Coaches of all basketball teams in the state, boys and girls, all know about the importance of summer scrimmages for their programs. Here’s a rundown of all the reasons they are and how coaches can schedule them even with those schools who may not be that far away.
By Clifford Winston
CalGamesWanted.com
In today’s landscape of high school basketball, where AAU programs, open transferring and NIL opportunities are prevalent, it’s crucial for all of you coaches out there to focus on the core aspects of player development for all your players. For a successful high school basketball program, creating an atmosphere of competitive development will ensure that student-athletes have a positive experience.
Spring and summer is the perfect time to work on developing that competitive spirit in your players. For various reasons, it can be difficult to get enough players to your practice sessions to conduct meaningful practice. How many times have you had less than 10 players at practice in the summer?
We have heard of girls teams scrimmaging boys teams during the summer at certain schools. Photo: The Royal Page (Minn.).
A scrimmage serves as an opportunity to nurture the competitive spirit of teammates all while building chemistry and practicing plays and strategies that will be used in “real” games.
A scrimmage also is basically an opportunity to have a full-blown practice between two teams, when those teams might not have enough players to run 5-on-5 in practice. It can also be used to break up the monotony on those hot summer days in the gym.
Reason for having scrimmages:
*Don’t have enough players to run a competitive practice.
*Stirs competitive juices by practicing against different players.
*Works on your “stuff” against an unknown opponent.
*Players run full court.
*No pressure of “winning or losing.”
*Summer is the perfect time to develop a players’ competitive nature, especially for those younger and less experienced.
Suggestions for conducting a scrimmage:
1. Start in the half court.
*The team on offense has 5-10 minutes (or a certain number of possessions) to run their offense. Coaches can stop play for instruction on offense or defense.
*Switch back and forth for as long as needed.
*Go over out-of-bound plays (under basket, sideline, baseline) when the opposing team doesn’t know what’s coming.
2. Move to the full court.
*Each team works on their press and press break packages, rotating from offense to defense with coaches input on both.
*Work on early offense packages.
*Work on special situations.
*Last minute situations using the clock.
How CalGamesWanted can help:
*Reduces the cost of your summer program.
*Puts you in contact with teams in your vicinity
*Enables you to schedule in as little as one or two days prior.
*Assists you in setting up a multiple team scrimmage situation.
Think of the possibilities
*In many regions of California, there are anywhere from three to 15 schools located within a 20-mile radius. Many teams often lack enough players for effective summer practices. So, if you have access to your gym, why not make the most of it.
Check out CalGamesWanted.com and sign up today.
