Sideline Trap Drill | Multi-Sport Participation

  In the first part of today's newsletter, you'll learn about a great drill for creating turnovers by trapping on the sideline.  This is a drill used directly by State Champion Coach Mike Hilmer and his team to make their press more effective.  Then, in the second half of the newsletter, we'll share our honest thoughts about how we navigate multiple sport participation with our kids.  This is a continuation of last week's newsletter on multi-sport participation that sparked a great conversation among our subscribers.  It's a difficult topic with no perfect solutions, but we do our best to present you with slightly different approaches so you can form your own opinion.  Onto Part 1 of the content first...  The Ultimate Sideline Trap Drill to Wreak Havoc on Defense and Cause More Turnovers  In Dean Oliver’s Book Basketball On Paper, he identified the four key ingredients of winning a basketball game.  Unsurprisingly, shooting ability is first. According to Oliver, that accounts for about 40% of overall performance.  Second was turnovers. Oliver’s research found that the turnover battle contributes to about 25% of a team’s performance.   There are two parts to the turnover battle. One is protecting the ball when you have it. The other is forcing turnovers by your opponents.   State champion coach [Mike Hilmer uses his press]( to create turnovers. The extra shots created by those turnovers go a long way towards explaining his team’s success.  The sideline is the desired place to trap in Coach Hilmer’s press. As you’ll see in today’s content, 4 v 4 box sideline is a great drill to work on the rotations of that trap.  That way, come gametime, your team will be able to take advantage of the offense’s mistakes and win the turnover battle.  [WATCH the video of the drill here.](  Why The Sideline Trap Works So Well  Trap discipline is an integral part of any pressing system.  It encompasses a couple things. First, the players who are trapping must have good technique. They should lock feet, take away the ball handler’s space, and mirror the ball with their hands.  It also involves knowing where to trap. As a general rule, you want to avoid trapping in the middle of the floor.  While you might be able to get a trap set there, the whole court is still available to the ball handler. This makes it challenging for the other three players to read and cover everything.   When you trap on the sideline, the offense’s options are limited. The out of bounds line functions as another defender. For example, if the trap is on the right sideline, the three defenders not in the trap know the pass is coming out left. This makes their rotations easier.   If you’re able to get the trap just across half court, the half court line does the same. This also eases rotations as now the three defenders not in the trap know the ball can’t go backwards.   Any time you trap, you have three defenders covering four offensive players. Because of that, anything you can do to limit the area they have to cover is a huge benefit.   Trapping on the sideline accomplishes that. It makes decisions harder for the offense and easier for your defense.   4v4 Box Sideline is a great way to work on those rotations.  4 v 4 Box Sideline - Drill Instructions  Start the drill with 4 offensive players, 2 in the frontcourt and 2 in the backcourt. Four defenders match up.   You’ll notice that even though the drill is called 4v4 Box Sideline, Coach Hilmer puts a 5th defender on the floor (X5). This allows the defense a slight advantage during initial teaching.   In a 4v4 drill, when a trap occurs, an offensive player would be unguarded. Adding the 5th defender allows the defense to take away any long passes over the top or out of the trap.   If you’d like, you can have the 5th defender step off once the ball crosses half court. Or you could keep them on and have the defense attempt to trap the entire possession.   Player 1 begins with the ball. The defenders on the other side of half court must be on the line, up the line, ready to rotate.  Player 1’s constraint is that they must start the possession by making a hard sideline attack.   To make it a little more game-like, 1 can start with a hard dribble to the middle and then crossover to attack the sideline.  As soon as 1 speed dribbles up the sideline, X2 will sprint and chase the ball. This leads to a trap of 1 by players X1 and X2.  From there, it’s live!   Play out the rest of the possession and look for other opportunities to jump and trap.  The defense’s goal is to make teams throw long, over the top passes that can be stolen.   The beauty of the drill is that the initial constraint creates the desired situation. You need to work on your traps and the start ensures that you will.  However, after the initial trap, every possession will be different. This forces your players to think and make decisions on the fly.   As your players improve, you can make it harder for the defense by making the drill 5v5. This takes away the numerical advantage for the defense and makes the drill more game like.    