December 19, 2003, Newsletter Issue #141: CALLING PLAYS

Tip of the Week

Develop a consistent method to calling offensive plays and defensive attacks. Use colors, numbers, hand signals, or names - but make them make sense to the player. Random mascots, colleges or animals are difficult to remember and differentiate one play from another. Whether you choose names, colors or numbers to signal in plays you should attempt to make them consistent and meaningful. Choose names that are descriptive or symbolic of the play, such as "split" for a play that "splits the post", "4 Out" for a play that has four players out on the perimeter", or "Red" fo a stall offense that slows you down or stops early shots. Come up with a system that HELPS the player remember, not just one that they have to remember.
As players get older and become more serious about being the best that they can be, I think that we need to follow baseball`s lead. I`m convinced that the increased offensive performance has more to do with the "Science of Hitting" than it does with the more popular theories of: diluted pitching, corked bats, "juiced" baseballs, or performance enhancing drugs.
In basketball, we need to take the same approach with respect to fundamentals, techniquies, spacing, passing angles, defensive coverage, scouting, and play calls if we expect our game to thrive in the 21st century.

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