The Need for Open-Mindedness
My Pen Mates,
My son has hoop dreams. Influenced I'm sure by celebrity-centric media saturation, public adoration of sports figures, and powered by a healthy dose of fourteen year old hormones and adrenaline, he fancies himself playing with the big dogs. He puts in the time in practice, and spends enough time watching video footage of nice plays by good players; and he does have enough self-confidence to act out his desire.
But that's just a part of this article.
What with the great emphasis on honing one's skills, he goes to lessons, scrimmages, drills, conditioning workouts, and camps to be a better player. The trainers and coaches put great emphasis on developing great fundamentals (dribbling, passing, shooting, etc.) and learning the team concept of the sport. They run drills to demonstrate scenarios, to develop an awareness of the court and how a play unfolds. In other words, they practice to develop conditioned responses on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Complemented by strong fundamentals, these practice sessions are designed to optimize output and win games. Through constant drills and repetition, the object is to broaden their comfort zone so that in gametime situations, they focus more on reading the opponent and less on their ability to escape a trap, make a shot, or break a zone. By having strong fundamentals, they can run a more tactical game, mindful mainly of the plays unfolding and not too much on their scoring arsenal.
It's truly great on paper and design, except that the same coaches who are grinding this into their awareness will be the first to say that in many instances, they will have to play out of their comfort zones. And therein lies the rub.
For any good player worth his endorsement will drill that twenty-five footer given the chance; he will retrieve that loose ball given the hole; he will rotate around that pick, break that defenders ankles, thread that pass to the open guy, set the perfect screen, etc. to execute those practiced plays. But during the course of the game, there occurs an organic assortment of circumstances that make each game unique and loose -- loose in the sense that the plays and players do not adhere to the textbook expectations of how players play. Factors ranging from physical mismatches, personal physical condition among the players, coaching directives, officiating...weather.... skew the way the game unfolds. The point being that each player in any game comes with a set of skills which he wraps around and is integrated into the team's skill set. In turn the team uses this collection of skills from each player to try and defeat the other team. And despite multiple studies and breakdown of plays into their component units to either execute or defend against, plays unfold in their own way, different from every other before and after. So players need a lot of creative flexibility to improvise "on the fly". This is what is meant by playing out of ones comfort zone; that you fight the fight that's brought to you not the fight you expected to have. Not to discount the value of preparation for that certainly keeps you sharp and focused, but carrying out strict rules without flexing to the dictates of the battle zone can be both dangerous and disastrous. It's the equivalent to forging on to cross a river despite knowing that the bridge is gone.
And this goes beyond common sense; it's a lot more complicated than going to option "C" when both "A and B" are gone. It's that acrobatic shot in front of two defenders when your passing lane is plugged; the quick stab to the middle because the center is out of position; the no look pass to outwit the three on two when prudence dictates setting up a play. These split second decisions cannot be completed with grace without the practiced drills, but their necessity and urgency cannot be expunged from a fast paced game. That's what creates great athletes. For what would otherwise explain how Iverson can slash the paint and score over bigger and taller people clogging it, or Bryant escaping a baseline trap by making a turn-around fade-away basket? Strong fundamentals surely, but also great awareness, execution in the blink of an eye, and confidence in their ability to make it.
Without this awareness of a constant need to adapt and to be open to the possibility that chaos can take over an organized process, a player is ineffective and dull. Variation is constant and a "read" can only be accurate if each player, each team, expects undetermined possibilities and creating opportunities.
Mon
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