Q & A Mailbag

  Welcome to the mailbag! We’ve received some great questions and comments on our recent articles and content lately.  Before we get to the articles and questions, we wanted to feature three of our Breakthrough coaches . . .  Breakthrough Camp Coaches Reaching New Heights!  1 - Brad Shaw is an assistant for North Dakota State College of Science Men’s Basketball. This year, they were Mon-Dak Conference Champions for the 3rd straight year and Region 13 Champions for the 2nd straight year!  2 - Martin Anderson reached an agreement to run international clinics in Amsterdam with DBX Academy. His Mercer Island HS girls team won their KingCo Championship and he recently was hired as an assistant at Edmonds College.   3 - Matthew Dickman was voted Assistant Coach of the Year in the HEART Conference as he helped Graceland to its first 20 win season in school history!  Congrats to all three coaches! We know they’ll continue to add value in these roles as well as their role as Breakthrough Camp Coaches!  More Great Coaching Content Coming Soon!  At Breakthrough, we are always on the lookout for the best coaches and new ideas to share with our readers.  Mark Brase was just in Georgia filming new and exciting content.  While this content is still being developed, we have an awesome new product launching in 2 weeks!  NEW Coaching Articles, Plays, Drills & Videos (ALL Age Levels):  [Use THIS Drill To Master Ball Screen Defense](  [Summer Reading! 15 Books That Will Make You A Better Basketball Coach](  [6 Relentless Pressure Defense Drills - From 3X State Champion Coach](  [10 Coaching Decisions To Watch During the NBA Playoffs](   NEW YOUTH Coaching Articles, Drills, & Videos:  [The Reason This Legendary Coach Waited 20 Years To Judge His Team’s Success](  [How We Navigate Multi-sport Participation With Our Kids](  [The Hidden Benefits Of Multi-Sport Participation For Younger Athletes](  [The #1 Reason Players Miss Layups](   NEW Training Articles, Drills, & Videos:  [The Best (And Most Fun) Way To Get Better This Offseason](  [Pass This Way To Open Up The Entire Court](  [Expand Back Attack To Improve At The Rack](  [The Ultimate Finishing Drill: Use Back Attack To Improve At The Rack](  Today’s Mailbag  Question: Best Books for Players to Read? Coach Sam asked this in response to our [Summer Reading]( article: Jeff Huber’s Response:  Hi Sam -  Great question. A book study with your team is a great idea! That said, it is important to pick the right book and do it the right way.   Done correctly, it’s a great way to engage your team and get them thinking about some of the cultural habits you want to build. It also models for them the importance of reading, which extends far beyond the court.   Done incorrectly, players tune it out and don’t engage with the content.   Your question deserves a fuller response and will be addressed in an article in the near future. Stay tuned!  Question: Where are the female authors? And other book suggestions.  Coach Anne pointed out the lack of female authors on the list of coaching books. For those interested in reading some excellent coaching books by female authors, she suggested the following:  Sum It Up: 1,098 Victories, A Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective by Pat Summit  Why She Plays: The World of Women’s Basketball by Christine A. Baker  Teresa Weatherspoon’s Basketball For Girls by Teresa Weatherspoon  A few other books were suggested as well:  Every Moment Matters by John O’Sullivan  Deep Skill: The Basketball Coaches and Players Guide to Understanding and Developing True Skill by Coleman Ayers  Coaching Better Every Season: A Year-Round System for Athlete Development and Program Success by Wade Gilbert  Stuff Good Players Should Know by Dick Divenzio  Multiple Offenses and Defenses by Dean Smith  Basketball by Knight and Newell by Bobby Knight  Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx  Red & Me by Bill Russell  Jeff Huber’s Response:  Thank you to all who shared feedback on this piece. As someone who loves reading, I am excited to add these books to my list!  Anne, I appreciate you pointing out the oversight of female coaches. That was totally unintentional but did inform me of some blind spots in my own learning. As the father of two daughters who play, I am excited to read your suggestions.  The most exciting thing is to see how many great coaching books there are! The learning process never ends.   Question: Where Can I Find This Unique Man-to-Man Defense Drill?  Coach Phillip appreciated this drill and wanted to know where to find it. This clip came from [Jim Huber’s Man To Man Defense](   X feedback: Do Stationary Ball Handling Drills Translate? [This post on X]( sparked an interesting conversation on social media. Coach Andy replied: Limited transferability to games where players need only small menu of moves. Vast majority of practice v live defender needed.   Here was part of Joe Haefner’s Response:  I agree with the premise that players need to learn to apply skills against live defenders. That’s how the game is played. Game-based drills are a big part of my own coaching at the youth and high school levels . . .  Since it’s more difficult for individuals to practice in 1v1, 2v2, 3v,3 4v4, 5v5 scenarios, I’m a big believer in presenting a lot of those opportunities in practice.  However, I also gave them drills like these above to do at home by themselves.  Personally, I think some constraints led approach (CLA) advocates undermine the value of “on-air” drills. They certainly aren’t the end-all and be-all, but I believe they still serve as a tool in the player development process.  Jeff Huber’s thoughts:  Both Andy and Joe make great points. I agree with Andy (and Joe does as well), that players need to practice against defenders.  