Kentucky vs. Louisville. Ohio State vs. Kansas.  Wow, it’s going to be a heck of a Final Four.

With that said, I have a challenge to propose. Set your DVR to record both games.  Watch them live on Saturday night as you normally would – as a fan of the game.

Then on Sunday, watch one of the games you recorded from start to finish, not as a fan, but as a true student of the game.

Final Four Challenge:

Pick one player from one team and keep your eyes on that player for the entire game.  Don’t watch the ball, unless of course, that player has the ball.  Put 100% of your focus on that player at all times.

Keep your eyes locked on that player on both ends of the floor.  You should be so locked in that you miss most of the action you saw the night before when you were casually watching.

When your player comes out of the game, keep watching until he is off camera. Then watch the player that replaces him in the same fashion!

Believe me, this is not an easy challenge.  I give most of you 30 seconds… tops… before you lose focus and go back to watching the game like you normally do!

Ask yourself these questions as you focus on your player:

Does he play help defense?

Does he put himself in position to take a charge?

Does he dive for loose balls?

Does he see ‘man and ball’?

Does he put his hand in the passing lane?

Does he apply solid ball pressure?

Does he contest with a high hand when his man shoots the ball? 

Does he box his man out every time? 

Does he sprint the floor in transition (both ways)?

Does he have good offensive spacing?

Does he make the extra pass? 

Does he crash the offensive glass?

Does he cut to open spaces?

Does he screen to get a teammate open?

Does he communicate with his teammates? 

Does he bend over and put his hands on his shorts during free throws?

Does he have good body language during time-outs?

Does he complain about the officiating or when he misses a shot?

Does he hustle on and off the court when subbed for?

Does he cheer for his teammates when he is not in the game?

Does he play with emotion?

Does he ‘Play Present’?

At the end of the game… answer this final question:

Would you want this player on your team?

Enjoy the Madness.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam

PS: I chose to use the male pronoun ‘he’ for simplicity. The same exercise can and should be done for the women’s Final Four as well!

In Part I of this 3-part series I covered Rest, Recovery, and Reflection. In Part II, I covered Evaluating and Planning.

Those five traits laid the foundation for Part III… Execution.

EXECUTE

Once players have had sufficient rest, evaluated their strengths & weaknesses, and formulated a training plan… they need to execute! They must put that plan into action.

Action is what produces results.

While there will be an overall template that players should follow, no two training programs should be identical.  Why? No two players are identical. Hypothetically speaking, the framework of a program may be as much as 90% the same, but that remaining 10% must be individualized.

If a player has followed my recommendation to this point, they should have a list of 15 traits in descending order – higher scores (strengths) at the top and lower scores (weaknesses) at the bottom.

An age old coaching mantra is the best advice when prioritizing:

“You get what you emphasize.”

What should a player emphasize? Strengths or weaknesses?

Both!

Players should take a comprehensive approach and work on all applicable areas of their game.  However, the time devoted to each trait will vary.  If a player has 10 hours per week to devote to their individual development, what percentage of that time should be spent on strengths? On weaknesses?

Here is where it gets tricky.  While I do believe players need to devote time to improving applicable weaknesses, they should not neglect making their strengths even stronger.  They need to find the aspect of their game that separates them from everyone else.  Shooting? Rebounding? Passing? Defending? They need to find their specialty and continue to make it even stronger!

I am not suggesting they don’t work on other aspects of their game, but if a player is a knock down, catch and shoot long range specialist, do they really need to spend hours on end working on creative finishes around the basket? Given that most of the shots they get in games are on the perimeter? Assuming they want to play at the next level, it’s best to make your strengths even stronger!

In a similar context, we have a potential All-American, 6’8”, 270 lb. junior at DeMatha.  He is strong as an ox with tremendous hands and footwork.  He is the best shot blocker I have ever seen at the high school level.  His post moves are getting better, but aren’t consistent.  He is a respectable free throw shooter but doesn’t have a solid face up game (yet). He runs the floor OK, but not great.  He is unselfish, has a great attitude, and will put in the work.  He has the potential to be a pro. 

Given this quick evaluation, what should he focus on?

Most of society stresses the importance of focusing on weaknesses.  But do all weaknesses really matter?

Guess what his biggest weaknesses are? Ball handling and perimeter shooting.  But who cares? Ball handling and perimeter shooting will never be his strength. Nor should they be. Outside of a power dribble or two, or catching the ball off of a pick and roll, he doesn’t need to handle the ball.  If a guard passes to him outside of the 3 point line on a break… it is the guard’s fault if a turnover occurs.  So in reality, would it be wise for him to spend hour after hour working on his ball handling or perimeter shooting?  No!

