We ARE Improving even more!

Yesterday was amazing. Let me tell you why.

In the 7:30 game Practice Group 2 played a division 4 MetroWest 6th Natick travel team which finished last year in the middle of the standings ALL players on that team are moving to 7th grade in the fall.

My travel team scrimmaged the same team this pass winter and lost by about 10 points. That scrimmages was weighted heavily in our favor, however, because a shooter from one of the Flyer's 8th grade travel teams played with us. Last night's team was composed of only 6th, 5th, and 4th graders - all Framingham kids since all 4 Dover players missed the game.

Here is the amazing:

The Destroyers II team finished with 27 points to Natick's 35. Four different players scored for us and several other players made attempts.

While we missed 15 foul shots (making 9 of those would have given us the game), those shots represented 6 drives to the basket (by THREE DIFFERENT players) where both shots were missed; 2 drives where one foul shot was missed and one made; one where the drive was completed and the "and one" foul shot was missed and one where the drive was completed and the "and one" foul shot was made.

We had basket drives by THREE DIFFERENT players that resulted in fouls! Yes, in my world, that is worth repeating in a shout. There where other drives by additional players which resulted in blocked shots or misses, too. Our girls are learning to hunt the paint.

But here is the best parts for me from that game, the girls executed a trap - once - late in the second half after working on trapping Tuesday night in practice for about five minutes. We won just about every 50-50 ball by out hustling the Natick team. And, I saw a little picking starting to happen.

After the game, the ref who worked a couple of our early season travel games said, "If I did not recognize most of their faces, I would not believe these are the same girls. Wow! Have they all got better or what?" He also commented that he loves our hustle.

In the 8:30 game Practice Group 1 DEFEATED a 5th grade (going to 6th) AAU team, the Sting Belles, 36 to 18. Once again we had balanced scoring with five players putting points on the board.

We had both a height and a hustle advantage. The game was fun to watch because our fast-paced style means our players are up and down the court quickly and often. The game started an hour late so the refs did not call many fouls (6 total for the game compared to 19 in the first game.)

Here are my take-a-ways from the games for both teams:

1. About half of the players have the idea of playing full court player to player defense and maybe half of THOSE can get their minds and bodies to do it. My season end goal is for all of the players to have the idea and at least half to be able to do so with out weak side helping. We will get there by continuing to out-hustle other teams and by developing a defensive attitude that is aggressive. It isn't necessary that a player be highly skilled to play effective, hard-nosed defense. All one needs is desire.

2. Both teams are ready to pick / screen.

3. I will continue to stress attacking the rim / hunting the paint. Practice Group 2 is ready for drive and kick. Group 1 will be ready for it soon.

4. Dribble hand-offs still need a LOT more reps. We had less turn overs this week than we had last week from hand offs gone bad but the numbers are still too high.

5. We can never do too many ball handling drills. It is time to add handling in traffic to the practice plan.

--
Robin Sallie
Framingham, MA
 
Written on a small keyboard. Please forgive bizarre typos.

3 on 3 teams are now closed.

If anyone else wants to have their child play 3 on 3, you have to find three players to play with her.

 I entered two teams made from the 8 players who expressed an interest in playing. The teams are split by age. The youngest 4 players are on the 6th grade team. The oldest 4 are on the 7th grade team.


Destroyers I (6th Grade Team)
? - Jomi L.   - 3rd grade practice player
1 - Celine A. - 4th grade
10 - Katy E.  - 5th grade
13 - Tayja S.  - 5th grade

Destroyers II  (7th Grade Team)
0 - Delaney C. - 6th grade
21 - Brooke S. - 6th grade
11 - Nilijah R. - 6th grade
44 - Ashley L. - 7th grade

robin

We ARE improving

Both Summer teams played the same 7th grade National Sting AAU team. The Sting team draws top players from around the Metrowest. They travel the east coast playing in tournaments and have done so year round for two years.

BOTH Destroyers teams played well in spurts against them. Our kids, only used to only facing man to man,  struggled playing against a zone.

Our defense has improved nicely from last week to this week. We will get better and better each game. The girls seem to be catching on to full court man to man defense. In the second game our defense cause the coach to use up most of her time outs.

We moved the ball well and stuck to our offensive principles and spacing. Getting the ball in to the basket was a challenge for both Destroyer teams. I must work harder on getting our girls to attack. They still will pass the ball out of the attack zone when open.

Our lack of scoring prowess is the reason I am bringing in a shooting coach, Paul Hoover, on July 26. If you have not already signed up your basketball player, do so ASAP. The clinic is limited to 36 players. There are only 3 or 4 spots still open. To reserve a spot, email me directly.

I had one parent complain tonight about his daughter's lack of playing time. I told him that I don't expect much to change. My goal is to get players in as equally as I can. One team has 15 players. The other has 17. With 14 minute halves, there isn't much playing time to go around.