However, I also believe that drills like those in the video have a place in player development. They are appropriate for beginning players who need to learn technique.   They also have value for experienced players who use them for comfort and confidence.   Finally, as Joe points out, sometimes you don’t have a partner. In those situations, “on-air” drills are a great way to work on your game.   Ultimately, it’s about finding the right mix of types of practice. For more on that, [check out this article](   Teaching Plays Vs. Teaching Concepts (Is One Superior?) We recently shared a[quick hitter to combat switching defenses]( on Facebook.   The post prompted an interesting response from Coach Tim: Coach Tim went on to express the need to teach principles of play as opposed to teaching plays.   This is just part of the conversation. The entire dialogue is worth a read!  Jeff Huber’s Response:  Coach Tim -  Excellent points! It is absolutely crucial to teach our players how to play, not just how to run plays!  Coach Schultz does an excellent job of that in the video. The clip posted to Facebook doesn’t show all of his conceptual teaching.  At the same time, as coaches we can also put our team in position to succeed by running a play that exploits a defensive coverage.   So yes, we ultimately want to teach players to make those reads for themselves. But we can also influence the game by doing it for them with plays we have for certain situations.   Breakthrough Product Review - 5 Star Reviews Rolling In: “Great Video & Explanation”, “Logical Progression,” “Detailed Feedback”  We continue to receive great reviews on many of our products, and I want to share a few with you today so you can see if they’re the right fit for you.  Here is a 5 star review of [The Relentless Pressure System](  “Broken down into a progression of logical steps in a number of game situations.” Gary  Here is a recent 5 star review of the [Early Attack Transition Offense](  “Very good video! My kind of play we play both ends and the middle.” Larry  And here is a 5 star review of the [The Outer ⅓ Defense With Nick LoGalbo]( “Great video and explanation of the no middle concept. Coach LoGalbo does an excellent job in giving specific and detailed feedback to his players why they were successful or the reason the defense broke down. There is a variety of breakdown drills to build your overall defense as a whole. Any coach looking to incorporate this defense this is a great starting point for clear and concise instruction. I am glad I purchased this video and looking forward to putting this in during our off-season.” Josh  “Amazing Camp”, “Well Organized” and “Great Learning Tools”: Soundbites From Breakthrough Camp Attendees  Check out these camp reviews:    Breakthrough Camps Starting Soon! [Cheyenne, Wyoming]( - June 7-9 - Grades 7 to 12 [10 spots left] [Gulf Shores, Alabama]( - June 7-9 - Grades 3 to 8 [Rochester, Minnesota]( - June 7-9 - Grades 7 to 12 [8 spots left] [C]( Illinois]( - June 10-14 - Grades 7 to 12 [3 spots left] [Denver, Colorado]( - June 10-12 - Grades 7 to 12 [Sold Out] [Kansas City, Missouri]( - June 10-13 - Grades 1 to 5 [4 spots left] [Bridgeport, West Virginia]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [1 spot left] [Hamilton, Ohio]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [2 spots left] [Coralville, Iowa]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [9 spots left] [Duncanville, Texas]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [10 spots left] [Glenwood Springs, Colorado]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [5 spots left] [Kannapolis, North Carolina]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [Mayer, Minnesota]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [Sold Out] [McPherson, Kansas]( June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [5 spots left] [Myrtle Beach, South Carolina]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [13 spots left] [Franklin, Tennessee]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [5 spots left] [Noblesville, Indiana]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [4 spots left] [N]( Oklahoma]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [5 spots left] [San Diego, California]( - June 11-13 - Grades 7 to 12 [10 spots left] [Scranton, Pennsylvania]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [Sold Out] [St. Louis, Missouri]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [Thermopolis, Wyoming]( - June 11-13 - Grades 3 to 8 [6 spots left] [Erie, Pennsylvania]( - June 12-14 - Grades 3 to 8 [9 spots left] [Fayetteville, North Carolina]( - June 12-14 - Grades 3 to 8 [3 spots left] [Manassas, Virginia]( - June 12-14 - Grades 3 to 8 [13 spots left] [Manhattan, Kansas]( - June 12-14 - Grades 7 to 12 [Minot, North Dakota]( - June 12-14 - Grades 3 to 8 [Sold Out] [Waterstown, South Dakota]( - June 12-14 - Grades 3 to 8 [Sold Out] [Mesa, Arizona]( - June 14-16 - Grades 3 to 8 [San Angelo, Texas]( - June 14-16 - Grades 3 to 8 [14 spots left] [Chesterfield, Missouri]( - June 14-16 - Grades 7 to 12 [8 spots left] [Atlanta, Georgia]( - June 17-21 - Grades 7 to 12 [6 spots left] [Rockwall, Texas]( - June 17-20 - Grades 3 to 8 [3 spots left] [Minneapolis, Minnesota]( - June 17-21 - Grades 7 to 12 [2 spots left]  These are just some of the camps running over the next few weeks! Here is our [entire 2024 summer camp schedule]( with nearly 350 summer camps.   Closing Notes  Thanks so much for reading this edition of the Breakthrough Basketball Mailbag! Stay tuned for upcoming editions, featuring more of your questions and comments. We value your input and look forward to helping you on your journey to success.  If you have any thoughts on the type of content you’d like to see more of in upcoming mailings, please feel free to shoot us a reply and let us know!  All the best, 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] . 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