‘Jam press’

This press is initiated on the rebound, and the key is getting a “jam” on the player who rebounded the ball. Typically, on a rebound by the opponent, players are programmed to retreat on defense. With the jam press, the mindset is to attack the rebounder with at least one player who is the closest to the rebounder.

The goal of the “jammer” is not allowing the rebounder to turn and outlet the ball. If the defender can prevent the rebounder from turning, it usually prevents the rebounder from outletting. This allows a second defender to apply a trap to the backside or force a pass to the corner. It also slows the offense’s transition, allowing the defense to establish pressure and trapping. This jam press can be used as a one-and-done press, or it can be used to create constant pressure and set up multiple traps in transition.

There will be times when the rebounder successfully outlets the ball. When that happens, regular rules for pressing apply. However, if the rebounder is held up by a jam or trap, then the press aspect of the defense kicks in. This press defense requires trapping rotations that may be unfamiliar to your players. They usually have designated spots in a regular press according to the position they play. But the “point of the spear” on the jam/jam-trap transition press could be any of your players. When a shot goes up, the jam responsibility goes to the player closest to the rebounder.

In a regular press, teams also tend to put their 5-player back as the “goalie.” But in a jam transition press, the goalie could be any of the guards. If an all-out jam press is required because of time and score, the goalie can be pulled and used as an interceptor/trapper.

Press implementation

Properly implementing this philosophy varies from team to team. When I coached high school boys, we would spend time during every practice working on jamming, jam trapping and rotations. At lower levels, it’s very difficult to do that because of limited practice time and experience among players.

At the high school level, coaches can really expand the press part of this concept with trapping rotations and playing pressure basketball. The key understanding must be that there’s no substitute for hustling. If your team does not hustle, this approach is not for you. All the trapping and proper rotation techniques won’t matter if you don’t hustle in and out of them. The goal is to make opponents uncomfortable and disrupt their attack.

Here’s what you need to do to implement the jam/jam-trap transition press. If all your team can do is get one jammer to the rebounder, two of the three interceptors can cut off the sideline passing lanes. If the rebounder turns forward, cheat back to cover the middle. The focus should be to take away the ball-side sideline and the middle.

If the rebounder starts to dribble up the floor, the middle defender must stop the ball and force a sideways or backward pass. If a pass is made up the floor, everyone must hustle back on defense. When the pass is sideways or backward, the closest defender must get to the ball and apply pressure to push the player toward a sideline for a trap. When I coached high school boys, the jam-press trapping rotations were particularly effective with the 10-second rule in place.

If a jam-trap occurs on the rebounder, and the rebounder hasn’t turned or made an outlet pass, one interceptor cheats the ball-side sideline while the other tries to anticipate a pass from a middle. If the rebounder turns, the ball advancement must be stopped and a pass forced sideways or backward.

The hard part about this is that the jammer, trapper, interceptors and goalie can be different players each time this is initiated. That means the trapping rotation system must be understood and communicated between players. Usually, in a press after a made-basket, a player’s only initial job may be to run to a specific spot on the floor. The trapping rotation system scrambles all positions into a match-up style zone of jammers, trappers, interceptors and goalie. A player’s role and position on the floor can change from one dribble to the next.

Here’s an example of progressions in the jam press:

DIAGRAM 1: 5 grabs the rebound, and X4 and X5 make a jam trap. Other players set up as shown, with X1 back as the “goalie.” If 5 passes to 4, X3 applies pressure, X5 and X2 take the middle and X1 stays back, giving an initial 2-2-1 look in the trap and a 1-2-1-1 look off the pass and defensive rotation.

DIAGRAM 2: 4 passes back to 5, and the defense rotates accordingly. X5 applies ball pressure as the “jammer,” giving a jammer plus 2-1-1 look.

DIAGRAM 3: 5 passes to 2, and X4 applies ball pressure. Other players rotate as shown, giving a 1-2-1-1 look.

DIAGRAM 4: 2 passes to 3, and X2 joins X4 to make a trap. Other players rotate accordingly, and the goalie is “pulled.” This is more like a 2-3 matchup with all-out trapping.

