Decision-Making Reps in the Pre-game Warm-Up

by Paul Cortes
Head JV Boys Coach, Jewish Community High School of the Bay
Youth Basketball Coach, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department
AAU Coach, Bay City Basketball

One common lament from coaches is that players don’t come out “ready to play”. We complain that our players don’t start playing hard until the game is well under way. While this could be due to player work ethic, the coach’s motivation skills, or simply a disparity in talent, a key factor in whether players are ready to play is the nature of the pre-game warm-up. Part of that is getting players to warm up hard, to work up a sweat. The other part of it is mental. Read more

Dynamic Warmup & Movement Exercises

Exercises from the Playmakers Basketball Development League and The 21st Century Basketball Practice. Read more

Animal Movements as On-Court Strength Training

Early in the season, I held a coaching clinic for the club’s coaches. When I was hired, the club manager said that one goal was for all the teams to incorporate more training for athleticism or strength training. However, only the senior teams have memberships to the fitness center, and there is no equipment to use with any of the youth teams.  Read more

Club coaching clinic

Today, we have one hour to train the coaches of the youth teams in our club, most of whom have never coached previously. The four primary messages are: Read more

Improving ankle and hip mobility for better basketball performance

I work with a couple players who are so tight that I don’t know how they even play basketball. Several guys are unable to get into a full squat position. You never play in a full squat in basketball, but the inability shows different issues: tight hips and/or tight ankles. These are problems that affect performance. Read more

Hip Mobility for Basketball Performance

As I watch basketball games late in the season, I see players who have really tight hips which limit their movement and ultimately their skill execution. This video shows some variations of a hip flexor stretch:

Here is a second video with three additional exercises:

Originally published in Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter, Volume 4.