How to Use Games to Teach
The crux of the matter is simple. Your job as the coach is to create a live game environment that teaches players how to run motion. Coaches should design different 1 on 1, 2 on 2, 3 on 3, 4 on 4, and 5 on 5 games that emphasize the motion concepts that you want. Then let your players play within those games/environments.
Tips for Using Games
Using a games based approach is about far more throwing the balls out and letting them play. There is an art and a science to using a games based approach. I truly believe that it's harder to teach in a games based approach than it is using traditional drills. This is because using games can "get ugly" to use the phrase by Trevor Ragan. In order to truly use a games based approach you have to be ok with practice being chaotic. Teaching players how to run offense in chaotic, game like situations is what makes the offense translate to games. I have coaches constantly ask me for drills to teach the offense. The problem is that drills don't translate very well to games. Players in drills memorize a pattern. Once the game starts and the conditions are different they can't apply what they learned or adapt to new conditions. So once that chaotic environment is created in practice it takes some skill to navigate it. Below are some tips for using a games based approach.
1) Select or design games to teach what you want.
Every game needs a purpose and needs to address what you want to accomplish. This website contains a library of
teaching games you can use. I also would encourage you make up your own games to fit the needs of your team.
2) Use rules to modify the games to teach what you want.
This might be the second most important aspect, after #1. Add and subtract rules in order to help your players perform
the desired actions or habits. For example, if you want them to work on passing and cutting, go no dribble. If you want
to work on the dribble drive part of motion, make a rule where they must catch and drive every time. If you want them
to be tougher against a defense call less fouls. As you can see, it's important to come up with rules that create the habits
that you want to see in your players. We also have "outs" in a lot of our games. Outs are things that, if done, result in their
team being out of the game, or losing possession. This forces players into the habits you want.
3) Use questioning to help players understand.
True learning comes from thinking. Instead of telling players what went wrong all the time, make sure you use proper
questioning methods to help them understand. For example, sometimes when we start teaching motion I will ask
players what happens in good offense. We come up with a list of good things and incorporate that into our teaching.
Also, when a player messes up, ASK what happened instead of telling them. It is going to help him
4) Talk less.
When using a games based strategy it's important to change your role as a coach. You move from the "sage on the stage" to
"guide on the side". Let the game teach them and talk in bullet points, not paragraph. I try to keep talking to 30 seconds max.
As Kevin Eastman always says "teach in bullet points, not paragraphs".
5) Be comfortable with ugly.
Your practices WILL be ugly. Things will be chaotic. And you have to be able to embrace it - and encourage it. At first
players (and you) will want everything to look perfect. Basketball is a chaotic game, so be comfortable with chaotic.
6) Teach within the ugly.
It's important to learn how to coach within the chaos and ugly of games. Try not to stop the games unless the
mistake is completely necessary. Don't stop when it gets ugly, wait until a stopping point to address issues.
7) Focus in on a few specific things you are stressing.
You are going to see a lot of mistakes, but if you call out every one then you will spend the entire practice
critiquing them and they will not spend any time playing. When in a game have few specific things you are going
to concentrate on and call your players on.
8) Let the players coach each other.
Give players chances to coach and correct each other. Especially when playing a cutthroat game where one team
is out - have the out team talk to each other about what went right and wrong. Also, when you stop practice
try to allow players to do the talking. As coaches we often lament players being quiet, but then we go to practice
and do all the talking. Give them a chance to talk.
9) Keep it moving - short games.
We've found that long games result in relaxed effort. The magic number I have found is 3-5 scores (4-6 if by 2s and 3s).
This keeps the games fast enough to play hard the entire time, but not too short.
10) Cultivate a growth mindset.
You need to cultivate a growth mindset in players. ENCOURAGE MISTAKES AND TAKING RISKS IN PRACTICE.
Practice is about failure. If you can get your players (and yourself) to treat mistakes as learning opportunities without
shame and blame you are going to get kids to learn at a much faster rate. I would encourage you to go to trainugly.com
for a lot of great growth mindset stuff.
11) Use proper praise and criticism techniques.
Research shows that the best praise and criticism comes from praising and criticizing effort only. Mistakes and success
don't need to be praised or criticized. That isn't going to help. Those mistakes need to be treated analytically - what
needs to be done (take the emotion out of it). When you praise or criticize your players, only do it around their
attitude and effort.
12) Involve free play.
