NABC On the Court Open Practice with John Spezia: Practice Drills, Coaching Philosophy + High School Shooting Workout

with John Spezia,
Notre Dame de La Salette Boys Academy Head Coach and Athletic Director;
NJCAA Hall of Fame Inductee;
2x Junior College National Coach of the Year

John Spezia has coached at every level and across the world. At each destination, he has focused on building strong fundamentals and culture to make his programs successful. In this video, Spezia takes you through the practice drills and concepts that make his teams solid on the court. For an extra bonus, he shows you what it is like inside the locker room/classroom and also includes a dynamic shooting workout.

Practice Philosophy and Drills

Coach Spezia takes you through how he builds his practice plan, the teaching points and purpose behind each drill, and ends by demonstrating how each drill is done. Through organization and discipline, he will help you guide your players to new heights! To help players train on the court, Coach Spezia demonstrates how to use various pieces of equipment, including jump ropes, hurdles, dribble glasses, heavy basketballs, and weighted gloves to help players catch.

Spezia demonstrates how his players set goals at the beginning of practice and hold each other accountable. By doing this, players become more competitive and make each other better. In order to maximize time and space, most the of drills are done with players constantly moving. In a 3 minute drill, players work on fast break skills and conditioning while another set of players works on their passing ability off to the side. In 5 on 4 Shell, Coach Spezia puts his players in disadvantage situations to work on help and recover situations. This drill is excellent for building your team defense and working on rebounding skills.

In the Locker Room and Shooting Workout

You'll get an inside look at how to build your culture and philosophy with your players in the locker room. The locker room is a great place for you and your players to study offensive and defensive philosophy. Spezia showcases his offensive and defensive musts - rules that players have to live by on the court.

Having dynamic shooters can take a program to championship levels. Coach Spezia has studied and trained players all over the world in their shooting mechanics. You'll see him break down shooting footwork into simple drills to train your players to master perfect footwork for their shot. As players progress through the workout, they will focus on finishing on their toes and bringing the ball into their shooting pocket for a quick release. Spezia provides 10 shooting drills that are excellent for developing confident shooters.

Coach Spezia's attention to detail, focus on being disciplined, and ability to build fundamentals in players are what separate him from other good coaches. In this video, you will get an inside look at how to build a championship culture and push your players every day in practice.

113 minutes. 2021.