The Coach Dave Love Podcast The Most Common Constraints I Use
8 snips
Nov 25, 2025 
In this engaging discussion, Dave Love, an NBA shooting coach and author, dives into the fascinating world of constraints in basketball training. He explains the various categories of constraints—individual, environmental, and task—and their roles in shooting development. Listeners will learn about practical strategies like the 'tug-of-war' drill for ball protection, as well as how to use lateral jumps to enhance footwork. Dave’s innovative insights offer valuable techniques for coaches looking to refine their training methods and maximize player performance.
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Constraints Categorized And Defined
- A constraint is a rule placed on a drill that shapes how movement emerges and encourages exploration of new solutions.
- Constraints fall into individual, task, environmental, and informational categories with coaches mainly manipulating task and environmental constraints.
Choose Constraint Intent First
- Use constraints with a clear intent: afford, inhibit, perturb, or stabilize the movement solution you want to shape.
- Choose the intent first and then design the activity to guide exploration toward that outcome.
Remove The Guide Hand To Force Self-Organization
- Actively remove the guide hand at the set point to force the shooting hand to self-organize into a simpler, effective position.
- Over-exaggerate the guide-hand removal and layer complexity once a better set point emerges.
