SDP Blog

I see a lot of parents coaching their kids during the spring and summer time with different AAU or travel basketball teams. It's a great opportunity to spend time with your kid, but it can also hinder your kids development if you are not careful. Growing up I played for my dad. He coached me in baseball, football, and basketball. He started coaching me because he felt I wasn't getting the opportunity I deserved. With the opportunity came a lot of pressure to perform up to his standards and expectations. 

Skill development is a big thing now. Go on Google and type in basketball skill development and you will find several coaches and businesses that specialize in skill development. You have different types of skill coaches. You have the coaches that are in your face and intense and then you have the coaches that are more laid back. Whatever type of coach you are or coach you train with they all have the same goal of making players better.

First let me say that every team that participates in summer basketball is a NOT an AAU team. There are several organizations that host basketball tournaments that are not part of the AAU brand.  AAU is a non-profit organization that you must be a member of and host several AAU certified events.

Bear Bryant said it best when he said, "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships". If you look at the 5 NBA championships the San Antonio Spurs have won they were ranked in the top 5 in Defensive Rating (Points allowed per 100 possessions). To get that rating it took several key elements. 

Post players like Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Zach Randolph, to name a few, have several skills that make them great post players. These skills are game changers that have a positive effect on the outcome of the game.

Whenever I am training players that play on the perimeter I make it a priority to stress the importance of facing the basket on the catch. Players must understand that by "taking a peek" at the rim whenever they catch the ball on the perimeter it gives the illusion that they are a threat. It engages their defender.