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A Game of High Speed TransitionA major difference between the game of basketball and other team sports is the frequency and speed of transition between offensive and defensive play. The 24 second shot clock requires the team on offensive to either shoot the ball within 24 seconds or turn it over to the opponent. While hockey does not have a 24 second rule, the speed and frequency of transitions and turnovers is even greater in hockey than basketball.Compare this to a football team which fields either an offensive team when it has possession of the ball, or a defensive team when the opponent has possession of the ball. Elapsed time of play may be as short as two or three seconds before the clock is stopped. The stop and go nature of football is completely different from the high speed tempo and continuous play of basketball. The same players must be skilled at both offense and defensive and be prepared to shift between the two in a fraction of a second. An obvious conclusion is that high speed team sports require exceptional balance between offensive and defensive play, both of which merge together at the same time. When an opponent shoots the ball, the defensive center and forward(s) must set up for a defensive rebound while at the same time the guards must be prepared to transition to offense and receive a possible outlet pass. If the rebound attempt fails, the defending team must fall back into a total defensive posture once again. This means a team must be instantly prepared to move into a defensive posture even while the last phase of an offensive play is still in progress. Or, put the other way, they must be instantly prepared to move into an offensive pattern while the last phase of defense is still in progress. This places a premium on anticipation as well as high speed transition. Add to this the complications of mental and physical errors, turnovers, and the mix of individual skills and match ups and you have the highly exiting game of basketball. Just as talent is a preeminent component of successful basketball play, so are coaching skills. What is the game plan? Half court play, running game, transition game? How will the coach match up his players with the opponents? Who’s hot tonight and who isn’t? How much playing time will he allocated to player? Speed up or slow down the game? Emphasize offense, defense or a balanced game? When to call critical timeouts? How to relate to diverse personalities and knowing when to discipline and when to encourage. These are just a few of the decisions basketball coaches must make that will significantly affect their win-loss record. This is entirely different from coaching soccer where it is difficult if not impossible to coach from the side lines (see our article on soccer play). All team sports have their own unique dynamic tensions that bring balance between offensive, defensive and individual play. While we have compared basketball to hockey, football and soccer in this article, it is only to highlight major differences in the various dynamic tensions of these games, not to infer that one sport is either inferior or superior over another because of these differences. Bottom line: speed of transition and continuous adjustments to game conditions are major factors in coaching basketball. See You At the Top!! Copyright 2005(c) by Matt Hawk and Hawk Planners.com. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: (1) a proper credit must be given to the author at the end of each story, along with a link to http://www.hawkplanners.com/ (2) content may not be arranged or mirrored as a competitive online service.
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