And if we are behind by 20 or more - as we have been in every game so far - the mercy rule kicks in and the clock doesn't stop. Which means the game is over even quicker. Tonight I talked to the league rep about ignoring the mercy rule in the future so that we can get more players in at the end of the game. Upcoming vacations also will help somewhat.

Friday night scrimmages were started to increase the opportunities for playing time. Last Friday 13 players out of 35 showed up and played an average of 90 minutes each. You could see the difference in those players' defense from last week's game to this one.

Another upcoming opportunity for minutes and touches on the ball is the 3 on 3 tournament Aug 3 and 4. So far I have enough players signed up to have two teams of 4. If your player is worried about a lack of playing time or touches on the ball, I recommend this tournament.

Bay State Games July 2013

The Bay State Games are July 20 and 21 at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. F. A. D. S. is entering one team in the Jr Basketball 5th and 6th grade division.  Our Bay State Team is made up of 7 - 6th graders and 7 - 5th graders and all FADS communities are represented.



The team will be:
Nilijah R.
Brooke S.
Paige D.
Delaney C. (Injured)
Colleen D. (No Show)
Jessica L. (Saturday Morning only)
Emma S.
Tayja S.
Jazlynn L.
Sabrina D. (No Show)
Celine A.
Lara S.
Katie E.
Britney K.

3 on 3 Tournament 8/3 and 8/4 Foxboro

FADS will be entering teams in a 3 on 3 Tournament that runs August 2nd- August 4th at Mass Premier Courts in Foxboro.

Teams are 4 players.

The cost is $65 per team or $16.25 per player.

If you are interested in you child playing, email me. RTSALLIE@Gmail.com


I love 3 on 3 HALF-COURT basketball. It quickly improves a young player’s long-term development. Players touch the ball more often. More touches on the ball is a very good thing.

In the 5 on 5 game, players can go almost the whole game without touching the ball.

When there are only six (3 on 3) players on the court, players are more inclined to run the pick-and-roll, set screens, and basket cut.

They start to figure things out for themselves which is I want our players to do.

Up Dates

The Highlights:

1. Tomorrow night open gym, 7 pm to 9 at Marian High School.
2. NO GAMES July 4th week. Too many teams cancelled.
3. Practice Tuesday, July 2 (normal groups and times at St. Stephen)
4. Scrimmages Friday, July 5 - 7 pm to 9 at Marian High School. Wear your Jerseys.
5. If you have not emailed me your known vacation days, please do so asap.
6. SAVE THE DATE: Shooting Clinic, Friday July 26 at Marian High.
7. SAVE THE DATE: Three on Three Tournament, August 2 to 4

_____________________

Summer league is off to a good start. Both teams played well in their losses. Both of our teams played the same team, a Division 1 raising fifth grade MetroWest travel team who have played together since 3^rd grade rec. For comparison our Flyers travel team was Division 5.

I am happy with our play. We did better than I expected. The scoreboard is not a fair indication of where we are.

I saw flashes of brilliance. As each game went on, the girls got better at finding their marks on defense, knowing where to be on offense and learned what to do when the whistles sounded on the OTHER court. They ran the offense. We had ball movement, player movement and good spacing. Players attempted shots that were reasonable. Everyone hustled down the floor on transition. The bench cheered and encouraged the players on the floor. Fun was had by all. Players dove on the floor after loose balls, went after rebounds and tied up the ball for jump balls. We did not have any turnovers because someone stepped on the line while inbounding the ball.

I saw opportunities for improvement. Defense is still mostly a foreign concept. Talking on the floor was nonexistent. Players dribbled in to corners. They picked up their dribble without any where to pass the ball. They did not value and protect the ball. Passes went where the intended receiver had once been or should have been instead of where the intended receiver actually was. Practice habits, maturity and more chances to play will fix all of that. I get that the teams are too large. Coming vacations will fix most of that.

THE DETAILS:

1. Tomorrow night I am hosting an open gym, 7 pm to 9 pm at Marian High School. Players use to learn to compete and win by playing basketball all day on the playground. Now days, kids aren’t out on the playground and only playing structured games. They don't develop an attacking game. We will play 1 on 1 games, 2 on 2 games and 3 on 3 games. I think kids should learn to play one on one, then two on two and three on three competently before ever playing five on five. Every Friday in July, I will have an open gym, a clinic put on by someone other that me, or a scrimmage.
2. No games are scheduled for next week. Sometime next week I should receive the schedule for the remainder of the summer. I will post it on team snap and on http://fadsgirlsbasketball.blogspot.com/ which is our team information blog.
3. We will practice Tuesday, July 2 with our normal practice groups and times at St. Stephen. The theme for the rest of the summer will be sharpening our offense and learning to play man to man helping full court defense. Almost all players know and understand the first installment of our offense. We will work to make the spacing and movements habit. We have not yet worked on defense as I spent all six practice opportunities to install the offense.
4. We will have two scrimmages on Friday, July 5 - 7 pm to 9 at Marian High School. Wear your Jerseys. With such large teams it is hard for the players to get into a rhythm during a game. Scrimmages with a referee and 20 minute halves is a good way to increase everyone's playing time.
5. FADS is hosting a shooting clinic on July 26 at Marian High. I don't yet know what the cost will be. I am bringing in a national shooting coach to work with our girls. I may need to open the clinic up to the public to make it affordable. I should have details soon. It is with Paul Hoover's Pro Shot Shooting System. It is a great system that focuses on keeping the shot straight and attaining more arc. It is the same shooting system used by hundreds of high school, AAU programs, colleges and pros.
6. FADS will be entering teams in a 3 on 3 Tournament that runs August 2nd- August 4th at Mass Premier Courts in Foxboro. Teams are 4 players. The cost is $65 per team or $16.25 per player. If you are interested in you child playing, email me. I love 3 on 3 HALF-COURT basketball. It quickly improves a young player’s long-term development. Players touch the ball more often. More touches on the ball is a very good thing. In the 5 on 5 game, players can go almost the whole game without touching the ball. When there are only six (3 on 3) players on the court, players are more inclined to run the pick-and-roll, set screens, and basket cut. They start to figure things out for themselves which is I want our players to do.

