Dynamic Defense: Interview with Dick Helm
Ever since we released the Read & React Offense a few years ago, coaches have been asking about the other side of the basketball coin – defense. Actually, they would ask, “So, what about a Read & React Defense?” And, for almost three years now, we’ve been teasing you about a leveled system of teaching […]
3 Commitments Every Successful Basketball Team Must Make
In a previous post, we mentioned the importance of visioneering and highlighted this quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. Every great endeavor […]
Basketball Coaches and Sushi Chefs (Or, Do you need to make more rice?)
Seth Godin recently wrote the following on his blog: Fledgling sushi chefs spend months (sometimes years) doing nothing but making the rice for the head chef. If the rice isn’t right, it really doesn’t matter what else you do, you’re not going to be able to serve great sushi. Too often, we quickly jump ahead […]
Dear High Ball Screen, Let’s Just Be Friends
Dear High Ball Screen, This is difficult for me to say (well, write). I just want to be friends. I know. I know. We’ve had some great times. And, I’m sure there will be more to come, but right now, I just need some… space. You see, we’ve had this love affair for a long […]
Tribe Spotlight: Shorter University Ranked NAIA #1 in the Nation
The number 1-ranked men’s team in the nation (NAIA) is undefeated Shorter University coached by Chad Warner in Rome Georgia. The first paragraph of a recent article reads below: KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As the NAIA’s only undefeated team remaining, Shorter (Ga.) maintained its top ranking in the fifth regular-season edition of the 2011 – […]
Read & React Orchestrator Warm Up Drill: 1 Moves 10
This video is an excerpt from our newest DVD series, Read & React Clinics: Planning the R&R Practice. We’ve mentioned before that in the Read & React Offense the ball handler is the orchestrator – any decision she makes with the ball moves the other four offensive players on the court (and in doing so, […]
Flow: Combining All Read & React Layers and Formations
A major strength of the Read & React Offense is its ability to transition seamlessly between all its layers and every basketball formation (5 OUT, 4 OUT, 3 OUT). We’ve alluded to the jazz metaphor previously and it really does fit. Once you have the notes and chords down, you can improvise any song at […]
Read & React Offense Diagnostics: Testing Layers 3 & 4
The video below was taken from our new 5 DVD set, Read & React Clinics: Planning the R&R Practice. This set develops five practice templates to help you implement the Read & React Offense as your season and your players progress. This question comes up from time to time: How do players distinguish between a […]
Training with Color Codes: Purple is for Post
Color codes are a great way for coaches to control certain types of attacks in the Read & React Offense. Basically, each color represents a group of similar layers or actions particularly good at attacking a specific style of defense or exploiting a specific advantage. For example, “Blue” could cue your team to set as […]
Visioneering (how to build a ship)
“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery That pretty much sums it up. As the season progresses you naturally get deeper into planning your […]