Potential challenges

The caveat in this approach is that some rebounders are exceptionally quick at outletting the ball up the floor. This thwarts any attempt at a jam or jam press. Your team could become good enough at the trapping rotations that you could still deploy the transition press part of this defense — perhaps a trap at half-court before retreating. But it becomes more vulnerable to a fast break without the jam.

Just switching your mindset from retreating to attacking the rebounder allows your trappers to be quicker to the jam. It also makes your interceptors more aware of passing angles and their place on the court in conjunction with ball pressure and trapping angles.

The jam/jam-trap transition press can be a useful defense to any coach on most transition possessions. There should be no need to wait until after a made basket to apply pressure. You can implement pressure at the get-go, increasing your chances of forcing a turnover. That’s especially helpful to undersized, quick teams — this press could be your ticket to competing against bigger players. You can catch them at their most vulnerable, forcing them to dribble or pass out of pressure against faster players.

If you count on defensive rebounds against a bigger team, it usually doesn’t work out. No coach likes to see three, four or five consecutive offensive rebounds against their players — it’s extremely disheartening. With the jam/jam-trap transition press, you develop an aggressive, competitive mindset. That can make all the difference.

Joseph Kubacki has coached high school and grade school basketball in Massachusetts since 1976.

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In our program, we believe we have found a practice planning template that allows us to maximize time, emphasize fundamentals, build conditioning and prepare for our opponents.

To develop a practice plan that works for you, start by creating a philosophy on what constitutes an effective practice.

Practice philosophy

1. Practice should be fast-paced. We are a running team, but even if we weren’t, practicing fast allows us to maximize time and develop conditioning. We try to avoid spending too much time simply running sprints, so conditioning is built through constant movement and quick transitions. Another thing we don’t do is stop practice for water breaks. Of course, players are encouraged to drink plenty of water. However, water bottles are kept in the bleachers and players get their drinks while at the end of a line or after finishing a rep.

2. What is practiced should translate to games. We never do a drill just for the sake of doing it. We utilize small-sided games as much as possible to develop skills in game-like situations.

3. Habits can be built through violations and rewards. We play a great deal of 4-on-4, but we’re always trying to develop specific habits. This can be done by using violations or rewards. For example, if we’re emphasizing attacking the rim off the dribble, any time a player takes a needless dribble that stagnates the offense, it’s a violation and the other team gains possession. As a reward, the offense might gain a point every time the ball is driven into the paint.

4. Practice should at times be chaotic. We’re always trying to fight the urge of having “pretty” practices. While perfect organization might make us feel better as coaches, they don’t transfer to game situations. Mistakes are learning opportunities, so we strive to challenge our players to make mistakes in practice.

Cultural aspects of practice

Practices should build a specific culture. These are some specific things we do to accomplish that goal.

1. If you aren’t in a drill or in a game, you’re coaching it. This rule ensures communication is maintained throughout practice. We discuss this at the beginning of the season and hold players accountable to a standard of constant communication. They can provide encouragement and give teammates reminders while they’re sidelined during practices.

2. HEART jersey. We developed the acronym HEART (hustle, energy, attitude, response, toughness) to define what we’re looking for in players. Each practice, we award a special HEART jersey to a player based on the previous practice. The coaching staff meets after practices to discuss which player best displayed these qualities. That player gets to practice the next day wearing the jersey instead of a regular practice jersey.

3. HEART board. Along the same lines, we use a HEART board in practice. This is a reminder of the HEART concepts. At times during a practice, we may ask players to gauge where we are in each concept. For example, if the practice is lacking energy, we may ask a player how she would assess our energy. In all likelihood, she will know and maybe grade it a “D” or “F.” This allows the team to take ownership of its own energy level.

4. “Daily Dozen.” We begin practices with the number “12” on a whiteboard. This signifies the number of sprints we have after practice. However, we tell our team that we hope they never have to run a sprint. If we believe our HEART is at championship levels, we periodically lower the number throughout practice.

