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Life Cycle

The life cycle of basketball is understood in the simplest terms as Offence following Defence. 

From a players perspective, all the sub-tasks implied by offence and defence are at risk of being perceived as mere chores. 

The role of the Coach is to focus the development of every player in each facet of the game. The full life cycle is a sequence of tasks that requires our attention. By considering the life cycle first, we can have a ready reckoner for ensuring that every aspect of the game we have anticipated and prepared for. 

Sacred Cow “What D are we playing?” 

Observe: Where a player stepping onto the court asks this question. 

Problem: This player and therefore the team is not prepared for the game. There is a range of sub-tasks implied by Offence and Defence. 

Origin: The player is not at fault. A team which makes drastic changes to offence or defence, does not understand their own systems well enough to execute them successfully.  Some teams do this from game to game or even every time-out. The goal instead is to prepare a team that is capable of making subtle changes, through players who already possess a detailed understanding of their system. 

The Solution

To improve our preparation, a wholistic plan for every stage of the game is required. Offence and Defence have a range of sub-tasks that require planning. 

This is our first priority, to develop a chain of tasks. This life cycle then provides us a ready reckoner for our season planning, training individual skills, practicing as a team, briefing for games and executing.  

It then becomes much more useful and accurate to speak of the sub-systems. Once each stage is planned, it becomes apparent that there are a long list of tasks to practice, train and execute. Our training sessions, should also then change. We should make redundant every training drill, which does not train an aspect of our system.  

This requires investment of effort and a season plan to achieve it, which in the long-term will develop players that become competent and fully integrated into every facet. 

The key point to inculcate into players, is that in the moment we prepare to shoot the ball, we have effectively commenced the transition into Defence. We can illustrate the point further by explaining that the following three situations lead to the same outcome: 

a. when you miss a shot, and the opposition rebounds, our team is now on Defence; 

b. when you miss a shot, and we get an offensive rebound and put-back, our team again is on Defence; and 

c. even when you make your shot, we are yet again now on Defence. 

The Life Cycle is thus: 

Shooting the Ball 
Offensive Rebounding 
Defensive Transition
Defence
Contesting Shots
Defensive Rebounding
Offensive Transition
Offence
& the whole cycle repeats again....
Shooting the Ball 
Offensive Rebounding 
Defensive Transition  
Defence  

The Life Cycle of almost every other coaching manual ends with shooting. The players see the other facets of the game as mere chores, which can be circumvented or avoided, by merely shooting earlier at the first opportunity. For many players the reasoning follows, why set screens and pass the ball, and risk turning it over, if can create a shot now. This perspective is reinfoced as being proven in their mind, if it results in an open shot. That is their end state. 

Therefore by beginning with the Shot as the start of the Life Cycle, we attempt to turn what is seen as a reward into a responsibility. The decision to shoot, then triggers a long list of sub tasks. The Life Cycle once begun, requires a united effort to accomplish, and therefore the individual who shoots needs to become the anticipated, expected and even the desired outcome of their teammates. A unilateral disposition to shoot must be obliterated for the synchronisation of sub-tasks to be successfully executed. If your Life Cycle ends with a shot, the unilateral decision is never fully exposed. This will adversely permeate all your drills. When your Life Cycle begins with the shot, the failure of a poorly selected shot, exposes the risk of these decisions. Your drills will then be positively enhanced with the permeation of this philosophy into all of your training. 

Key Teaching Points

1. Develop each Stage as a continuous life cycle, and use this as your ready reckoner for ensuring every aspect of your coaching plan has been practiced, trained and briefed.  

2. Embed each Stage into Training by making redundant every drill which does not support a stage in your life cycle.  

3. Avoid encompassing terms like what we are doing on Offence or Defence, instead be specific about which sub-task.  

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