Teaching Players to Use Imagination

I've always hated practicing offense without defense, unless you are teaching the offense for the first time. I've thought that it's a waste of time because players are not reading a defense, they are just going through the motions of the offense. They are not getting anything out of it.

Today however, I was having a conversation with Paul Richardson that made me take another look at 5 on 0. Coach Richardson is the girls coach at St. Paul Humboldt where I teach and does an outstanding job.  Coach Richardson shared a story about a coach he played for who his who practiced his motion 5 on 0 motion. It wasn't the typical 5 on 0 however, his coach demanded that the players use their imagination while running the offense. They needed to know where the defense was, where the other player's defender's were, etc and react to it. The coach then called them on mistakes and sloppy play every, single, time. He was constantly questioning why they chose to go where they did, why they'd go where someone else was, etc. Coach Richardson said it would drive him and his teammates nuts but helped them to understand the movements on a deeper level.

After hearing how 5 on 0 was used; I have moved from strong hate to slight dislike for it. Its still not something I would do for long periods, or on a daily basis, but when first teaching the offense as a whole I think it's a great addition to the teaching process. The idea of having players imagine and conceptualize not just what they are doing, but what everyone else on the floor is doing! Along with that, the idea that the coach is there holding their feet to the fire his huge. This is something that I will definitely use in the future and appreciate the tip from Coach Richardson.