Working in Small Groups to Develop Team Chemistry
Here in Oregon we have the “Rule of Two” in high school basketball that dictates that we can only work on basketball skills with two players at a time during specific parts of the year. I like to use this time to not only drill in on certain aspects of their game that we’re working to improve, but also to partner up some of our players that might not know each other on a personal level and start to build some team camaraderie before the season begins. I’ve found that pairing kids in this small setting develops relationships and a familiarity with each other that can’t always be developed in the larger team practices that start when the season rolls around. It’s also nice to have some of our older more experienced players setting the tone with a younger or newer player to show them what our expectations are and the work ethic we need to be successful.
We also like using this opportunity to start setting expectations and building a rapport with our players to avoid any shock factor when the season starts. I can be pretty vocal at times during practice and introducing them to my style and personality can go a long way toward setting expectations and developing good practice habits before the actual season starts. I also get a chance to learn things about what our team dynamic is like and who works well together and how we might be able to leverage that later on through competitive drills or scrimmages.
We’ve recognized over the years that one of the most powerful ways to build team chemistry and unity is to instill in our players that we are all accountable for our effort and we are counting on getting everyone’s maximum effort to reach our potential. We like to talk a lot about accountability and when our kids see the effort it takes to be successful in these smaller group sessions they start to hold each other accountable and recognize the importance and investment that every person has in our team.
I’ve written on this site before about the importance of defining roles within your team and to expand on that a little bit we try to emphasize to our players that we are going to ask you to wear two different hats; the” role-maker, as well as the role-taker.” Role-makers will need to make decisions and take responsibility for certain tasks without instruction, while our role-takers will be asked to accept a role that we’ve given to them (Ex: Screen here, pass there, etc.) Getting players to accept the “role-taking” that you have given to them isn’t always easy (especially when it’s not one of the glamour roles like taking and making outside shots), but utilizing these small group workouts can ease the transition when you move back to the larger team workouts during the season as you’ve most likely started some of those conversations in your smaller group workouts when discussing their strengths and weaknesses.
Below are some of my favorite drills to use during our two man workouts. I hope you find them useful!
Coach Justin Duke
Played at Linn Benton CC for two years and in the IBL for one season
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Scio High School Girls Head Coach – HAVOC AAU Boys Head Coach
Back to Back State Title Game Appearances 2010-11, and 2011-12
League Champions 2012, Coach of the Year 2012
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