HoopClinics

by Brian Williams
The Coaching Toolbox

Seldom is a bad call the reason that a player fouls out, even if it is his or her fifth foul.  Obviously, neither a coach nor a player has control over what the officials call.  What a player does have control over, and what a coach can influence, is not picking up silly fouls at any time in the game.  If players stay away from senseless fouls, there is room to survive a  bad or unfortunate call at the end of the game.

Here is one way to avoid silly fouls.  Make it a defensive rule for your players that when going for the ball when it is being dribbled or held, always grab it with two hands.  This rule does not apply to denying  the passing lanes.  In those cases, we knock it down with one hand and then grab it with two hands.

Some advantages to taking the held ball or the dribble with two hands are:

• Since it is extremely difficult to reach with two hands while on the move, it decreases the number of times your players will take a risk and reach for the ball.  Those one handed reach ins for the ball more often than not will be called fouls even if there is no contact.
• If the ball is being held by an offensive player, my experience has shown me that officials are much less likely to call a foul when a defender goes for the ball with two hands and more likely to call a jump ball.
• Fouls aside, it is a better way to take the ball or tie it up because of the increased leverage of two hands.

As basketball coaches, we must stress  to our players that there is never a time during a game to waste a foul.  It is every player’s job to learn to play hard without fouling.  We can’t leave our success up to chance by hoping that we never get a bad break on a foul or any other call from an official.  We must have, and teach to our players, the mindset that bad breaks (including bad calls) are a part of the game.  Winning Teams find ways to avoid putting themselves in situations where good or bad breaks rather than their performance determine the outcome of the game.

Coaching Basketball