From off-season drills, to patience and making an investment in the game, it’s all about teaching your child the art of the game. Coach C gives you the rundown.
Improving your weak foot. What to do with rowdy fans? Investing in your child’s future in the game. The game of basketball can involve a little bit of everything when it comes to teaching your child the finer points of the game. So, where do you go for the answers? Coach C has you covered in his monthly column.
Q: What is your favorite off-season drill and why? Coach C: I like drills that focus on strengthening your weak foot. If you use your weak foot, you’re going to turn the wrong way. It’s about economy of motion. That means you want to take less steps. That said, you want to make sure that any drill you use focuses on strengthening your weak foot. You want to make sure you get both feet coordinated so that they are equal. By far, these are my favorite drills.
Q: How should I react when parents in the stands yell at the coaches, officials and players? Coach C: This is something that you cannot control. This is a great time to teach your child – and yourself – about patience. The parent who is doing the yelling is only hurting his child. Down the road, this child is more than likely going to quit the sport. He’s getting annoyed with it. He’s embarrassed. He doesn’t want to be there. The best thing for you to do is to be patient. At the same time, you tell your child after the game not to worry about that. You worry about how you play and not the fans in the stands because that’s going to happen wherever you go. When we (Georgia Tech) played Duke, we always had people screaming and yelling at us. You’re always going to get it. Teach yourself and your child to have a lot of patience.
Q: What should a parent’s role be if his child is serious about playing at the high school level? Coach C: At this time for basketball in this country, you have to pay for it. You have to pay for gymnastics, golf, etc. That’s understood. For basketball, you might have to pay to get your child the right kind of instruction. If you can financially do it, you want to put him in front of as much basketball as you can, where he can learn and listen. As a parent, all you can do is put your child in front of the situation and hope that he can catch on and be coordinated (and fortunate) enough to make a high school team. OC
With more than 27 years of coaching and recruiting experience, Kevin Cantwell knows the physical and mental impact the game has on today’s players. For 16 years he served as an associate head coach for Bobby Cremins at Georgia Tech. He also served as an assistant and head coach for Appalachian State University. He has coached and recruited 22 NBA players.
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