Remember how you used to cook up a practice?
It was a neat little recipe. A touch of jogging around the court followed by a half-cup of weave lay-up drill. Add in defensive slides since defense wins championships. Then, shake on some cones or chairs. Now, for the main ingredient: a healthy scoop of shell drill – got to work on that team defense (refer back to the championships quote). And, finally before shaking on a dash of scrimmage, pour in just enough work on offensive sets.
Yes, I did say “used to”. That’s important.
Wait… you’re not trying to fit the Read & React into that old recipe. But… the R&R is based on habits not patterns. Habits that must be drilled to the point of instant reaction. You can’t just “work on the offense” for 20 minutes and expect everything to work out ok.
The Read & React can’t be taught in the way that other offenses are taught because it’s not an offense, it’s just offense. That means it can’t be practiced in the traditional way. Throw away that old recipe. Close the cookbook.
You must integrate the reaction habits (drills) into as much of your practice as possible.
Those laps around the court with the lay-up drill, cut them. Do your warm-up with 3-man R&R drills ending with lay-ups.
Need to work on individual defense? Tweak the R&R drills to include a defender.
And, of course everyone’s favorite, the shell drill. No, I’m not going to tell you to cut it. It’s too… vintage to cut. But, have your shell offense running through the layers of the Read & React.
*deep breaths*
Ok, I get it. You’re on board, but you don’t know where to begin. October 15th is quickly approaching and you need a creative jump start. I understand and have a soultion. No one integrates the Read & React into practices better than TJ Rosene and Randi Peterson. So, in the days approaching the first day of practice, I’m going to serve up six posts dedicated to practice implementation developed by those coaches to help you learn how to write a new recipe, a more efficient and better tasting recipe.
Now, pull up a chair, respectfully place your napkin in your lap (no, don’t tuck it into your shirt… geez), and get ready for a new way to dish out practices – dripping with Read & React.