5. “Champion’s Corner.” If a player fails to execute one of our desired habits, we may send her to the “Champion’s Corner” with an assistant coach. This is not a punishment, but a way to reinforce necessary fundamentals. If a player fails to take a charge, the assistant might take her to a corner and give her a few reps of taking charges. This reinforces that we believe taking charges is important and necessary to be a great team.

6. Basket leaders. At times, we may put a player in charge of a group’s energy during practice. If we’re using several baskets during shooting drills, each basket could have one player assigned to make sure that all players are hustling and communicating. This is an effective way to build leadership and get players out of their comfort zones.

7. Celebrations. When we huddle after each practice, players have the opportunity to celebrate other teammates. This helps us end practice on a good note, and it recognizes players who stood out.

Practice organization

The following is the basic practice setup that we like to use.

1. Before practice. We post shooting groups for the day and prepare all equipment — clock, blocking pads, cones, water bottles, balls.

2. Shooting segment (11 minutes). We start by spending three minutes on form shooting, beginning with shots under the basket. When players swish two in a row, they can take a step back.

We then spend eight minutes on three-person shooting drills. Players get in their shooting groups and use all six baskets. Our three-person drills work on actions right out of our offense. We set a lot of backscreens in our man offense, so we work on offensive execution and shooting after setting a backscreen (DIAGRAMS 1-3). In eight minutes, we rotate through several variations each day.

3. Dynamic stretch. After stretching, we huddle and award the HEART jersey based on yesterday’s practice.

4. Pre-practice (eight to 10 minutes). We vary our pre-practice drills. Some days we focus on ball handling, others on passing, catching or finishing. We have groups of drills/small-sided games for each concept that we can utilize.

Here are two ball handling pre-practice drills we use:

• Beat-the-trap drill: Dribble the ball 1-on-2 until the coach calls the player’s name. On the call, make a successful pass to the coach and rotate out. This drill isn’t fully game-realistic but develops confidence and toughness with the ball.
• Full-court, 1-on-3: A ball handler starts on each baseline. Three defenders play in “zones” on each side of the floor. The first defender guards the player in the first third of the floor, the second in the middle third of the floor, and the third guards the basket. The offensive player tries to beat all three defenders to score (DIAGRAM 4).

Here are two sample passing/catching pre-practice drills we use:

• Monkey in the Middle: In a small group, work on quick ball fakes and passing through an open “window.” Follow your pass to be the next “monkey in the middle.”
• 2-on-2, 10 passes: Break into groups. The goal of a group is to make ten consecutive passes with no deflections/steals. Rotate every time this fails to happen. Emphasize V-cutting to get open, passing away from the defense, and pivoting through pressure. We do not let players dribble.

Here are two samples of finishing pre-practice drills we use:

• Elbow finish: Get with a partner on the elbow. The defender starts on the offensive player’s hip. In one dribble, drive to the basket while the defender applies resistance. Jump off of two feet to score. Emphasize a big first dribble, cutting off the defender’s recovery line, and jumping off of two feet.
• Cone 1-on-1: In small groups, set up a cone on each side of the basket. We do a long variation and a shorter variation. On a “go” call, the offense dribbles around its cone while the defender sprints around theirs. Finish off of two feet at the rim.

5. 3, 2, 1 free throws. Using all six baskets, players shoot three, then two, then one. Record your makes with a manager.

6. “Achievement” phase (six to eight minutes). This is an opportunity for players to achieve something before starting the team portion of practice. This is timed, and players have to meet a goal.

We prefer to make this a transition drill to get players moving and increase our energy. We could use a transition shooting drill or some type of transition cycle working on our fast-break system. If players meet the goal, we might let them choose a three- to four-minute drill they enjoy. If they don’t meet the goal, we run a sprint and the coach chooses something else each player can achieve. For example, every player may need to dive on one loose ball before we begin practice. This starts the team portion of our practice with players knowing they have accomplished something.