Key Teaching Points  Here are a few key ideas to reinforce during the drill  1 - The Trapper Should Be Below The Ball - notice that X2 starts below the ball in the initial frame. This gives them a better chance to catch the dribbler and get the trap set. If the ball handler is further down the floor than the trapper, they may never catch them.  2 - Take Good Angles - X1 is picking a spot on the floor where they can cut off 1. Choosing good angles is an important part of the drill. If X1 picks a spot that’s not far enough up the court, they won’t get 1 cut off and the offense will have an advantage.   If X1 picks a spot too far down the court they will leave 1 space to change directions and attack the middle before the trap is set.  3 - Trap Speed Dribbles - one element of a good trap is the level of control of the dribbler. If the dribbler is able to casually bring the ball up the floor, a trap is ill-advised.     In that case, the dribbler is under control and can make a read as the trap is coming. In this drill, you are forcing 1 to start by attacking the sideline hard. However, reinforce to players that if the dribbler is not speed dribbling, they may want to stunt and wait for a later opportunity to trap.  4 - Weakside On The Midline - When the ball is on the sideline, no defenders should be on the weak side of the court. They should be midline and over, ready to make a play. If the ball is thrown out of the trap all crosscourt, they have time to react and steal the pass.  5 - Deny The Obvious Pass - The most obvious pass out of the trap should always be denied. In this case, that would be the pass up the sideline. Take away the offense’s best option and force them to make a more difficult play.   6 - Backwards Passes Don’t Hurt You - While you would love to get a steal, that won’t happen every time. Of all the passes the offense could throw, a backwards pass doesn’t hurt you.     If that’s the pass the offense makes, you still have time to adjust and match up or look for another trap.   7 - Trapper Stays - If the ball is thrown out of a trap, the general rule is that the trapper stays. In other words, when X1 & X2 chase and trap 1, X2 will stay with 1 after 1 passes.   This makes sense because their momentum is taking them opposite of the pass. It will be easier for them to stay with the original ball handler rather than having to change direction and go back where they started. 8 - Trap Fundamentals - too many players get greedy in traps. They start reaching and either foul or open a passing window. Stress to your players the need to be disciplined in traps. Remind them the steals will likely come by their teammates.  Check Out The Relentless Pressure System  Coach Mike Hilmer started using the Relentless Pressure System in 2015. Since then, his results speak for themself: - 208-8 record over 8 season - 3X State Champion - 7 Straight State Championship game appearances - Averaged 80+ points per game the last 8 years - #1 in defensive points per game - led state 2x [Click here to learn more about the Relentless Pressure System]( and how it can benefit your team!  —---------------------------------------------------  Okay, now onto Part 2 of the content...  How We Navigate Multiple Sports Participation With Our Kids  Two weeks ago, we ran an article on [The Hidden Benefits Of Multi-Sport Participation For Youth Athletes](   The article prompted a lot of reader response. Thank you to all who responded.  It’s clear this is a challenging issue for a lot of parents. We all want to do right by our kids.   Unfortunately, there’s no road map for how to do that when it comes to balancing multiple sports.   One of the questions readers asked was how we navigate the challenges of multi-sport participation with our own children.  Read on to get two perspectives on how to approach this.  I’ll share what my family does with our daughters (grades 3 and 6).  Then, Joe Haefner, co-founder and owner of Breakthrough Basketball, as well as a father of three, will share his thoughts.  By no means do we have it all figured out. That said, hopefully there is something you can take from our experiences that can benefit you and your child as you go through the youth sports experience.  If you have some philosophies and ideas that have worked for you, please share them with us. We’d love to hear from you!  Jeff Huber’s Response:  If my wife and I had a dollar for every conversation we’ve had about how to balance our daughters’ sports, we’d be living pretty good right now!  It’s a constant give and take. I think accepting that reality has helped us. Try as we might, there’s never going to be a magic formula for how to handle this.  That said, I know some families say we are going to do one sport per season. In the fall, it might be soccer, volleyball or football. In the winter, it’s basketball or hockey. In the spring, it’s baseball or softball.  If that works for you, that’s awesome. It makes this issue simpler and is a clear principle for how you make decisions.   We have not done that. Why not? There’s a couple of reasons.  First, our girls want to continue playing their sports (to varying degrees) beyond the actual “season.” It’s important to note the desire to continue playing comes from them, not us.   We do not force them to play. However, we do explain to them the idea of natural consequences. A natural consequence is just that - something that happens naturally.   If our daughters show no interest in practicing, a consequence is their improvement will be stalled. We tell them it’s fine if they don’t want to work on sports, but they must understand that might lead to less opportunities in the future.   