All players want to play without adults - that's no secret. Try to give players in your program a chance during practice
to free play. It's not all for fun though. It also gives you time to evaluate what they are going to look like in games and
also determine what you need to work on.
1) Select or design games to teach what you want.
Every game needs a purpose and needs to address what you want to accomplish. This website contains a library of
teaching games you can use. I also would encourage you make up your own games to fit the needs of your team.
2) Use rules to modify the games to teach what you want.
This might be the second most important aspect, after #1. Add and subtract rules in order to help your players perform
the desired actions or habits. For example, if you want them to work on passing and cutting, go no dribble. If you want
to work on the dribble drive part of motion, make a rule where they must catch and drive every time. If you want them
to be tougher against a defense call less fouls. As you can see, it's important to come up with rules that create the habits
that you want to see in your players. We also have "outs" in a lot of our games. Outs are things that, if done, result in their
team being out of the game, or losing possession. This forces players into the habits you want.
3) Use questioning to help players understand.
True learning comes from thinking. Instead of telling players what went wrong all the time, make sure you use proper
questioning methods to help them understand. For example, sometimes when we start teaching motion I will ask
players what happens in good offense. We come up with a list of good things and incorporate that into our teaching.
Also, when a player messes up, ASK what happened instead of telling them. It is going to help him
4) Talk less.
When using a games based strategy it's important to change your role as a coach. You move from the "sage on the stage" to
"guide on the side". Let the game teach them and talk in bullet points, not paragraph. I try to keep talking to 30 seconds max.
As Kevin Eastman always says "teach in bullet points, not paragraphs".
5) Be comfortable with ugly.
Your practices WILL be ugly. Things will be chaotic. And you have to be able to embrace it - and encourage it. At first
players (and you) will want everything to look perfect. Basketball is a chaotic game, so be comfortable with chaotic.
6) Teach within the ugly.
It's important to learn how to coach within the chaos and ugly of games. Try not to stop the games unless the
mistake is completely necessary. Don't stop when it gets ugly, wait until a stopping point to address issues.
7) Focus in on a few specific things you are stressing.
You are going to see a lot of mistakes, but if you call out every one then you will spend the entire practice
critiquing them and they will not spend any time playing. When in a game have few specific things you are going
to concentrate on and call your players on.
8) Let the players coach each other.
Give players chances to coach and correct each other. Especially when playing a cutthroat game where one team
is out - have the out team talk to each other about what went right and wrong. Also, when you stop practice
try to allow players to do the talking. As coaches we often lament players being quiet, but then we go to practice
and do all the talking. Give them a chance to talk.
9) Keep it moving - short games.
We've found that long games result in relaxed effort. The magic number I have found is 3-5 scores (4-6 if by 2s and 3s).
This keeps the games fast enough to play hard the entire time, but not too short.
10) Cultivate a growth mindset.
You need to cultivate a growth mindset in players. ENCOURAGE MISTAKES AND TAKING RISKS IN PRACTICE.
Practice is about failure. If you can get your players (and yourself) to treat mistakes as learning opportunities without
shame and blame you are going to get kids to learn at a much faster rate. I would encourage you to go to trainugly.com
for a lot of great growth mindset stuff.
11) Use proper praise and criticism techniques.
Research shows that the best praise and criticism comes from praising and criticizing effort only. Mistakes and success
don't need to be praised or criticized. That isn't going to help. Those mistakes need to be treated analytically - what
needs to be done (take the emotion out of it). When you praise or criticize your players, only do it around their
attitude and effort.
12) Involve free play.
All players want to play without adults - that's no secret. Try to give players in your program a chance during practice
to free play. It's not all for fun though. It also gives you time to evaluate what they are going to look like in games and
also determine what you need to work on.
When to Use Traditional Drills
This is one of the questions I get asked often. My rule of thumb is if the players CAN'T do an action or don't know how to do the action use drills. If they forget to do actions, that's not time for drills. If they know how to do something, but are forgetting it in a game setting, that means they need more time in small sided games to get the desired transfer. If they are not doing them correctly because they don't know how to do them correctly, then we go to drills to teach them. I usually find that 15-20 reps of an action is enough before moving onto games. I would also say listen to your players - what do they think?
I might also use a traditional drill (ex: 5 on 0) for 10-15 reps before we get into our games to remind them of a concept. Sometimes players need a refresher, especially early in the year.
I might also use a traditional drill (ex: 5 on 0) for 10-15 reps before we get into our games to remind them of a concept. Sometimes players need a refresher, especially early in the year.