GABL Developing Skills
Basketball is a sport that has evolved since its creation. It has come a long way since its early days with Dr. Naismith and peach baskets, but since its birth the same basic skills have remained its staple. Although speed, size, and strategies may change with the times the fundamental skills hold true.
The GABL Basketball Curriculum’s #1 objective is to develop these fundamental skills. From the lowest levels to the most competitive, skill development will always benefit players and teams. Individuals will progress and experience more success in both the short term of a single season and the long term of his/her playing career. Within a season each player will develop and learn to shoot, pass, handle the ball, and defend better. As they get older and play on different teams and for different coaches these skills will transfer to any offensive or defensive philosophy.
The job of a coach is to lead players and teams to reach their potential that they could not reach on their own. This curriculum was developed to support coaches to do just that. It is not meant to create robotic coaches that do everything the same way. This curriculum is meant to deliver tools to help his/her players individually and their teams collectively to be successful and enjoy this great game. This curriculum is designed to teach these skills by providing teaching cues and breakdowns of each skill, by providing drills that reinforce performing these skills correctly, and by structuring practices to provide ample time to develop these skills.
As coaches sometimes we live in a fog and think that “the way we were taught is the only way it can be done.” The best coaches are critical of themselves and their teaching methods. They are always able to define how and why they do what they do. They are able to try new things and determine whether that works better or not. In 1968, Dick Fosbury literally flipped over the high jump event and changed it forever. He won the gold by revolutionizing the traditional technique in high jump. Within a few years, every top jumper at the international level adopted this new technique. Some athletes and coaches stuck to the only way they’ve ever know and did not reach their full potential.
Similarly some of the teaching methods for skill development in this curriculum may be contrary to what we have taught and remember being taught in the past. It’s been said that “the best way to learn a skill is to watch and expert and mimic them.” So we challenge coaches to watch the best players in the world, take notes, and see for yourself if it matches up with the methods in this curriculum. You may be surprised.