Off-Season
Conditioning
By Mike Gillian, Longwood University
The season may be
over in terms of actual games, but the preparation for the
2008-09 season has already begun. Before long summer recruiting
will be in full swing, but it’s not only the coaches that are
getting ready for the next season.
There is a great misconception, with many fans, that coaches do
not do a lot during the summer months. Still more believe that
the players do even less once final exams are complete. That
couldn’t be farther from the truth.
What a player does in the summer is as important as what he does
in the controlled environment of practice. With returning
players especially, you hope that the things you have tried to
instill throughout the season are implemented in the off-season.
Once school begins and a player has been cleared to play
(established eligibility) you have 8 hours per week to work with
that player, leading up to the first official day of practice.
Of those 8 hours only 2 hours can be spent on the court. The 2
hours for each player can be divided into multiple 2-hour
workouts with each individual or group sessions. If you so
decided, you could have one 2-hour workout with the entire team
at once. No matter how you decide to break it up, no player can
receive more then 2 hours with a coach on the court.
The remaining 6 hours are spent in the weight room or working on
other aspects of conditioning. Of course all of that changes
once the first official practice begins.
Once in-season coaches are not only coaching for the next
opponent, but we are also trying to prepare for the future. Most
fans would believe that to be the following season, but that is
only partly correct. Sure we want to prepare for the now and the
later, but included in the later is the off-season.
Bad habits are often the results of a poor approach to practice.
During the season we have direct contact with players so we have
the opportunity to work on shortcomings. Only through positive
reinforcement can bad habits be lost. Thus, how hope that all
that we have conveyed during the season will be taken to heart
when the players are back at home during summer break.
Make no mistake about it. It is summer break and not summer
vacation. Once finals are over and kids leave campus, they are
on their own. As coaches we cannot be looking over their
shoulder and stand around shouting instructions. The onus is on
the individual to be his own coach. This is where character is
developed.
What you do when nobody is around goes a long ways to
determining one’s character. It’s easy to work hard when the
coaching staff is giving direction on the court, but it takes a
little more dedication to implement and execute a routine on
your own.
It should be pointed out that coaches can assist and advise a
player on what to do during the summer. In fact, coaches can
actually provide advice on a daily basis, as long as it does not
take place on the court.
Let’s say that a player is on campus for summer school. He can
visit the office everyday to elaborate on what he is working on
and the results. The coach can make suggestions, but cannot
participate in the actual workout.
I can suggest to one of my players that it would be a good idea
for them to use the “shooting machine,” but I can stand next to
him and tell him to get more bend in the elbows. As a coach you
can only help that he was listening to your instructions
throughout the season and that he includes that advice in his
summer workouts.
From my standpoint, there are three things we want to see our
players do during summer break -- play basketball, work on
skills and weights and conditioning.
First, players spend a lot of time in the weight room on campus,
working hard throughout the season. That shouldn’t end just
because the spring semester is over. It is very important to at
least maintain the regiment from the season. Of course you would
like to see players take the next step and increase that workout
routine, but they should at least continue with the lifting and
condition programs from the season.
Second, it is vitally important to continue working on skills.
Again, it’s only through positive reinforcement that bad habits
can be eliminated so it’s important to work on the various skill
aspects of the game.
Much like with conditioning, you would like to see a player add
something to the mix during the summer months. Maybe he needs to
work on his footwork and positioning because he wasn’t a great
rebounder. Perhaps his mid-range game is lacking so it would be
advisable to find time to work on that.
Whatever the case may be, it is always important to continue to
work on the aspects of your game that are already strong, but
you like would like to some of the shortcomings being addressed
in the summer as well. In many cases those shortcomings are
corrected or developed through experience and physical maturity,
but it doesn’t hurt to get a head start.
Last and most importantly, it’s all about playing the game.
Playing is still the single most important thing. There is
simply no substitute for good competition. Whether it’s a
sanctioned event or pick up games; it’s important to get out and
play.
Preferably you would like to see players partake in some of the
games created at a summer camp. The days are spent instructing
younger kids who aspire to one day play collegiate basketball,
but it’s a totally different atmosphere in the evening.
Normally among the camp counselors are both current and former
players, with many former players being in their mid to late
20s. Quite often they have already had the experience of playing
professional basketball overseas. What they bring to the court
is often a much better brand of basketball then players see
everyday at the college level. That is the type of competition
that really makes the difference.
Still think players don’t do much more then visit the beach or
hang out with their girlfriend?
What a player does in-season goes a long ways to determining how
he will approach his summer break. What we do as coaches helps
to mold that. And that is so important because what a player
does in the off-season goes a long ways to determining how good
your team will be in the upcoming season.
