Christmas break are one of my favorite parts of the season, for a couple different reasons. Most days they look something like this:

3:45-4 – Skill Development, Hall of Fame Footwork, Weak Hand Dev, Change Pace Change Direction, Full Court Shooting

4-4:15 – 4 Ball Transition Defense / War Rebounding

4:15 – 4:25 – Opponent Breakdown – CDA/BHS

4:30-4:50 – Half Court O / Walk Through Actions – Execute

4:50-5:45 – Game Simulation – Sub Rotations

1 on 1, 2 on 2, 3 on 3, 4 on 4, 5 on 5 Short Sided Game Progressions / Offensive Focus

• 1’s – attack the rim to get a layup/foul
• 2’s – pick and roll progression – attack downhill from the slot
• 3’s – pick and roll progressions, added a strong side wing
• 4’s – perimeter movement, paint touches, 2 feet, kick to shooters or finish at the rim
• 5’s – on and off ball screening, perimeter movements and post ups/splits

Defensive Focus

• 1’s – on the ball driveline defense – turn the offensive player
• 2’s – on the ball driveline d, hedge ball screens
• 3’s – on the ball driveline d, hedge ball screens, stunt and recover off shooter
• 4’s – on ball, hedge, re-routing cut (no face cuts) jump to the ball, no middle drive
• 5’s – put it all together – 3/4 defense on the post, wall up on the catch, no left shoulder

We’re a month into the season and are focused on reaching our long-term goals, by taking a short-term approach in practice to get 1% better every day. As bad as I want our team ahead of schedule, we have to remember this group has only played together for a month. This break provides an opportunity to improve on the floor, but also to get to know each other off the court better. Building trust is a critical aspect to sustainable success.

We engaged in a team building activity called the 5 H’s. I first heard it from Boise State Head Coach Leon Rice. Since then, I’ve heard of more teams, collegiate and professional, utilizing this particular team building activity. The 5 H’s are as follows:

1. History
2. Highlight
3. Heartbreak
4. Heroes
5. Hopes

I believe in the phrase “Coach To Lead,” meaning my intent is to coach players and build leaders. Our guys showed leadership qualities by opening up and sharing more about their lives with their teammates. They stood at the front of the room, took off their hats, spit out their gum and looked their teammates in the eye while sharing what could be considered vulnerable information. One thing that stuck out to me was the fact that every single kid said their parents were their heroes. The impact by parents, and the recognition of that from the kids made me proud to be a father, coach and someone aspiring to build better leaders.