This is not meant to threaten or discourage them. It’s meant to help them understand how decisions today relate to things that will happen in the future.   Whatever decision they make, we then honor that. I think that’s a huge point!! It really has to come from them. We’ve made this mistake in the past.   Whenever we’ve forced them to do something, it almost always ends poorly. They are resentful. They don’t put forth their best effort. We feel annoyed because they don’t appreciate what we are trying to do for them.  It’s a losing formula. Even though you might know best, forcing your kids to practice or play likely will do more harm than good.   A second reason we haven’t gone with one sport per season is that they enjoy multiple sports in the same season. Most notably, they both play soccer and volleyball. At this time, they don’t want to give either of them up. We don’t want them to either.   So, we allow them to do both and do our best to make the schedules work. How do we do that?  By prioritizing.   First, we've tried to prioritize their passions. Right now, our girls like basketball best. So we do the most for basketball. Soccer is second so that's next. When they conflict, we generally go to basketball. Volleyball is third and we fit that in where we can (out of season).  Second, we prioritize sports that are in season. We feel it's important to be committed. Thus,if it's volleyball season, those games generally come first, even if it's not their favorite sport.   So out of season, we do it by their passion. In season, that sport comes first. This is sometimes hard. They might want to go to a Fall basketball game. But we have them go to the volleyball game because it’s the Fall.  Another thing we try to do is be proactive about our communication. We try to look at the schedules far in advance to find conflicts. We then go through them together and make decisions.  If they have to miss a game, we tell their coach as far in advance as possible. Same for a practice. We try to extend that courtesy to their coaches.   Beyond that, we limit our club participation. Both of our girls have played AAU basketball. Neither have done club soccer or JO volleyball.   While we’ve had those talks and have been tempted to sign them up, we haven’t gone down that path. It’s tempting because you see other kids doing it and worry you are hurting your kid’s chances of success in that sport.   But there has to be a limit. Our goal is not to be a taxi service for our girls’ sports. AAU has been manageable. It’s probably the least time consuming of the three club sports. It doesn’t dominate our lives.   The final part is protecting family time. We try to ask ourselves "is this necessary" and is it worth giving up our time as a family for this sports activity? If so, and if the girls want to do it, we generally do. But it has to come from them.   And even then, we sometimes say no. We try to protect time for going to church, having dinner together most nights, and doing other sorts of family activities.   Sports have always been a big part of our lives. We love it and it brings great value to us and our kids. But it’s just a part of our lives.   Sometimes it’s hard to keep sight of that. Those are the ways we try!   Joe Haefner’s Response:  First off, this is just sports.   We should treat sports as a tool to develop our children for their adult life… with better fitness and better character.   While we should take our children’s development seriously, we shouldn’t put much weight into their athletic performance.  I’m not saying I’m perfect. I have to remind myself and my ego at times about what’s important.  But here are some general recommendations I try to follow before I get into specifics:  1 - Play as many sports as possible before the age of 13.  2 - Play those sports seasonably (2 to 5 months seems sufficient)  3 - The more environments and situations you can get them to move in, the better (crawl, hop, climb, run, skip, etc.)  4 - Keep things light and fun  5 - Allow for free time where kids can play with friends without adult intervention  Almost 20 years ago, I learned from athletic development experts that these 4 activities will help develop well-rounded athletes.   1 - Gymnastics  2 - Soccer  3 - Martial Arts  4 - Swimming  When they hit age 11 or 12, they’ll have a great foundation to participate in their chosen sports.  I know some parents want to give their kids the freedom to choose and there are definitely benefits to this.  But I also had an older relative say this to me one time, “Kids don’t know what’s best for their development. So before the age of 12, I decided what their activities would be. We just treated these activities like school. There never was a question on whether they should attend school, so I treated this the same way. After that, they were free to choose.”  I’ve kind of done a hybrid of both approaches. There are mandatory activities that they have no input on. However, I do give them options and choices for other things in their lives.  Here is how things have gone so far…  Gymnastics - Looking back, I wish I would’ve had them start this around ages 3 to 5 and attend once a week for 5 or 6 months until age 10 or 11. I wasn’t nearly that consistent.  Soccer - We started around age 4 or 5 and have done this recreationally and seasonally for years. I think this has been a huge plus for conditioning, speed, and agility.   