Athletically, he is very strong on the court. However, he still needs to strength train.  Making his feet, ankles, knees, and core stronger and more mobile will help alleviate the pounding his body takes when running. He doesn’t need additional strength on the court; he just needs to injury proof his body so he can stay on the court. He does need to focus on reducing his body fat, increasing his stamina, and improving his agility and quickness – areas that will have a direct positive impact on his game.

Basketball wise, he needs to develop a solid go-to move (ex: fake middle, drop step dunk). He needs to be able to perform his go-to move with either hand and from each block. Then he needs to develop a go-to counter move (ex: fake drop step, jump hook to the middle).  Once his footwork is proficient and he has mastered both of these go-to moves through basic 1 on 0 drill work, he will need to get thousands of reps against a quality defender. Shooting a jump hook is one thing.  Reading the defense and knowing when to shoot a jump hook is another.  He should progress from a controlled environment of 1-on-0 to then adding a defender and playing 1-on-1 (with a guard making the entry pass into the post). As he progresses he should graduate to 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 live games. Then, over time, he will need to continue to add new moves to his offensive repertoire.

3 Rules for Execution:

1. Make strengths even stronger. They are what separate players. Nothing wrong with having a specialty. Being a great shooter, or a great defender, or a great passer is invaluable. Better to be great at one thing than average at several.
   
2.  Work on weaknesses that actually matter.  If a weakness isn’t preventing you from maximizing your role on your team (or playing at the next level), it shouldn’t warrant much of your time.  Every player needs to be able to go right and left. Not every player needs to be able to shoot 3’s or play post defense. Not all weaknesses need to be addressed.
   
3.  Don’t rush progress. You have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run. But eventually, you will have to ‘run.’ And you will have to run at game speed against live defense. Prepare accordingly. 1 on 0 drills will only get you so far.  Drill to improve game performance, not to get better at doing drills!

Strength & conditioning is the foundation of every player’s game.  Added strength, power, mobility, movement efficiency and stamina will allow them to perform their skills at a higher level.

Therefore, I strongly recommend high school players spend a ratio of 1:3 on strength & conditioning to skill work. For example, if a player plans to spend 10 hours per week on individual development, they should spend 2.5 hours ‘in the weight room’ and 7.5 hours on the court working on their game.

Respect the game,

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam

PS: There is one piece of training equipment I highly recommend for the off-season:

The Vertimax: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZi7wOFapHU

Email Al Marez at Al@Vertimax.com

Put ‘Alan Stein’ as the subject line and they will take great care of you!!

Last week’s blog, Off-Season Part I: The 3 R’s covered the initial steps in setting up a productive off-season: Rest, Recover, and Reflect.

The next two steps are Evaluate and Plan.

EVALUATE

After ample rest, players need to formally evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. This step is vital to success; yet rarely done.

Players need to clearly establish what they do well and what needs improvement.  This can only be done effectively through a comprehensive evaluation by both player and coach.

Both player and coach should rate the following 15 traits on a scale of 1 through 10:

Skills:

1. Ball handling (weak hand? variety of moves? maintain court vision?)

2. Shooting (form? off the pass? off the dribble? range? FT’s?)

3. Passing (understand angles? feed post? pass on the move?)

4. Rebounding (box out consistently? go to the ball?)

5. Defending (on ball? in post? through screens? team concepts? contest shots? don’t foul?)

Athleticism:

6. Strength & Power (finish with contact? knocked off ball screens? dunk?)

7. Quickness & Reaction (explosive first step? first to the ball?)

8. Agility & Movement Efficiency (effectively accelerate, decelerate & change directions?)

9. Flexibility & Mobility (stiff hamstrings? low back? tight ankles?)

10. Body Composition (need more muscle? have excess body fat?)

11. Conditioning (great basketball shape? as effective in the 4^th quarter as in the 1^st?)

Intangibles:

12. Basketball I.Q. (know how to play? quality decision making?)

13. Leadership (do teammates listen? do they follow? ‘Play Present’?)

14. Teammate (know & accept role on team? care about teammates?)

15. Work Ethic (1^st in the gym, last to leave? give 100% all of the time?)

Players should write down what they believe; not what their parents or girlfriend thinks or what a scouting service says.

How do the player’s scores compare to the coach’s scores?  Any score that the player and coach agree on is probably accurate.  If they both believe ball handling is an “8”, then it probably is.  But what if the player thinks it is an “8” and the coach believes it is a “5”?  Is it possible the player thinks an aspect of their game is better than it actually is? Regardless, I recommend you take the average of both scores to derive a final rating for each trait. 

