Practice #2 (1/29)

Today was a chilly, rainy Sunday, but we had a solid attendance of 11 enthusiastic players. We limited some of the throwing and conditioning work, and eliminated the scrimmaging due to the weather. But we still introduced the butterfly cut and ran two drills to work on it. The beauty of the new offense is its simplicity. Indeed, the players were making decent cuts in no time. I like the plan that Ken and I have to incrementally introduce of each part of the offense. The system's simplicity is also beneficial because we can have the basics in place within two weeks, at which time we can move on to zone, which we realize is a much bigger part of the women's game.

We must continue to have practice attendance totals in double figures, especially with the core of the team there regularly. Due to the rain, after taking an informal team poll, Ken and I decided to cut out the scrimmage component of today's practice. We pushed them hard again at the end with sprints, and despite a few minor (healthy) grumblings, they completed them. We're going to start mixing up the types of sprints to keep it fresh and fun.

01/29/06 ERP

Since the weather was not great, Zac and I were unsure about how well attended or enthusiastic this practice would be. We ended up with eleven, and though most were slightly late, considering the rain and distance, it was a good showing.

We went over the basic stack positioning and the butterfly cut, which cleverly lifted straight out of the Rutgers Mens' playbook. It's a very simple cut and everyone got the hang of it right away. We then did a simulated swing drill.

The main improvement we will need, again, is in the area of handlers and deep throwing. There was some promise shown today, especially considering the weather conditions. Mainly Krisztina and Linh will need to become better at throwing deep if we want to shift Mia away from the handler position. Krisztina had some nice hucks today, but the real test comes when there's a mark and decisions are not as clear cut.

We ended the practice with sprinting as usual. The question is how much should Zac and I push them? Zac observed correctly that once they start making semi-serious complaints about the amount of running, we should push them slightly more than that. The fact that everyone was willing to sprint at the end of a cold, rainy practice was a good sign for the future.

Practice #1 (1/26)

One of challenges facing Ken and me is our lack of familiarity with the women's game, from the strategic nuances to the quality of NYU's competition. As a result, it's difficult to assess the state of the team as we begin spring practice.

I was pleased with the attendance and the effort. We had 14 girls, including almost all of the team's major contributors. We'll see if that continues through the spring. Everyone paid attention, took the drills seriously, and ran hard on the sprints. Thankfully the team doesn't have any head cases. Everyone is receptive to instruction and eager to learn.

After the fall, I was under the false impression that we had taken care of all of the fundamentals -- throwing in particular -- so in the spring we'd be able to focus all our energies on more complex concepts, namely the offense. That wasn't a realistic expectation. Throwing is our weakest point. Mia is our most consistent thrower, but she's not a handler, and in order to beat good teams, she'll have to go deep. On the bright side, we have several players who will be good handlers, it's just a matter of when. I maintain that Frantzen will be a great handler by next spring -- this spring might be pushing it, but we'll do our best with her. We have to figure out ways to work on throwing, while still introducing all of the new complex concepts before Sectionals.

The other night was the most structured and most intense practice the NYU women have had, but it will also be the easiest one of the semester. I'm concerned with making sure we don't push too hard too fast. That said, the players decided as a team that they want to increase the intensity and work for that "Day Two" goal. All of the feedback we received was positive, so as a coach, what I took from the practice is that I can push a little more. Striking that balance is vital because the team will have to reach or exceed its potential in order to be alive on Day Two.

01/26/06 Indoor

The first practice went very well: Zac and I were very organized, the players seemed to enjoy it, and we wasted absolutely no time. The goal of Zac and I running practices was to make it as stress-free and enjoyable for the three captains as possible, so they can focus more on getting better individually and push the other players rather than worrying about logistical stuff. In time, hopefully people will look forward to practice and thus have more motivation outside it to throw and work out.

We did some running, stretching, and moderate throwing, in which Zac and I walked around and gave individual tips. Every player would benefit from individual coaching on their 15 to 20 yard throws, but clearly we do not have enough time to stand for fifteen minutes behind someone. In the future I think having small throwing groups, maybe three or four people at Prospect or ERP on weekends will have to do.

We ran a modified box drill which was so-so, lots of imprecise cutting and throwing but also lots of enthusiasm, especially when they realized that dropping too much was punishable by sprinting. A cute thing we did was when they completed the requisite number of consecutive throws in the drill, we had them line up as if to do a sprint anyway, counted down, and just told them to get water. I think little things like this will help soften practices and give Zac and I a bit of personality, especially given that practices are more intense and hard than they were accustomed to.

The second handler dictated deep/in drill really exposed our main weakness--deep throwing. Right now, only one girl--Mia--is capable of hucking consistently, and we need to bump that to four or five come sectionals time. After the two drills we had minigames and ended with sprints and more throwing.

Positives:
The general level of enthusiasm was refreshing. Everyone was very responsive to the more intense practices and receptive of criticism. There weren't any brand new players so drills ran relatively smoothly. There were some surprises, like Lisa, who we did not expect to improve this quickly since fall.

Negatives:
Throws were predictably sloppy their first practice back, and the new offense that we will be teaching requires a level of handler skill that right now they frankly are not close to. But we will get them there.