My oldest boy has been begging me to do “club soccer”, but I’ve denied him over and over. I can’t find a program that does it seasonally for 3 to 5 months. They all are 8 to 10 months per year which is just too much for my liking.  Martial Arts - This is another one that we’ve done on and off since age 7 or 8 that I wish I would’ve been a bit more consistent with. My goal is to get them to attend at least once a week year-round for the next few years. When they hit age 13 or 14, they can decide what they want to do going forward.  Swimming - For one month every summer, they attend a swim league every morning of the week. I’ve actually been happy with what we’ve done there.  Other Sports  I would also highly advise that you mix in other sports seasonally as well such as flag football, baseball, dance, softball, tennis, basketball, volleyball, bowling, golf, lacrosse, field hockey, ice hockey, and so on.  Personally, I’ve done this…  Basketball - Last year, we started basketball in 2nd and 3rd grade for my boys. Honestly, if my wife didn’t sign them up, I probably wouldn’t have.   Basketball is such a late developing sport and I’m in no rush. I see so many “elite” 12, 13, 14, and 15 year olds that don’t even play high school varsity basketball. And I see the opposite. Players who weren’t very good at ages 12, 13, or 14 develop into good high school players and some even play basketball in college.  Lacrosse, Water Polo, and Handball - Next year, I want to try lacrosse and maybe even water polo.  My older son wants to try handball, but I know nothing about it and I don’t think there are any youth programs in the area.  I’ll also send them some youth sports camps in the summer, so they get exposed to more activities.  Now, will they get behind some kids who specialize? Absolutely.   But their ceiling will be highly dependent on their genetics and how much they practice on their own after they hit puberty, so I’m not too concerned.   For most sports, much of the REAL development comes during and after puberty.  If they truly want it, they’ll get it done.  This isn’t to say this is the right way or the best way. It’s just the way that I’ve chosen based on my experience and research.   All the best,  Joe Haefner and Jeff Huber Breakthrough Basketball  This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you indicated that you'd like to receive emails and updates from Breakthrough Basketball on 2016-12-16 05:42:39. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please [Change Your Email Preferences]( or [Unsubscribe All]( Copyright © Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. All rights reserved. Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. | 5001 1st Ave. SE, Ste 105 #254 | Cedar Rapids | IA | 52402 [email.gif] . It’s our mission to build a strong community centered around basketball, personal development and most importantly - fun! We love to create extraordinary and useful products and share them with you! We love to help people learn how to enjoy the game of basketball at the next level by simply creating the right products that they use in their practices and games. Every day we are building and strengthening partnerships with companies and coaches that are in alignment with our own values. We particularly love working with coaches, players, and parents because through their passion and their craft they help elevate the game of basketball. As much as we care about basketball, we also care about your privacy. Breakthrough Basketball is owned and operated by Breakthrough Basketball. We are committed to advising you of the right to your privacy, and strives to provide a safe and secure user experience. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store and use personal information, provided by you on our website. When you visit our Web site you may provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis and Web site use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our Web site. For example, you may need to provide the following information: • Name • Website URL information • Email address • Home and business phone number It also explains how we collect and use non-personal information. By accessing and using our website, you explicitly accept, without limitation or qualification, the collection, use and transfer of the personal information and non-personal information in the manner described in our Privacy Policy. Please read this Policy on our website(s) carefully, as it affects your rights and liabilities under the law. If you disagree with the way we collect and process personal and non-personal information, please do not use this website. This Policy applies to this website as well as all webpages Breakthrough Basketball hosts. It regulates the processing of information relating to you and grants both of us various rights with respect to your personal data. It also informs you of how to notify us to stop using your personal information. We are located in the United States of America. You may be located in a country that has laws which are more restrictive about the collection and use of your personal information. However, by using our website, you agree to waive the more restrictive laws and agree to be governed by the laws of the United States of America. If you wish to view our official policies, please visit our website.