m bocbye wha “avonqyae ¢ eonv yc mas im _—— eparquan yg go wre ocx eh a eres pre @ euaMe w © re .o ete mone fe L Sets OB a ae a. oun a ee ‘en : ane Lowy _ Te 04 ie = PRELIMINARY TRAINING AND DRILLS The coach's preseason interest in the conditioning of his basketball players should manifest itself during vacation time, as early as late July or early Auguste Through personal comrespondence the coach should urge his pros- pective players to evince deep concern about getting into shape. They should be directed to practice the following prescribed setting-up exercises for five minutes each day as strengtheners for the wrists, fingers, ankles and Imees. These are the parts of the player's anatomy that are the most susceptible to in= jurye So important does the writer deem these simple exercises that during the entire season he gives five minutes daily of the regular practice session, in addition to the five minutes prescribed for use at home, to their executions Failure on the part of the men to execute these drills for five minutes daily in their rooms is regarded by the coach as a direct violetion of the training schedule and is treated as such. If consistently followed, these exercises will so strengthen the ligamentous attachments of the fingers, wrists, ankles, and knees that few injuries will occur in scrimmage. Heel and Toes Rise slowly on heels and toes alternately ten or twelve times e Full Squat. Assume dh die meabltns, Ah te A Gt. HO the arms stretched out full the front, come slowly dow to a full squat. With arms slowly stretched above the head, rise to a standing posturee With imees kept straight end the fingertips touching the floor, execute a full body bend. Repeat these movenents alternately and slowly three or feu timese Bue Pusheup Dip. Get down on all fours with the body extended parallel to the floor and with fingers and toes supporting the body. Without letting the abdomen, chest, or thighs touch the floor, execute a full dips ‘Then push up end dip again. Without allowing the hips to sag, repeat this exercise twelve times. Full Squat Dip. Stand in upright position. With arms extended later- ally to perfect the body balence, extend the right leg to the front and sink slowly on the left foot to a full squat. Without touching the floor with the hends or with the extended leg. put entire weight on left leg and thigh, end depend upon the strength of the lmee and the hip joints to bring the body again to an upright position. Finish with a rising skipe Repeat this exercise, three times on each leg, twice daily. All these setting-up exercises should be slowly stretched through, quite after the manner of a contented cat before a fire. Plenty of stretching keeps the spine supple and the body youthfule x , Nothing is better ‘aios open=handed boxing for the development of timing, Seuteeeth agility, body weave, and quick change of pace. Boxing teaches the follow-through more readily than any other sport. Its quick emphatic changes from offense to defense are comparable to basketball movements. A clever basket~ ball player is generally a fine boxer. Footwork, headwork, and handwork are the prime essentials of both sports. In shooting or in guarding too few players are loose enough in their hipse Too few bend their Ikmees sufficiently; they stand straight up and lock their Imees. Economy of détense is best emphasized by the boxer's stancee The boxer gives oink nities We he simulates the movements of the ape mane Also, he springs quickly forward to the offense, ready to take every physical advantage to be gained through alertness and agility. Boxing develops every fundamental movement vital to basketball. There ae are two simple exercise setups which the author uses many, many times a season to correct glaring faults of fimdamental basketbel1, on both individual offense and defense. Directions for their execution follow: Line up the entire squad, toe to toe, one«half facing the other half -— at the regulation boxing distancese For the purposes of economy and efficiency, mass mot movements, first the offense and then the defense, must be made. In the beginning, these movements take on the nature of shadow boxing but later they develop into the real thinge Each man should be instructed ‘to use the boxer's crouch and t swing for his opponent's cheek with the open >pellm actually slapping his opponent's jaw if he does not weave back and out of the way without any defense other than a@ weave of his head and shoulders. Also each man should be instructed to be kemnly alert for the quick thrust of his punishing opponent. The Imees should be bent even more when on the defensive than when on the offensive. ‘This exagger= ated crouch is essential for a favorable escape fran punishment. The heer senve required on the offensive must be practiced equally well on the defensive. After the first blows, the squads should alternate their positions, the defensive going on the offensive and vice versa. After approximately ten minutes of these initial fimdemental movements, the pairs should be more widely separated and released for about three minures or less of friendly combat without the alternate movements described heretofore. At this juncture the coach should keenly wateh developments because two high-spirited boys attempting to slap each other's faces might go too far. In the open-handed face slapping which follows, each man is out for himself, and the "devil take the hindmost". After this blood=«tingling exercise the players are on fire and the coach should immediately swing them back into mass