My freshman team played up at the JV level in a recent fall league, ended in the middle as far as standings. I've scoped out two teams I think we could face in the 1st round of the tourney this weekend based on our seed and theirs. I've also reviewed the tapes from our last 3 games. I'm going to throw out several areas that I feel need attention going into this tourney and would appreciate your input on any or all of them.

Intensity - We are playing against sophomores/juniors and the one thing I noticed is their intensity is high most of the time. They are flying down court on fast breaks, going after loose balls, crashing the boards, and just plain really getting after it. My guys bring it, but seem to lose the intensity when facing stiffer competition. Any suggestions on how to light a fire under my guys with regards to this subject?

Protecting the ball and playing strong - Some of these teams play very aggressive defense and from what I've seen, the refs just let them play. They're always hunting for the ball, poking, swiping, and right up in your face. Any suggestions/drills to remind my guys how they should play when faced with this pressure and intensity?

Blocking out drills - We have some blocking out drills and run them in practice. I know this will definitely help us since we're facing bigger and stronger teams. Any good drills that aren't boring and get the point across?

Defensive slides - We teach beating your guy to the spot, however, I noticed our guys (and other teams) end up using their hands and eventually get called for a hand check. I know they're just trying not to get beat, but I really want to emphasize moving their feet. Any suggestions or drills for this? I'm thinking of using towels the D players have to hold behind their necks while in a shell drill to emphasize the real key which is their feet.

Beating a 3-2 zone - Unfortunately, I run into tons of zone defenses which blows my mind. I have a good offense against a 2-3, but I'm looking for something simple against a 3-2 zone. My offense against a 2-3 has a few simple rules and concepts, looking for the same thing for a 3-2 zone.

I know this is a lot, just trying to maximize my practices this week going into the tourney.

Thanks!

Intensity
When I coached freshman, I found there was an adjustment they all had to make from 8th to 9th grade. They had to learn a new intensity level. We practiced every day and simply demanded more. Also the opponents played harder. It was playing 2 games a week, instead of 4 games in one weekend. I'm guessing your boys have not had this opportunity yet. The teams you are facing have had this opportunity and have already learned this "next level of intensity" that is required at the HS level.

There's also a jump from the soph to varsity level. It's a whole new game and intensity level again. Every player either swims (and learns the new level) or sinks (and stays at their old level). Most will swim.

You might have to be patient since your kids are younger and you haven't had this opportunity for mental growth yet.

Practice ideas include:
- Play really short games. First to 4 wins (going by 2s and 3s). Loser does 15 up downs. Let them catch their breath. Then go again.
- The same concept applies to all drills. Short burst of high intensity. 2 minutes. 3 points. Stuff like that really gets them competing like it's the end of the game and everything is on the line.

Protecting the ball and playing strong

1on1 no dribble is a good drill for this. Also 3on3 no dribble where loser does up downs. 1on1 no dribble is on our 30 Competitive Drills DVD. Not sure if you have that?

Blocking out drills
I like this one. This is pretty much the only rebounding drill we use and we almost aways do really well on the boards. I make it competitive though and very intense. First to 5 points. Loser does up downs. The drill shows 3 players on each team. But you can use 4 or 5 if you want.
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/drills/reactionrebounding.html

Defensive slides
Assign an assistant to call players on every reach and every grab in practice. Maybe make them do push ups on every foul. This is something that could be taught in every single drill and scrimmage you do. Not fouling is something we emphasize in our defense on day 1. We don't do any specific drill for this. But we call players out and emphasize it in everything we do that includes defense -- 1on1, shell drill, close outs, scrimmage, etc, etc.

Beating a 3-2 zone
I just put players in gaps and let them play. I would try to get your best play maker in the middle. Get it to him and let him go to work -- scoring and passing. Also, short corner. Put a player in the middle, someone in the short corner, and everything else in gaps. Let them play and move to find openings. Lots of pass fakes and ball movement.

Hope this helps a little.

Jeff -

Great suggestions, much appreciated. This is exactly what I needed.

Good points on the 8th to 9th transition, they are getting there, but I can tell the intensity needs to kick up a few notches still. It's wild, a lot of the teams we play seem to have 4-5 point guard caliber players on the court at one time. Definitely a higher skill level and intensity.

I get the point about going for short time periods, like that suggestion a lot. Used to do the no dribble drills, good reminder.

Again,

Thanks!

When you say 15 up downs, are you talking about running full court?

No. They are also known as burpees.
http://youtu.be/c_Dq_NCzj8M

Rob -

As for Intensity -

Most of the time the kids will follow the coach..... no one could have accused me of not being intense. When you walk on the floor and start practice... they have to see that you are all business. ( doesn't mean you cant have some fun too ) I was a very demanding coach.... if you were dogging it in practice you had no chance to play in a game. Jeff's comment was very good regarding this - they have to learn that every time they move up a level, the kids get bigger, stronger, quicker and more intense. Either you match this or your done. I used consequences for some drills / scrimmages but not for everything we did.

My players knew how I wanted them to play and they usually worked very hard.... so that wasn't a problem for me. One father described my coaching style as a " little to the left of Attila the Hun "

Hope this helps a little.

Ahh, got it, know what burpees are called, never heard the ups and down version.

Great point about the kids following the coach's lead and example. Makes perfect sense.