7. Transition segment (20 minutes). The game is played in constant transition, and we felt like our practices haven’t always reflected that. We have a variety of transition games and drills, but here are two transition sequences we use:

• Continuous 2-on-1: We start with a black and gold team, each on a sideline. Black team attacks 2-on-1. When the ball crosses half court, a second gold defender sprints to touch half court, then sprints back to defend. On the shot, the two defenders attack 2-on-1 the other way. We play for four minutes, and the losing team runs a sprint.
• War drill: Start like a 5-on-5 shell drill with the defenders circling in the paint. When coach shoots, all offensive players crash to rebound. Play live on either an offensive or defensive rebound until the coach blows the whistle. We play for eight minutes, and the losing team runs a sprint.

8. 3, 2, 1 free throws. We do this a second time to emphasize free-throw shooting.

9. Defensive segment (14 to 20 minutes). This includes a variety of defensive drills or games. We prefer to go live as much as possible, particularly later in the season when our rules are already established.

The following is an example of two defensive segments we might use:

• Series of stops: Divide the team in four groups, giving each a corner of half court. Play 1-on-1 from half court, staying on your half of the floor. The defensive player must get a stop on every offensive player in the group to get out.
• Lane 1-on-1: Break players into groups. Align cones creating a lane from the offensive player on the wing to the basket. The defender starts under the rim. A player on the weak side throws a skip pass. The defender closes out on the skip, and the offensive player must score without going out of the lane (DIAGRAM 5). Each group has a winner; losers run a sprint.

10. 3, 2, 1 free throws. Another series emphasizing free throws.

11. Offensive segment (14 to 20 minutes). We often incorporate guard/post breakdown drills here, where we try to get each group game-specific shooting. We could also do some 5-on-0 work, although we try to limit this after the beginning of the season.

Here are two offensive drills we might use:

• 2-on-2 plus a coach: Because our offense is backscreen-oriented, we practice 2-on-2 with cutters backscreening for other players. We move players around to work on different angled screens (DIAGRAMS 6-7).
• 4-on-4 backscreen to score: Players play live 4-on-4, but they must score off of a backscreen action. This shows players what we’re emphasizing and also helps our defense, as it must defend constant screening. We sometimes vary the action we want to focus on.

12. Scrimmage/situational work (10 to 20 minutes). We vary the ways that we scrimmage. We sometimes divide into equal teams and sometimes play varsity versus junior varsity. Also, we often scrimmage man-to-man then scrimmage again playing zone. This is also the time where we work on late-game situations.

13. 3, 2, 1 free throws. Our final free-throw circuit of the day.

14. “Daily Dozen” running (if necessary).

15. Talk and touch/huddle. 

Aaron Blatch is the head girls basketball coach at Crestview High School in Columbiana, Ohio.

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Follow the Leader

DIAGRAMS 1-3: This is an excellent shooting drill to get your guards involved shooting from different areas on the floor. It starts by having one player inbounding the ball and four shooters on the floor: in the corner, on the wing, at the top of the key and in the opposite corner.

The shooters are in their “shot ready” position: eyes up, hands out, knees bent, left foot back in order to step into the shot (opposite for left handed players). The inbounder passes to the corner and replaces the player at that spot. After the shot, the rebounder grabs the ball and gets in the passer’s line. The shooter replaces the rebounder.

The next passer sends the ball to the wing for the shot, then replaces. The next passer skips to the top of the key, the next to the opposite corner. This forces all shooters to be ready to shoot on the catch and gives them several reps at different areas of the floor.

Rapid Fire Shooting

DIAGRAM 4: This again works guards on shooting from the catch on the baseline and at the wings. In this drill, there are four lines — two at the wings, and two at each baseline. One rebounder starts the drill by passing the ball to any one of the lines. The rebounder gives some pressure, just to have the shooter get the shot off in good time. The defender should not disrupt or alter the shot.

The shooter then follows the shot, rebounds, and passes to another player in line and give some pressure. This drill works continuously by getting reps at various parts of the floor. Ultimately, against any zone defense, guards have to show the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter.

Two in Traffic

DIAGRAM 5-6: This drill for forwards simulates rebounds, put backs and scoring in the paint.

