Basketball Team Camp season is one of my favorite times of the year. I have been coaching teams and running team camps for the last 35 years. Every year I see incredible growth in athletes, entire teams, and coaches during one week of team camp. I have also seen teams that don’t grow at all because they are only consumed with winning camp games. I get it, though. Coaches are all competitive. It is hard to not get caught up in winning.
But in my experience, winning a camp game is pretty low on the priority totem pole for the best coaches with the best culture-driven programs. These coaches understand one thing… No one has ever hung a banner at camp. They see camp as a week-long ultra-competitive practice. They place their focus on getting better and coming together as a team. Before you take your team to camp this summer, take a look at 9 of the most effective coaching practices I have seen employed at team camp.
1. Encourage your team to unplug and hang out together during down time.
The best teams at our team camps year after year hang out together during their down time. They watch games and talk ball. They do not isolate themselves on their phones with their headphones on. They talk to each other. Encourage your players to get off of their personal isolation devices and have some real human conversations.
2. Teach constantly.
The best coaches do not view team camp as just a time to kick it with their coaching buddies. They are focused on one on one and group teaching moments. And they maximize every opportunity to teach their players during the week. They realize that what they know as a coach is not nearly as important as what their players know, and they pour their basketball mind into their team.
3. Maximize playing time for all your players.
Team camp is the best time to see what everyone can do. Many coaches split their teams up so the role players can get more P.T. and be put in situations where they have to make plays.
The hardest teams to beat have many weapons. They can beat you in so many ways. We have watched the Golden State Warriors prove this point during the playoffs this year. You want your role players to have the ability to make plays. You need some punch off the bench. Team camp is the best time to put guys in positions where they have to make plays without just relying on the best few players on the team to butter their bread for them.
4. Work on situations.
Try to get in as many close late quarter/game situations as possible. Nothing is worse for your team than going to a team camp and not playing in one close game. You want to get in as many situational reps as possible. You will only have a few scrimmages before the season, but a good team camp could give you 25+ important late quarter/game situations. If you can find one, go to a camp that has an end-of-game situation tournament.
If your team is one of the best teams in the camp, this is where splitting your team can keep the games competitive and get you these valuable late-game experiences.
5. Experiment
Think outside the box. Maybe your 4 man can bring the heat on opposing point guards. Maybe you have strong guard that can duck in the post and do some work. Experiment with your personnel. Try small lineups. Try big lineups. Camp is the best time to find out new things about your team’s strengths.
6. Emphasize THE big thing
Shot selection is often the difference between winning and losing games. Your players should not get on the bus to go home without KNOWING what a great shot is for your team. They also need to understand that good shot selection is based on the individual because not all shooters are created equal. Communicating shot selection clearly is key.
Make sure they can answer the big three shot selection questions
- What is a good shot for me?
- What is a good shot for my teammates?
- What are the best shots for our team?
7. Celebrate the little things.
Everyone loves to be recognized. Your players will be more likely to do the things that you notice and celebrate. Celebrate the screen, the charge taken, the dive after a loose ball, the effective communication, the hockey assist, etc. Notice these things that won’t show up on the stat sheet or be talked about in the newspaper. These little things add up to a sum of unselfish, winning basketball. And your players will take pride in making these plays.
8. Brag on your role players
Especially when you win. Make heroes out of guys who get outside themselves and embrace their roles. Role definition will be easier for you during the season when you articulate the importance of your role players in front of the whole team. It will also be easier for your players to embrace their role during the season when they know that they will be acknowledge for performing their role well. They will feel important.
9. Don’t worry about the officials at all.
We all know the officiating at team camps is beyond tragic most of the time. This is something you can use to your advantage. What better time than team camp to teach your players to move on to the next play and focus on what they can control? Bad refs at camp are actually great for your team. You will have numerous teaching moments with your players about how they should respond to adversity. And they will undoubtedly get plenty of chances to put these responses into practice.
And let’s be real, there is way too much teaching that needs to be done for you to waste time arguing with a camp official.
Focus on the teaching. Don’t miss a moment.
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