Vince Outlaw's Weblog

VO Life Event Podcast - My Hardrive Wasn't Cryin' Wolf, APCQ PCF Wiki, Team Orange Game Video and Hoop Movie Night

VO Life Event Podcast - My Hardrive Wasn't Cryin' Wolf, APCQ PCF Wiki, Team Orange Game Video and Hoop Movie Night. Podcasting on the road to Cry Wolf to pick up the "mind wiped" G4...a job ahead ot me. Post-game on our loss to Team Blue. Starting a wiki around the APQC PCF. Music by Jazz 88. What fun! Life Events for all!!

Click on either the Audioblog player or the MP3 link below to hear the latest audio report...


MP3 File

AGRC 8U Hoops Team Orange vs Light Blue Today at 11:50

Team Orange takes on one of the better teams in our 8-under league today, Team Light Blue, but I'm totally confident we can play right with them...we get better each week...some of those baskets just have to start falling for us! To continue to get the most shot opportunities we can, here's the scouting report and points of focus I sent to Team Orange yesterday (I wonder if the adults read them to the players...) and will review before the game today...

The have some very good and BIG players, so it will be all important for us to focus on some key things:

Team Orange Comes Close as Does USD

Team Orange of the Allied Gardens Recreation League 8-Under Division went down to defeat today to a scrappy Red team. It was quite the defensive struggle in the first half and we really played hard and intense near the end of the game. I think we are getting plenty of shots and will be working this week on making a few more of them...that's really the difference for us these last two games. I also see some work we can do on making that first pass under pressure a good one. Today the opponents waited a bit before they came after us but when they did, they came hard! So we just need to keep our heads up, recognize when they are coming, and find the open player for that first pass up court. As I'm writing this, I'm watching locals USD play the #6 college basketball team in the country, Gonzaga, and enjoying watching two teams play with controlled abandon. If I had the players here and my TIVO remote handy, I would stop the action on each pass and have them watch each player catch the ball...and how each catch is usually a jump stop positioning the player up the court and ready for their next decision: pass, dribble, or shoot. It looks so natural, but is so important to catch the ball with your head up, ready for action. I would also point out how the teams spread out coming down the court, usually with the ball in the middle, and how that opens up possibilities for passes to both sides of the court.

Oh...and someone always loses when the big boys play...Gonzaga scored a 3 with 9 seconds left to beat USD by just 1 point. What a game but what a disappointing finish.

Go Orange and USD. Boy and I and friends are off to see the SDSU Aztecs play BYU at Cox Arena...hopefully they can save face for SD today!

UPDATE: We bailed on the Aztecs when we heard the Patrick Henry Patriots were playing locally against Granite Hills...we didn't bring much luck there either...Henry lost by 10 or so. Not enough pressing and freshness near the end when they needed to, but then again, my track record is not much of foundation for winning hoops...yet!

Moving Past Partner Passing

I'm feeling the need to have the kids catching passes while on the move. I'm looking at this as the next step after the partner back-and-forth passing drills I've always started seasons with. At the 8U level we're playing at, there is always lots of movement and action around the ball, so being able to begin to practice anticipating where a player is going to be and then acurately pass the ball to that anticipated spot seems like a good thing to be able to do.

The right drill could teach players visual communication, setting screens, using screens, passing to moving teammate, catching on the move, squaring up to the basket, woa...lots of learning.

My mental of this is a drill with the catcher coming across the key at the freethrow line, making eye contact with the passer near low post (or out-of-bounds for an in-bounds play), and making eye contact with a teammate(s) screening at the elbow, continuing around the screener to meet the pass, getting balance and moving directly to the hoop for a layup or into the triple threat position to make the next move....end of drill.

The passer could be dribbling while watching the catcher come around the screen(s) and then passing off the dribble. That's another very useful skill at this level, where the defense is awkwardly swarming (except for us...hehe) and prone to leave some offensive players open for a smart, quick, anticipatory pass.

This has got to be good for AT LEAST a couple of baskets a game (he says trying to scrounge baskets wherever he can).

I guess holding a couple of practices has got me thinkin' a bit. I'm sure it is actually. I'm definitely trying to learn from past mistakes and regrets to see about getting a few in the 'W' category this season. I also get the feeling that after introducing the basics, you can re-inforce the principles in more game-like situations...and that the kids will be much more ready for those quickly coming first games.

Here's another late night revelation: All drills past the introductory should end in some sort of shot at the goal or denial of a shot at the goal. That's why we're learning them, right? OH YEAH! What a thrill it is to actually get a shot at the goal...each one is precious. Or to use shear hustle and will to deny the opposing team a clean shot at your goal...defending each attempt like it's the last. That's good satisifying stuff!

Summer 2005 Hoops Draft Preview

The draft for the Allied Gardens Recreation Center's Summer 2005 Basketball League is today, so we're putting our game face on, both in my head and here on the web.

On the head side, I'm curious how I'm going to do in this draft thing, which is preceeded by a tryout session for the players. I've never participated in one before. I hope the kids aren't anywhere near as nervous as me...that actually might be a good question to ask them, how they felt about the tryout, how they felt they performed. Well, we'll try and have as much fun as we can with it. I wonder how Mr. 7 wants to participate this season (player, coach, cappucino runner)?

On the web site, just blogging this entry and creating a new Basketball category on the blog here is a start (it's listed in the Categories section on the left navigation). I wanted to write about the couple of previous coaching experiences, but just didn't find the time, so we'll see how it goes after these couple of moves.

I'm also playing with an on-line, sharable / subscribeable / viewable Outlaws Basketball Schedule (preview) for our team practices, games, events. So we'll see where that goes.

On to the draft...come to think of it, based on our finish in my last try at hoops coaching in March or so, I should be getting first pick in the draft this season!