Three players are at a basket. Two on each side of the basket will be on offense, the one player in the middle is on defense. The drill starts by the defender throwing the ball off the backboard to one side. The offensive player jumps at its highest point, grabs the rebound, and scores using pump fakes (if needed) to beat the defender in the middle of the paint. After the score, the defender throws the ball off the backboard to the other side where that offensive player scores going straight up, not fading away. Players can rotate so everyone can play defense and score from both sides of the basket.

Two-line shooting

DIAGRAMS 7-8: Converting on out-of-bounds plays can give your team those important points to win the game. In two-line shooting, all forwards work to convert on shots in the paint. Two lines are under the basket and two balls are used. One player runs to the foul line, then break to the opposite block. The pass is made by the player in the other line and the player converts. Once the shot is made, the passer runs to the foul line, breaks to the opposite block, and converts.

This drill gives forwards a lot of shots at close range. These shots should be made at a high percentage, and this will carry over to the games. Players need to be give maximum effort, cutting and running hard to complete this drill.

These drills for young basketball players will prepare teams to take the next step forward, while advancing athletes in their respective positions.

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When some of these offenses combine pre- and post-screening action in a continuous movement of an offense, defenses have a more difficult task ahead of them. Using “ram screens” — initially screening the ball-screener — moves that screener and their defender, making the action more difficult to guard. To further complicate things for the defense, the movement of the ball-screener after setting the screen varies by establishing a primary or secondary scorer in different locations.

I want to demonstrate different quick-hitting plays and entries that incorporate action that screens the ball-screener with different types of post ball-screening action. These entries also capitalize on all five players’ offensive skills by putting each in positions to maximize their skills. If these entries and plays do not produce the desired shot, the action positions all five players into the proper spot-ups for the coach’s designated continuity or motion offense to continue the second phase of attack.

DIAGRAM 1: Play one. This play starts from the horns set. 3 and 2 can vary their types of Iverson cuts, making the initial action more unpredictable and difficult to defend. 1 also has the option of making the first wing pass to either side of the floor. This play has 2 make the high Iverson cut over the top of 4 and 5 to the opposite side’s wing area, while 3 runs along the baseline before circling out to the opposite side’s wing area at the free-throw-line extended.

DIAGRAM 2: Play one. 1 passes to 2 on the left side of the floor after 2 brushes across the tops of screens by 4 and 5. 5 then cuts across the free-throw line to set a cross screen for 4, who breaks across the free-throw line toward 2. After 5 screens for 2 and then 4, 5 quickly steps out to backscreen for 1, who flare-cuts to the new weak-side wing area.

DIAGRAM 3: Play one. 4 steps out to set an inside ball-screen for 2, who attacks the middle of the floor. After 2 rubs off of 4’s top shoulder, 4 can either face the ball as he rolls to the basket or make a lob cut to the basket. If 2 turns down the pass to 4, he continues dribbling towards the double twisted ball screen set by 5 and 3. After 2 dribble-scrapes off of 5’s top shoulder to the opposite side of the floor, 3 slips the ball screen and flare cuts to the new weak-side deep corner, either pulling the defender with him or looking for 2’s skip pass.

5 slips the ball screen and steps out to the new weak-side extended high post area outside of the arc, while 1 drifts to the new ball-side corner. This action spreads out the thin and weakened defense to further isolate 4 in the lane. If no shots are taken, players are now in the proper four-out, one-in spot-ups for the second wave to begin.

DIAGRAM 4: Play two. The next play begins in the four-down set. 3 and 2 must determine which player makes the high Iverson cut and which runs the baseline across the lane to the opposite side’s wing area.

DIAGRAM 5: Play two. 1 can make the pass to either wing, but in this example passes to 3 on the right side of the floor. 1 breaks down to set a small-on-big diagonal downscreen for 5 to flash to the new ball-side high post, with 1 out to the weak-side deep corner area. The new ball-side mid-post player (4) pops out to the new ball-side deep corner, and 2 rotates to the weak-side extended high post area beyond the arc. This isolates 5 in the lane as they cut to the ball-side high post.

