Read Online Advantage Disadvantage by Yale Jaffe - Free Book Online

told Marcus on the way home.
    “Son, I love you to death. You’re my man, every day.
However, I think you need to respect Battle’s judgment. He has sent
a bunch of boys on to high school and college teams. If you want to
play, you’ve gotta pay”
    “Ok, Dad.”
    At the next practice, Coach Battle sent Jamal and
another player to the pool.
    “Imari, keep working on your shot. I can’t wait
until you are ready to practice with us.”
    “Me too, Coach.”
    “Mr. Smith, you know why you’re back in the
pool?”
    “’Cuz I’m throwin’ up bricks.”
    “Right on, Mr. Smith. Back to basics for your jump
shot. Let’s get it fixed.”
    The two boys talked about the coach’s weird teaching
technique as they made their way through the locker room to the
pool.
    “Just wait until you see what else is up Coach’s
sleeves!”
    Jamal spent the next three practices in the pool,
graduating from flat-footed five-foot jump shots to using the
water’s buoyancy to simulate elevating off the court. This gave him
the feeling of leaping high and timing his shot to the peak of the
elevation. He was finally broken of his bad shooting habit.
Ultimately, he embraced Coach Battle’s training technique and his
shot improved dramatically.
    After Jamal finally joined the team in practice, he
sometimes wished he were back in the pool. One practice tried to
improve foot speed, and drilled readiness to receive or pass
without traveling. The medicine ball weighed about five pounds.
Using a three-man weave, Coach Battle told the boys to move the
ball the entire length of the court of course without violating
travelling rules. The boys were adept at running this drill with a
regular basketball, but the medicine ball was heavy and they could
not dribble it. The first attempt hardly moved a few feet.
    “You are not going to be able to run this drill the
same as you are used to. Use your noggins, boys. Let’s see if you
can figure this one out.”
    Normally, the three players running a weave would
spread out across the end line of the court, with the player in the
middle with the ball. He bounced the ball to the player on the
right and ran behind him. The receiving player caught and bounced
it to the third teammate who had moved into the middle creating a
weave – players simply followed the player who received the ball
whenever they passed it. It was easy to avoid dribbling because you
could make forward progress by passing up stream, with an inflated
basketball, that is.
    Group after group either dropped the heavy ball on a
long pass or travelled, stopped by Coach Battle’s screeching
whistle. One group finally found a solution. Under normal
basketball rules, if you catch the ball in flight your first foot
down becomes the pivot. You can then step with your other foot and
lift up your pivot as long as you do not slide on the other foot or
replant the first one. In order to take only “two steps”, players
have to snake up court in a tight helix-like formation. Quick steps
and fast handoffs were required. After passing the ball, the
players had to hustle to be in position to receive the ball after
the other two have moved their short distances. This was much more
grueling than the traditional weave. This drill was worst than
suicides. It brought out the sweat and the gym always smelled worse
after the boys ran this one out. It was 15 minutes of hell for the
players. Their arm muscles burned from the weight of the medicine
balls. Groans echoed in the gym as the five-pound ball leached
forward from stomach to stomach by quivering, weary arms. Coach was
unforgiving about footwork. This drill made everyone light on his
feet, even an awkward six foot two player such as Jamal.
    Another tough drill was Coach T.J.’s “no-hands
defense scrimmages”. The boys divided into two teams and competed
in an hour-long game. Losers had to run suicides to end practice.
“No hands” meant that on defense the players could only use the
positioning of