It is the basketball off-season and the San Antonio Spurs are enjoying some time off. From the players to the coaches, everyone is occupied with their own lives right now. Some of them are enjoying a typical vacation. They are giving themselves a well-deserved break before the next season hits the courts. Others are spending their time with their national teams, mostly preparing for the Olympics.
Although on a break, basketball players and coaches are still thinking about the season ahead of them. They are also trying to utilize their free time during the break to work on the games for next season. Here are a few things players and coaches can look into during their off-season to get better at their game.
Study Last Season’s Matches
As the coach or manager, it is your responsibility to find out where you might have gone wrong in your previous games. And for that, you will have to study those games and take notes.
One of the most effective ways to do so is by going through the video footage of those games and the notes you might have taken during the game. Then, you prepare some new notes where you pick out the players individually and talk about mistakes they had made during the games.
Also, figure out how your opponent tries to take advantage of the mistakes you make. This is a very important thing to study as your opponents will try to figure out ways of targeting your team’s weak points.
Look into the Strong and Weak Points of Your Players
Once you have analyzed the previous games, you can now sit down to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your players. This is crucial in basketball as well as other sports.
Every player has their strengths and weaknesses. Some might have trouble with shooting the ball, while some might not be that good at passing or tactical play. You need to focus on the role-based weaknesses of your players first if you want quick improvements in your team’s performance.
For instance, the point guard has to push the play forward. They need to keep moving the ball up to the attackers. For that, they need exceptional passing and ball-handling skills. So you will have to look into whether or not they are good at these skills to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Do the same thing for the other positions and judge their performance based on their assigned roles and how good they are at them.
Work Out a New Training Program
As a coach, you should have a good idea of what your players need to improve upon. Some of your players might have to work on their shot-taking skills, while others need to learn the art of passing and making jumps at the right time. Some players might need to rethink the way they try to dribble.
So as their coach, you can come up with various basketball coaching drills to build court skills. Players can practice these drills as necessary, and implement them in the upcoming season. Once again, you will have to look towards role-based skill-building. The drills will cover almost all the aspects of the general skills a professional basketball player needs. Side by side, the drills also need to address the skill-building that is necessary based on a player’s role.
For example, the center player needs to receive the ball and take shots. Hence, you will have to set up specific drills for them. They will have to work on their running, jumping, as well as shooting. So the drills for them will have to be centered around those skills.
Stay Fit No Matter What
While on break, players need to do whatever they can to stay fit. The next season may seem far away at first. However, time flies fast and the new season comes knocking at the door in the blink of an eye. That is why players must be cautious when it comes to staying fit.
The road to staying fit starts with a proper diet. The occasional steak dinner and alcohol consumption will not do much damage. However, keeping this up for a prolonged period can be hazardous to the players. They need to maintain a strict diet and deviate from it only once or twice a week. Players also need to hit the gym now and then to make sure they are not losing their strength and stamina.
Do Rehab
Injured players need to spend most of the off-season in rehabilitation. It is not necessarily a painful road to recovery, however, it is time-consuming. Even once the treatment and rehab are done, players might need a couple of months to get back on the court. Yet, it is something players cannot avoid, since ignoring it will lead to dire consequences in their long-term career.
Stay in Touch with the Basketball
Even on vacation, players and their coaches need to stay in touch with the beautiful game of basketball. And since not a lot goes on during the off-season, they can spend their time on a quick game at the courts every once in a while. This is just so that players can remain in touch with their professional side even during the break.
That is all for now. Once you take all these off-season tips into account, you will surely see some improvement in your team’s performance throughout the next season.