DIAGRAM 6: Play two. If 3 turns down the pass to the flashing 5, 5 continues to set a big-on-small inside ball screen for 3 to dribble-scrape off of to the middle of the floor. After 3 breaks contact with 5’s top shoulder, 5 can roll through the lane or rim-run to the basket and look for 3’s lob pass. If no shots are taken, players are now in the proper four-out, one-in spot-ups.

DIAGRAM 7: Play three. The next play is run from the three-over set. This example puts the strong side on the left, with 2 making an Iverson cut over the top of 5 and 4 to the opposite side’s wing area. After 1 makes the wing pass to 2, 1 flare-cuts to the new weak-side wing area. 4 then cuts across the lane to set a big-on-small downscreen for 3 to flash toward the ball at the new ball-side high post. After setting the screen, 4 then reverses their direction and flashes back to the new ball-side block. 5 steps out to the new weak-side extended high-post area outside of the arc. This overloads the defense and isolates 4 and 3 on the interior for high-percentage shots. 1, 5 and 2 are all outside of the 3-point line.

DIAGRAM 8: Play three. If those inside shots are rejected, 4 stretches the defense by popping out to the deep corner, and 3 steps out to set an inside ball-screen for 2. 2 dribble-scrapes off of 3’s top shoulder and attacks toward the middle of the floor, with 5 screening for 1 to break up outside of the arc as another scoring threat. After 2 breaks contact with 3, 3 inverts the perimeter defender by rolling hard through the lane or rim-running to the basket for 2’s lob pass. With 5, 1, 4 and 2 outside of the 3-point line, 3 has not only inverted their defender but also has isolated him in an unfamiliar position. If no shots are created, all players are now in the proper four-out, one-in spot-ups.

Each of these plays has players initially screen the designated ball-screener, who subsequently screens a perimeter player. Because these entries are initiated from different sets, have three different pre-screeners and three different ball-screeners, each presents a high degree of unpredictability to defenses.

John Kimble coached basketball for 20 years in Illinois and Florida, accumulating more than 340 wins. He has authored five coaching books, 90 articles and created 28 coaching videos. He can be found at www.CoachJohnKimble.com.

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Here are the five most common training concepts that are neglected in most programs.

1. A program that’s flexible and customizable to all athletes.

When I look at a training program, I’m not looking for structure — I’m more focused on purpose. Do you have a complete understanding of the human body? Can you look at your athletes and understand their movement patterns and deficiencies?

Your programs are a reflection of your knowledge and the value that you bring to your organization. It’s convenient to put together a generic preseason template and fill it with random exercises. However, you separate yourself with the knowledge and understanding of training athletes, which is reflected in your programming.

Before you begin writing any training program for you athletes, ask yourself these five questions:

• What’s the goal? Do your players need to improve holistically? Do they have specific weak-points? Do they need to come into the season in better shape than last? Establish a goal, create a deadline and work backward from there.
• What are the demands of the sport? Basketball is a contact sport that requires strength, power, speed, agility and conditioning. Yet, I see a lot of fancy “corrective exercises” as the basis of programs. Remember, movement and strength should be the foundation of your program. You want to create productive stress that will contribute to the development of your athletes.
• How much time is dedicated to training? This is an overlooked component of creating a training program. Time frames dictate your progressions, regressions, exercise selection and testing parameters. The circumstances will not always be perfect. However, if you have a clear plan, small deviations will not take away from the goal. No structure leads to no results.
• Do athletes have any past or current injuries? Coaches must be in constant communication with athletes. They must know what’s going on with their bodies. If athletes cannot do what’s prescribed for that training session, have them do something to address those issues. Don’t just throw random exercises at them to “keep them busy.” Show your knowledge and value by spending quality time investing in every player on the team.
• What’s the players’ mentality? Coaches must create a training environment that fosters great athletes. Do you demand that athletes arrive early? Do you monitor body language and how they respond to tasks? Do you force them to take ownership and communicate? These are all skills that can be developed. Lead by example and demand excellence, and the players will follow suit.