Which category is the best? Which needs the most improvement?

Ranking the categories will help players prioritize and plan what to emphasize during the off-season.

PLAN

Before planning the off-season, let’s define it by dividing the year into 3 distinct phases:

Off-season: beginning the day after the last game and ending 8 weeks before the first practice.

Pre-season: beginning 8 weeks before the first practice and ending the day of the first practice.

In-season: beginning the day of the first practice and ending the day of the last game.

Players need to plan their spring and summer schedule and take a look at everything that will necessitate their time.

Will they play a spring sport?

Do they need an academic tutor?

Are they planning to play AAU?

Will they take any summer vacations? 

The more they know in advance, the better they can plan a realistic schedule.

The initial goal of the off-season should be to improve strength and power.  There is no such thing as being too strong!  When players ask me why strength is so important, I say:

“What do you want to be; the bug or the windshield?”

Quickness, agility and conditioning are important, but for the first part of the off-season, players need to focus on increasing their overall strength and address muscular imbalances. This is the foundation of the entire off-season program.

If you need a quality program to follow, this 12-Week Off-Season Strength & Power Program is an invaluable resource:

http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com/p-30-12-week-off-season-strength-and-power-program-for-basketball-players.aspx

Next week’s blog, Off-Season Part III: Work Your Plan, will cover the third phase of the off-season: Execution.

“You can’t win a championship in the off-season, but you sure as hell can lose one!”

Work hard. Work smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam

PS: A similar evaluation should also be done by coaches.  After all, the off-season isn’t just about players getting better… coaches need to constantly develop too! I would recommend having assistant coaches and players offer their feedback too!

Here are some possible traits for coach’s evaluation:

• Practice plans
• Game strategies & adjustments
• Scouting reports
• Pre-game routine
• Motivational techniques
• Teaching concepts
• Relationships with players
• Overall attitude
• Leadership style

I am writing this blog from the balcony of a beachfront condo at the Atlantis in the Bahamas. My wife and I are celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary.

The theme of this blog is rest, recover, and reflect – which is exactly what I am doing right now!

With our conference tournament is a thing of the past, we have one final post season tournament to play – the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament (http://www.acit.us) – so our season is not over yet!  

Even though we are still playing, I realize many teams across the country have completed their seasons. I’ve received hundreds of emails, Tweets, and Facebook messages asking me to outline the off-season and how much time they should take off before they resume training.

So this blog is the first in a 3-week series of posts to help you plan your off-season strength & conditioning program.

REST

Players need to take one to two full weeks off after their last game.  This is non-negotiable. They must rest their minds and their bodies.  They need to spend quality time with family and friends.  They need to make sure their academics are on point.  They need to get extra sleep.  They need to eat well. They need to kick back, relax, and enjoying being young! High school & college will be over in the blink of an eye; they shouldn’t take this time for granted.  They need to enjoy the journey.

This rest period includes all structured physical activity – no strength training and no basketball workouts or pick-up games. I am not advocating lying around on the couch eating Doritos and drinking Mountain Dew. They can and should be active, just not from structured workout standpoint.

This concept is usually hard to grasp for players, coaches, and parents, because they’ve been misinformed and believe that taking a couple of weeks off will cause them to regress.  Nothing is further from the truth. In fact, this mental & physical break is the best thing they can do for their mental sanity and physical progress. Trust me.

RECOVER

Players need to properly address any nagging injuries they experienced during the season.  They shouldn’t ignore sore ankles, sore knees, and sore backs. If these issues don’t go away after two weeks of rest, they need to see a medical professional (an Athletic Trainer or Physical Therapist).

The only structured physical activity I would allow during this recovery phase would be some active stretching and mobility type movements like the ones in this Yoga for Basketball video:

http://youtu.be/8JRW4aYl4oY  

Doing this type of thing a couple of times per week will help the recovery process.

REFLECT

Players and coaches should take 10 minutes every day during this two week period and sit comfortably in total silence – no phones, no computers, no music, and no TV.  They need to close their eyes and reflect on this past season. If it was a successful season, they should take time to feel good about what they accomplished and pin-point what made it such an impressive year.

If it was a rough season, they need to use it as a learning experience to get better. They need to reflect on the challenges they faced and brainstorm ways to handle those issues in the future. Remember, from every adversity comes opportunity.  

This 10 minute reflection period will help fuel a productive off-season.

Next week’s post will cover the second phase of the off-season: Evaluate and Plan.

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam