Practice Ideas for Creating a Better Team: Skill Development, Teamwork & Quick Hitters

with Bart Brooks,
Belmont University Head Women's Coach;
2x OVC Tournament and NCAA Tournament appearances;
3x OVC regular season champions;
led Belmont to 31 wins in 2017-18, tied for the second-most ever by a first-year head coach in NCAA history;
2017-18 WBCA Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year, TSWA Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, and OVC Coach of the Year;
former DePaul University Assistant Coach under Doug Bruno

Bart Brooks understands what it takes to win at a high level. From being an assistant under long-time DePaul coach Doug Bruno, to guiding Belmont to its first ever 30+ win season, he knows what it takes to lead a program. His teams have fun, work hard, and communicate at a high level on the court!

In this practice-style video, you will get the opportunity to see the drills and skills emphasized in a typical practice that help Belmont compete against the best teams in the nation.

Offensive Fundamentals

Each practice starts with a variation of passing drills. Coach Brooks emphasizes and demonstrates why catching and passing are important concepts that every player needs to develop. By having his athletes lead the passing progression drills, they learn to communicate effectively with each other.

The ability to catch and pivot is an important skill that every player has to work constantly, since it happens so often during games. Brooks shows how to train your team to sweep through hands, pass with the outside hand, and pivot in and out of pressure. In his drills, players work on their jump shots and finishes at the rim as they get better at their triple threat. Brooks also shows position-specific work that has athletes continue to work on their catching, pivoting and finishing at the rim.

Screens - Offense and Defense

Screening on and off the ball are important in today's game. Brooks demonstrates how to teach down screen reads, including curls, back cuts, under and shot, and slip. This helps his players be able to freely read the defense in their slice offense.

Next, Brooks uses 4v4 and 5v5 situations to teach how to defend screens, such as cross screens into a down screen. He also uses this setting to get his teams prepped for ball screen defense. After defending several ball screens in a row, he has players work on transition offense so they can get up and down the floor, fostering competitiveness while having fun in practice.

Coach Brooks is a great teacher of the game, especially when it comes to the fundamentals and getting his teams to communicate at a high level. From full court catching and passing drills, to half court screen defense, his teams talk with a purpose, compete at a high level, and have fun doing it. In this video, you'll get a look at his typical practice style so you can improve the outcome and tempo of your own practices.

81 minutes. 2020.