During the preseason, emphasis should be placed less on resistance training and more on plyometrics, agility and metabolic conditioning. Training should utilize an intermediate periodization strategy characterized by increasing levels of variations within, as well as between, respective cycles. The volume and intensity of both plyometric and resistance training is relatively high with moderate volume to maximize outputs.

A single training session should be carried out in the following order:

1. Aerobic warmup
2. Technical work (sprinting, running, jumping and basketball movements)
3. Plyometrics/power development/speed
4. Resistance training
5. Metabolic conditioning
6. Flexibility/mobility/cool down/recovery

This is a basic outline, and how you structure the training is entirely up to you. Just make sure to provide some form of organization.

2. Standard prework completed before every training session.

You should know by now a proper specific warmup should be done at the beginning of every training session. However, you only have a certain amount of time dedicated to training your team. It should not be wasted on “warming up.”

Are specific warmups imperative for long term health? Of course. However, in the hierarchy of training, I would not put them above the meat and potatoes of your program. Get the warm up out of the way before the training session. Therefore, you can dedicate your time to the stuff that matters.

Establishing a winning culture begins by making athletes accountable for their own personal development. Have a warmup on the board that every player must complete before they train. See who comes early and gets it done. Watch who comes in late and barely completes it. This simple change reveals a lot about your athletes.

3. Training economy.

Designing a training program for a group of high level athletes can be a tall ask. Whether you’re a coach in a collegiate/professional setting or in a private sector, you must ensure results. Do players, head coaches and parents trust you? They want to see that you’re making athletes better every time that they step foot into your facility.

Results are dependent on numerous factors, but in the world of strength and conditioning, some things work better than others. For example, if it’s a lower body-focused day and you have athletes perform the leg press, leg extensions and glute ham raises, you’re wasting precious time. Choose one main exercise such as a box squat, a hex dead, or a heavy lunge variation and progress on this exercises week after week. Instead of spending 45 minutes trying to fit all of those exercises into a training session, spend 15 minutes progressing on this one movement.

This should be the same for all of your training. Pick exercises that are going to give you the biggest return on investment. You should have one main strength movement, two supplemental movements, and one to two accessory movements.

4. More posterior chain work.

Power and speed are primarily generated from the posterior chain, which consists of the spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings, calves and Achilles. I see a lot of time dedicated to single-leg work and hamstrings. However, I don’t see enough time dedicated to low back health and extensor work of the heel and ankle.

Most athletes I work with are good jumpers. The caveat is a lot of them have weaker hips and ankles. As a result, they get residual aching knee pain coupled with high ankle sprains. Dedicating time to training the ankle and hamstrings helps mitigate this issue. I recommend on your non-lower body days or less taxing accessory days to include exercises such as banded ankle flexion. Two to three sets of 15 to 20 reps have done wonders for my players. Top loaded banded back extensions work well too.

5. Competitive drills/exercises within the training session.

I want a culture that fosters athletes who are hungry, humble and committed to excellence. Coaches must be the foundation for which everything is built. Hold yourself accountable everyday by living the code, caring about your athletes, and creating new ways to improve programming for your athletes.

One of these ways is including competitive drills and exercises into every training program. I call these “off the cuff” finishers. These drills allow you to separate winners from the pretenders. Examples of these can include team competitions at the end of every training session.

The last training session of our week is called “Jailhouse Friday.” This day is dedicated to accessory work we didn’t get to throughout the week and a team competition. I only include them during preseason training, as we’re trying to get them into that competitive mindset heading into the season. Be creative — conditioning drills, bodyweight finishers, cardiovascular equipment. Set the rules and parameters, and watch players get to work. John Wooden once said, “Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” I believe this to be true as I see it happening in my gym every day.

If you consider these strategies for your preseason training program, it can have a profound effect on the training, coaching and culture of your team.

Adam Menner is the head of basketball performance and operations manager for Varsity House Gym. Find him at www.varsityhousegym.com.

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