robin

Important Summer Leauge Updates

Here is more information on the travel league. Both of our teams are in the same division, lower middle school.

I assumed that the 6th grade team would play 6th grade teams and the 7th grade team would play 7th grade teams. That will not be the case.

SO instead of splitting the teams by grade as I originally planned, I will be keeping the practice groups (and siblings) together for games. That will make my coaching progression much easier as I put all of the "new-to-me" players in the first group.

It doesn't matter on which team anyone plays (based on age as long as they are under 14) because of the way the league is set up. it is also okay with the league if I move players from team to team and if players play on both teams.

At some point the teams will have to play each other.

Our first games will be on Thursday, June 27. Log into team snap and mark if your child can play. This is required every week. If I don't know a player is coming, I can not assign said player any playing time.

Show up at every game 30 minutes before tip off.

Practice group 1 plays at 6:30 pm, wears white and sits on the HOME side of the scorers table.


Practice Group 1
Thursdays 6:15 - 7:30

2 - Zaria T.
4 - Eryn F.
14 - Isaura G.
20 - Katie O.
24 - Haley T.
30 - Brooke C.
42 - Lizzy B.
43 - Lara S.
44 - Ashley L.
51 - Megan G.
52 - Cassandra T.
53 - Allison R.
54 - Maria R.
55 - Keara F.
Practice players
-- Savanah W.
-- Milanna R.
-- Mackenzie M.
-- Jomi L.
-- Selina M.
--Caroline B.

Practice group 2 plays at 8:30 pm, wears black and sits on the AWAY side of the scorers table.
Practice Group 2
Thursdays 7:30 - 8:45

0 - Delaney C.
1 - Celine A.
3 - Chloe P.
5 - Hannah C.
00 - Jazlynn L.
10 - Katy E.
11 - Nilijah R.
12 - Sofia B.
13 - Tayja S.
15 - Sophia F.
21 - Brooke S.
22 - Jessica L.
25 - Britney K.
31 - Vienna  M.
33 - Emma S.
40 - Colleen D.
41 - Sabrina D.
50 - Paige D.


BOTH teams will play the Natick team that my 6th grade travel team scrimmaged in December. Some weeks one or the other or both of our Destroyer teams will play two games during the week and maybe on the same night.

Practice team 1 has 15 players including 2  4th graders, 5  5th graders, 3  6th graders and 5   7th graders. The team has one set of siblings.

Practice team 2 has 17 players including 2  4th graders, 8  5th graders and 7  6th graders. The team will lose 2 players three weeks in to the season to long vatcations (3 to 5 weeks) which will give us 15 for most of the season. The team has one set of siblings.

Both teams are a little too big but I think there will be weeks that I will be struggling to field enough players to have subs for two teams. If that happens, I will move players from team to team for THAT game.

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Summer League comes with parent responsibilities.

For every game I need a parent to keep score. I need a volunteer to do the job for each game next week. Every family is responsible for a turn on the clock and a turn with the score book during the season.

For every game that we are the away team I need someone to operate the score board. For the 8:30 pm game next week I need someone to run the clock. So  for that game I need TWO volunteers.

We will have games on either Tuesday OR Thursday and some weeks both. If it is a one game week, we will practice on the non game day and will keep our practice times. I am no longer splitting the practice groups in to two columns in the team snap. Just mark the column under the date.
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Every player must be a member of the AAU. That is how we insure our program.

You may sign up for your player’s new membership number by clicking below. Purchase the Extended Coverage Membership (AB) which is $16.00.


http://aausports.org/Membership/SignUp.aspx    Our club Code is  WWY68C


You may renew your player’s existing membership number by clicking below.


https://play.aausports.org/login.aspx?returnurl=%2fMembershipHist01.aspx
   Our club Code is  WWY68C

If you can not log on to the AAU website for any reason send a check for $16 to practice with your player and I will have our team manager, Hannah P., do it for you. If you have already joined, ignore this reminder.