Noah LaRoche on Chasing Space, the "Zero Step", and Principles of Play {Pro Player Development}
Feb 2, 2024
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Noah LaRoche, a Player Development Coach, discusses topics such as 'chasing space', creating it, and the 'zero step'. They also explore 'good to great' separators and attacking zone defenses, emphasizing the importance of cognition, decision-making, and curiosity in player development.
Being curious fosters open-mindedness and a willingness to learn and improve, driving continuous growth and facilitating value creation.
Chasing space and constantly moving to open up passing windows are crucial for successful offense and increasing offensive efficiency.
Utilizing zones strategically and focusing on principles rather than set plays can effectively counter zones and challenge offenses.
Deep dives
Importance of curiosity in elite performers
Curiosity is a critical trait among elite performers, including coaches and players. Being curious fosters open-mindedness and a willingness to learn and improve. It allows individuals to evolve and adapt to new insights, technologies, and strategies. Curiosity drives continuous growth and facilitates value creation for themselves and others. It enables the development of confidence, clarity, and new capabilities, ultimately leading to peace of mind.
The significance of managing space in basketball offense
Creating and maintaining space is a fundamental aspect of effective basketball offense. It is essential to achieve advantages and destabilize the defense. Creating an advantage can be achieved through various methods like driving, cutting, or screening. Once the advantage is created, it must be maintained by relocations and strategic positioning. Chasing space and constantly moving to open up passing windows are crucial for collective coordination and successful offense. Emphasizing the importance of managing space helps teams create high-quality shots and increase offensive efficiency.
Coaching principles and investing in personal growth
Investing in personal growth and acquiring wisdom and insight is an essential investment for coaches. Wisdom and continuous learning have a more significant impact on success than financial gains. Creating value by providing clarity, confidence, and new capabilities to players fosters peace of mind. Curiosity is a key trait in elite coaches and players, driving their eagerness to constantly learn and improve. Embracing new ways of thinking and challenging traditional beliefs can lead to innovative coaching strategies and better player development.
The Importance of Anticipation and Awareness
Anticipation and awareness are crucial skills in both offense and defense. Anticipating and recognizing open spaces allows players to make quick and impactful decisions, leading to successful outcomes. Building awareness is key in developing these skills. By teaching players to be aware of their surroundings, they can better understand where space is opening up and how to take advantage of it. Simplifying offensive concepts and focusing on principles rather than set plays can help players anticipate and react effectively. Similarly, utilizing zones strategically can disrupt an offense by limiting space and options. However, it is important to adapt and play through principles rather than relying on specific zone offense plays.
Chasing Space on Defense
Zones can pose challenges for offenses and disrupt their natural reads. Teams are increasingly using zones to limit space and create confusion. Defenses that switch everything or play pack line focus on closing space and limiting driving opportunities. However, zones can be effectively countered by maintaining good spacing, utilizing skip passes to create long closeouts, and attacking spaces aggressively. Rather than overcomplicating zone offense with specific plays, focusing on principles and concepts allows for adaptability and simplicity. By anticipating where space will open up and closing down driving lanes, defenses can effectively challenge offenses and force them into unfavorable positions.
Slappin' Glass sits down this week with on of the best Player Development Coaches in the world, Noah LaRoche! In this wide-ranging conversation the trio explore the areas of "chasing space", along with how to create it, the "zero step", and discuss "good to great" separators and attacking zone defenses.
To join coaches and championship winning staffs from the NBA to High School from over 60 different countries taking advantage of an SG Plus membership, visit HERE!
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