NEXT LEVEL COACHING - TRAIN LIKE STEPH

                                 

The 2021/22 NBA season stared last week and Stephen Curry was up to his usual tricks following a down game by his own admission in which he mucked around and still got a triple double in a win against the Lakers, with a perfect 10 for 10 and 25 points in the first quarter alone the very next night, on his way to 45 against the Clippers.

Off the back of this stunning performance came this article on his off-season training.

Here are some points I noted from it:

NOTE #1

"...Making shots in training is a given for Steph so it is no longer good enough on it's own so his training team used shot tracking technology that determined that not all of his made shots were create equal with some "rimming" in and some going straight in "nothing but net..."

This is an example of pure task mastery, finding a way to improve on essentially perfection, meaning if they can fin ways to make Steph Curry better, you shouldn't have to look to far to find a way to make yourself, or your players, better.

NOTE #2

"...They altered Steph's training to reflect this and decided that any made shot that doesn’t go straight in the hoop "nothing but net" would from now on be classed as a missed shot..."

This an example of task oriented training environment where they found a way to push the best shooter that has ever lived, an to create an environment where training won't always look pretty but learning is high, rather than an ego oriented task when it does but learning is low.

NOTE #3

"...It was at this point that he now wasn’t able to master the drill all the time like before..."

Any athlete of ability or experience who wants to improve has find, and the train, on their "edge" which is the phase in the development of a particular skill or training activity that is stretched just a tad out of the current abilities and experiences.

No stretch at all and again it's all about ego, being successful and looking great for no improvement (and is where 99% of most local football training sits) but too much stretch causes frustration an decreased motivation an that's really where the art of coaching and session design comes into play.

The latest data suggest having something around a 15% failure rate is about where you want to be but some athletes will be able to emotionally handle more failure before motivation starts to waver and some won't even to be able to handle 15% so you'll need to coach accordingly to these players specifically.

NOTE #4

"...Steph now needs to focus hard early to make his shots early so it doesn’t turn into a conditioning drill where it drags on too long and you're now just making yourself dog tired trying to beat the drill..."

You don't need more time, you need more focus - James Clear