Simple transition

Το pick and roll είναι μία συνεργασία δύο παικτών ευρέως διαδεδομένη. Ο Παναθηναϊκός του Obradovic το ανήγαγε σε "επιστήμη" και όπως είναι λογικό οι περισσότεροι Έλληνες προπονητές επηρεάστηκαν. Εδώ και αρκετά χρόνια παρατηρούμε ότι σχεδόν όλες οι ομάδες, ακόμα και στις μικρές ηλικίες χρησιμοποιούν τη συνεργασία αυτή (το βλέπουμε ακόμα και σε αγώνες μίνι), είτε ως μέρος ενός συστήματος, είτε σαν λύση ανάγκης στα τελευταία δευτερόλεπτα, είτε σαν βάση πάνω στην οποία χτίζουν την επιθετική τους φιλοσοφία.

Για μένα υπάρχουν αρκετές ενστάσεις στη χρήση του στις αναπτυξιακές ηλικίες και είναι οι ακόλουθες:

1)Δυστυχώς το pick and roll χρησιμοποιείται κατά κόρον διότι τα παιδιά αγνοούν άλλων ειδών συνεργασίες(give and go, screen μακριά από τη μπάλα κ.α.) και βασικών δεξιοτήτων (ξεμαρκάρισμα, εκμετάλλευση screen μακριά από την μπάλα κ.α.). Σε αυτή την περίπτωση είναι δουλειά του προπονητή να μην επιλέξει το εύκολο, αλλά με υπομονή να δουλέψει τους παίκτες του σε όλα τα βασικά στοιχεία που πρέπει να μάθει ένας αθλητής από μικρός.

2)Για να στήσεις ένα καλό pick and roll θα πρέπει να έχεις τους κατάλληλους παίκτες, αλλιώς μία σχετικά καλή ομάδα θα μπορεί εύκολα να το αντιμετωπίσει αμυντικά.

3)Στις αναπτυξιακές ηλικίες για εμένα είναι βασικό να συμμετέχουν στα plays όλοι οι παίκτες ενεργά. Όπως και να το κάνουμε στο screen στη μπάλα, οι τρεις εναπομείναντες παίκτες είναι δύσκολο να μάθουν να κινούνται σωστά και να αναπτύξουν επιθετικές δεξιότητες αν επιλέγεται συχνά αυτός ο τρόπος επίθεσης.

Τελειώνοντας αναφέρω την προτίμηση μου να χρησιμοποιώ το pick and roll στον αιφνιδιασμό ως ένα απλό είδος transition.Μια ιδέα μπορεί να σας δώσει το παρακάτω βίντεο: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXn-DfmAmvw

I am looking forward to your views, ideas, objections, considerations via my email:kitsoleris@hotmail.com or at twitter @Gkitsoleris. And since 2014 at Facebook: George Kitsoleris

Post game from the final of Euroleague Women 2013

Last year, the Euroleague final 8 took place in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The two teams that qualified for the final were the host team UMMC Ekaterinburg and Fenerbahce from Turkey. It was the first time that a Turkish team succeeds this achievement. The final was a performance only for one, Ekaterinburg . As the website of fiba refers: “Overwhelming favourites throughout the season, the star-laden roster of UMMC Ekaterinburg finally delivered against expectation, crucially settling any early nerves with a blistering start to leave the hopes of their Turkish opponent hanging by a thread within a matter of minutes.”

The most interesting thing from this final is the effort of both teams to transfer the ball at the low post, while most of the set plays also ended with the isolation of the big player inside the basket.

If someone watches the game(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8nyVu7FxCg) the crucial point of the game was the offensive transition and the defense of the host team which took advantage from the early minutes. On the other hand Fenerbahce chose to defend with hedge-out on the pick-roll Russian team’s offense and tried to change the rhythm and the momentum of the game using match-up zone defense and full court pressure.

I present two set plays, one of each team that the coaches used for having a post game from the beginning of the game. I must notice the fact that the Russian team defended very well when the ball entered the low post or the paint with double team from the weak side. Finally, I show a baseline out of bounds that Ekaterinburg used, for understanding that the effort for post game was constant, even after baseline or sideline out of bounds.

The first play that used the Russian team for an easy post game is the following:

The point guard (2) after the post up sets a screen for the center (5)

The Turkish team used a more complicated way to pass the ball inside, using a flex at the end of this play:

Finally, the hosts had a baseline out of bound with Diana Taurasi at the position 2 who after the throw-in set a screen for the center.

I am looking forward to your views, ideas, objections, considerations via my email: kitsoleris@hotmail.com or at twitter @Gkitsoleris. And since 2014 at Facebook: George Kitsoleris

Playing zone defense in ages 14-16

A topic with a special interest and an issue for a lot of arguments among the coaches, who train young athletes, is the use or not zone defenses. I know that many of you are against teaching  zone defense in the early years. Many coaches believe that this kind of defense does not help players improve their defensive skills, because it is usually less aggressive or without clear responsibilities.

The truth is that I had the same objections when I started to train girls at the age of 14, 15, 16.  I was considering that it is a “crime” to teach and use this defense, before the age of 16, but I was facing the problem of having to show offensive plays against zone in my trainings, because we would play against it. A colleague, who watched my team 8 years ago, told me after a game his opinion on this issue. He believed that the players must know how to play some kind of zone defense, before the age of 16 (In Greece this is the time when players change the level of the championship). He told me exactly the following:”If I was the coach of the team U18, I would like the players, who come from the team U16, to know how to play some kinds of zone defense”. It is late for the players  to learn this kind of defense at the age of 16-17.

