How To Coach Players With Short Attention Spans

   Today we’re going to do something a little different…  I’m going to turn things over to the newest member of the Breakthrough Basketball Team, Coach Brent Tipton, who’s going to share some information on a hot topic right now… And something many coaches struggle with, as I know I have at times…  How to overcome short attention spans in players…so they can grasp concepts more quickly as well as improve motivation and effort in practice… which ultimately leads to BETTER players and MORE wins!   Coach Tipton is currently an NBBL head coach at SV Kornwestheim Basketball Academy in Germany. Previously he was an assistant coach at the Porsche Basketball Academy and has held positions as Assistant Coach of Guam Men’s Senior National Team, Head Coach of the University of Guam Men’s Basketball, Head Coach of Guam U18 Men’s National Team, Head Coach of Guam U17 Men’s National Team, Head Coach of Guam U16 Men’s National Team, and Head Coach of Guam Women’s Senior National Team  So without further ado, let’s turn it over to Coach Tipton!  Thanks Joe!  As you could probably guess, overcoming short attention spans is something I get asked about all the time…from both coaches and parents.  And over the years I’ve learned some powerful techniques that have really helped improve my players’ focus, learning, and motivation.   Because this is such a hot topic right now and because I have quite a bit to say on the subject, I’ll be dedicating several emails over the next few days to address this issue.   But rather than just offering some practical tips (which I’ll also do)…I think it’s critical to begin by covering some basic human psychology related to learning, attention, and motivation.   From my experience, it’s very helpful to understand the underlying psychological factors that contribute to shortening a player's attention span…  Because without understanding these factors…it’s sort of like trying to solve a problem without first knowing the causes of the problem.   To begin…let’s start with a relatively recent concept that psychologists have only begun to understand.  It’s called…  “Attention Residue” “Attention residue” is a term that was coined to help explain why humans find it difficult switching from one task to another…  Because a “residue” of our attention is still focused on the first task.   This was a concept introduced in an influential 2009 article written by University of Washington professor Sophie Leroy…who explained:  “Attention residue refers to cognitions about a Task A that persist even though one has stopped working on Task A, transitioned to Task B, and is now working on Task B.”  Attention residue is closely related to our subconscious mind. Recent research has shown that after working on a task or problem…our subconscious mind continues to work on that task.   This is why…if you’ve ever been stuck trying to solve a problem, one of the best things you can do is stop trying to solve it! Oftentimes, getting away from the problem allows our subconscious mind to figure it out for us!   Have you ever experienced going to bed with a problem that you can’t solve… then in the morning, you magically wake up with the solution? That’s an example of this.  As Stanford Neurobiologist Andrew Huberman explained on his popular Huberman Lab podcast, recent research has shown that after trying to learn a new concept or a new physical skill…our brain will actually repeat that task at an astounding 20x the regular speed!   But this only occurs if the brain is given a period of rest immediately following the task!  He explained it like this:  “Basically the repetition continues while you rest, but at 20 times the speed. If you were normally getting just 5 repetitions per 10 seconds now you multiply that times 20. In the rest period you’ve practiced it 100 times. Your brain has practiced it [100 times], and we know this because they were doing brain imaging….This is an absolutely staggering effect.” This also helps us understand “attention residue”...because after learning something new our subconscious mind is still working on processing that information…  And research shows that it does this best during periods of rest immediately after the task.   Of course, during a practice session it’s simply not possible to stop practice and give players time to do nothing to absorb a new instruction…there’s simply not enough time.  But what we can do to help our players is not overload them with too much instruction.  During practices, it’s best to limit the number of NEW mentally demanding concepts you want them to learn to just one or two…because as the practice goes on, their ability to retain the instruction will decrease.   I typically focus on one concept for offense and one concept for defense in a single practice.   From my experience, this is just enough information for them to both grasp and execute a concept…as well as retain that information…  So that by next practice…they’re ready to not only take on a new concept, but they can also execute on the prior concept.   This practice of integrating past concepts with new ones to optimize learning is called “retrieval practice.”  So, for example, on Monday you might introduce an offensive concept like attacking Drop pick and roll coverage and work on it in-depth…  Then, on Tuesday you might teach a completely different offensive concept like penetration reaction, but revisit attacking Drop PnR for a few minutes. On Wednesday you might not touch on it all, and then on Thursday go back to more in-depth teaching on attacking Drop PnR for 30-45 minutes.   So, to sum up…sticking to just one main concept per practice minimizes “attention residue” and gives players enough time in between sessions to fully “download” the new concept…  While “retrieval practice” reinforces your teaching through additional repetition at a later practice…and gives players the opportunity to demonstrate that they’ve fully grasped your instructions.   Of course, this requires careful planning of each practice (even planning a coordinated series of practices) to avoid “cramming.”   This is especially true when [coaching youth basketball]( and high school basketball as well.  Also…this same basic concept holds true not just for introducing new concepts…but also for giving feedback on specific drills.   Providing too many teaching points at the start of a drill (or providing too much feedback during the drill) can prevent a player from absorbing the most important take-away…  That’s why I recommend focusing on the one thing you really want them to get out of the drill.   In other words, whatever teaching points you want to incorporate into a drill, don’t chase other teaching points when a player makes a mistake outside of the scope and sequence…  It’s easy to fall into the coaching trap of correcting a player through every technical and tactical error.   If a player makes a mistake within a teaching point…stop and provide them feedback. If a player makes a mistake outside of the teaching point, let the player carry-on.   I hope you got something useful out of this!  I’ll be sending a few more emails in the coming days on similar topics and helpful strategies to improve learning! Including…  *How your brain works like computer RAM and how to better coach players to retain more information *Why you need to make adjustments for players with ADHD (there are more players like this than you think!) *1 great coaching tip from an Australian high-performance coach (Those Aussies are great at developing athletes!) *And how to set up your drills to maximize player development  So, let us know…did you find this information useful?  Does it resonate with your experiences in trying to improve players’ focus?   Have you found it better to teach one or two concepts per practice?  Have you incorporated “retrieval practice?”  And as always, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. We’re here to help!  Best regards,  Brent Tipton  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.