Getting scored on stinks. No way around that. But here's the deal - it stinks just as bad for your opponents as it does for you.

When one team scores, a couple things usually happens:

• The team that scored relaxes. They are feeling good about themselves. They might even celebrate a little bit.
• The team that got scored on deflates. They are feeling crummy about themselves. They might even point fingers or cast blame.

Those two responses generally cancel each other out. But it doesn't have to be that way.

In Coach Rob Brost's Get Comfortable Playing At An Uncomfortable Pace, he talks about a transition offense concept that will empower your team and flip momentum in a matter of seconds.

What Choice Does Your Team Make After Being Scored On?

No matter how good you are defensively, you're going to get scored on. Hopefully not all the time, but it's going to happen.

The question is this - once it has happened, what are you going to do about it?

• Sulk and slowly bring the ball up the floor, allowing the defense to get set, even if they relax after scoring . . .

OR

• Push the ball back down the floor as quickly as possible with the goal of scoring before the defense gets set . . .

The answer seems obvious, but that doesn't mean it's easy to do.

Get Your Team To Embrace A "Next Play" Mentality

In any sport, the best athletes are those who can stay in the present moment. Unfortunately, this is hard to do.

To go back to our example, neither the player who scored who celebrates nor the player who got scored on is present in the moment. They are both living in the past.

As a coach, you want your players to hurt when they get scored on. That means they care. But they have to balance that hurt with moving on to the next play.

In this case, the next play is sprinting the floor as hard as possible. At every level of the game, transition is the best time to score.

It's even better when your opponent relaxes.

This takes commitment, from you and your players. You have to be vigilant in watching your players in practice.

I've heard of programs who say the ball must be across half court in :04 seconds after a make or they lose possession.

With repetition, players will become conditioned (physically and mentally) to immediately move on to the next play and sprint the floor.

When that happens, you'll start to get scorebacks.

The Beauty Of The Scoreback

Getting scored on gives momentum to your opponent. Your goal should be to take that momentum back as quickly as possible.

Scoring is the best way to do that.

When a team scores, only to be scored on within a handful of seconds, that's demoralizing. Whatever positivity was generated from their basket is immediately erased.

Furthermore, it sends a message - your team doesn't feel sorry for themselves. They are on to the next play and attacking relentlessly.

If You Can't "Go", Then "Flow"

Scorebacks won't result in scores all the time. In fact, they won't result in scores most of the time.

However, that doesn't mean they aren't valuable. They put pressure on the defense. Even if the defense gets back and doesn't allow you to score, there is a mental and physical load to them knowing they have to immediately sprint back on every possession.

If you don't score, don't let up on the pressure. In other words, don't "set it up." When teams do that, it allows their opponents to take a deep breath and regroup.

Instead, flow right into your half court offense. A great example of this is The Flow Motion Offense With Matt Lewis.

In this clip, Coach Lewis shows how they run their 5v0 transition cycles drill. I've seen multiple coaches do a variation of this drill. Generally, it's done where each player has to score over the course of 5 possessions. That is okay, but not that game-like.

If you watch how Coach Lewis runs the drill, he emphasizes going from transition to half court offense with zero lag.

This prevents the defense from catching their breath and allows you to keep up the pressure.

Ready To Scoreback & Score More?

To make scorebacks part of your arsenal, set a goal. Coach Brost wants his team to get 1 a quarter. That's 8 points a game. How many of your games are decided by 8 points or less?

Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do."

What does your team do when scored upon? If you make scorebacks a priority, your team will be one that is always onto the next play. That will make them one that is no fun to play against!

Scorebacks is 1 of Coach Brost's 5 rules for transition offense.

If you want to learn and incorporate the other 4 and run teams off the court, click here!

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

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