Today, I believe that the zone defense teaching problems are solved with the use of match-up zone defenses. But the most important thing is to understand that for playing a good zone defense, the players must know the basic principles of man to man defense. And these principles should be known in a team from the age of 14-15. A girl U15 plays in the national team U15 in Greece and I can’t believe that she is elected to be in the best dozen players of her country without any previous knowledge. So we could often have or create teams under 14-15 that they are in a satisfactory level of man to man defense and know the basic principles: weak side, 1on1 defense, pick and roll reaction, box out, closing out, defensive transition, slides etc.

Then, it is the time when I start to teach some easy match-up zone defense like AMOEBA.. I have already shown offensive plays against simple kind of defense (like 2-1-2 or 2-3 or 3-2) in which players are assigned to guard specific areas of the court, rather than players.  Most of the times we don’t have offensive problems against simple zone defense, so the players understand the necessity of a zone defense with particular rules and adapt this defense to the opponents and not only to specific areas of the court.

You can see below how my team reacted against two zone offensive plays in the final game women U16 in 2011, using AMOEBA defense. I should clarify that we were training and playing this defense for nearly one month and a half, but we had only two days to prepare for this specific game and the opponent’s offensive plays.

The play 1 and our reaction were:

The second play and our reaction were:

You can also see the following video which shows highlights from the above plays and defensive reactions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXn_aanHnXc

I am looking forward to your views, ideas, objections, considerations via my email: kitsoleris@hotmail.com or at twitter @Gkitsoleris. And since 2014 at Facebook: George Kitsoleris

Sport tourism – A coach’s obligation?

Today I want to refer to a topic that doesn’t really relate to training process. However I think that it is a part of our job when we are occupied with young boys and girls. I believe that besides the knowledge we offer via trainings, we should give them images and experience from teams and cities away from our home. I owe a lot to my first team in which I was playing, because it organized every year a trip for friendly games and arranged the pre-seasonal preparation to take place in an athletic centre outside Thessaloniki. They were my first sport experiences from basketball teams and players away from my city and my first journeys without my parents.

Inevitably, I have tried to apply this mentality to the teams/boards in which I have worked. I usually take over a team at the end of May and persuade the parents for the necessity of the pre-seasonal preparation away from our city. Most of the athletic centre are in ideal sites and if you book early, you can pay lower prices. On the other hand, the team’s connection is accomplished better and the players’ attitude is more positive at the start of the season. Believe me, the majority of parents finds this idea excellent and I did not have problems about organizing this activity except for some families which had economics problems. In these cases, my opinion is to quit the idea, because in a preparation we must have all the athletes.

An easier way to organize a trip is the participation in a tournament or a journey to a city where you have found one team or more for friendly games. It is a piece of cake most of the times, because you can easily find a team via the web. The trip can take place in a period "off the season" or during a game break. Finally, because of the low cost airlines you can think about a journey abroad.  

Iraklis BC women U16- Preparation in Velvento 2010

Ajax women U19,U16-Journey to Milano, Italy 2013-Friendly game with Milano Stars

Machites BC-Journey to Paris, France- Eindhoven, Holland 2006

I am looking forward to your views, ideas, objections, considerations via my email: kitsoleris@hotmail.com or at twitter @Gkitsoleris.

Choosing “Push” as defensive pick and roll reaction.

Coaching young girls, a coach divides the time during the training between offensive and defensive fundamentals, drills and skills. After teaching basic principles of both sides, it comes the moment that the young player (I believe that 13-14 years old is the correct time) learn about pick and roll cooperation. Having to choose among a variety ways, I choose the “push defense” in early years.

It is known that if the defender pushes the player who screens, it is a foul and 90% of the referees will charge that. But only in a high level! So this is not a disadvantage if you coach young athletes. Our goals, when we try to teach the pick and roll defense, usually are:

1)We don’t want the offense to create a situation 2on1 after the screen. With push defense players are responsible mainly for their opponents. The most important thing is the communication to call/ inform the player who guards the ball player. 

2) The tall player doesn’t cut towards the basket after the screen and there is not an easily breakthrough from the short player. 

3) We enhance the body contact which is a difficult part in women basketball. We insist on the players making a contact without lifting their body. They push the opponent’s body or chest having the hand and the arm at a 90˚ horizontal angle. 

4) We force them to see the defender getting there with the screener not after her.

If you establish the push defense in a young women team, you will also improve their confidence. The body contact during pick and roll is always important for my players’ psychology. In my opinion, the part that is difficult in this kind of defense is the side pick and roll. But I propose it unreservedly for pick and roll on the cap/the top of the key.

I am looking forward to your views, ideas, objections, considerations via my email: kitsoleris@hotmail.com or at twitter @Gkitsoleris.

The purpose of this blog

The idea of this website resulted from the gratitude that I feel about other sources of information;websites, blogs,social media have helped me improve my coaching database and affected my coaching philosophy. It is incredible how many people decide to share knowledge, experience, directions with others. In many cases, this material is free for everyone. And it happens in all the fields of sciences or sports. 

Independently whether one deals with basketball coaching as a job or a hobby, he can find in this blog particular thoughts and considerations which may problematize him. But the most important is the start of a communication between the writer and the reader, about schemes, problems and solutions in basketball generally or women basketball development specifically.

Having coached women teams for 10 years, having worked in the Greek development program, in Greek Basketball Federation and as an assistant coach in the national team U16, I believe that I will be a good interlocutor with you. Conversation is said to solve problems, an idea brings the other one and leads to evolution.

You can find many drills in the other sites, many plays or tactics. Here, one will read practical schemes and coaches' philosophy on women basketball development. And if you wonder why only on  women basketball development, the answer is that it is widely believed that people should talk about whatever they have experienced.