As a sports medicine physical therapist, athletic trainer, strength and conditioning coach, and a basketball coach/trainer, there are many sports science concepts and research findings that have direct application to all of those disciplines. Over the next few blog posts I will share 5 of these concepts and how each relates to basketball training.
Concept #1 - Blocked vs. Random Practice
Blocked practice refers to the method of repeating the same skill under the same condition repeatedly. A classic basketball example of this would be shooting 25 free throws in a row. Random practice refers to the method of consistently changing the skill, the conditions of the skill or the sequence of the skills being practiced.
Blocked practiced has been commonly and traditionally used because it is easy to execute, and probably more so because it speeds up the learning process and produces rapid improvement in performance. This makes a coach feel good about themselves and their practice that day, but the big problem is it does not create retention or transfer well. Research has shown the random practice shows a significant increase in skill retention and transfer. If you think about it for a second, that is the whole purpose of basketball practice....... creating skills and abilities that can be used at a later time in games.
Below is old picture from Twitter of the Lakers free throw whiteboard. It is easy to see here that free throw practice percentage is not transferring to free throw game percentage for several players ..... ie there is a lack of retention.
So if we go back to our free throw example, here are 5 ways we could incorporate random practice free throw practice in to a practice plan:
1 - Shoot 2 free throws throughout practice - before and after water breaks, between transitioning to different drills, starting possession drills with a free throw instead of checking the ball and even just as a random call for 2 free throws. This is not only random because it interweaves other skills in-between but you also get variable physiologic conditions and cognitive loads throughout practice.
2- Shoot free throws from different distances. A favorite practice drill of mine is "pressure free throws" - 4 baskets, 4 minutes not the clock, 10-12 players, a different distance at each basket = normal, heel on the line, 16 inches behind the line, foot in the middle of the line. The goal is to make 2 free throws in a row at each basket. If you make 2 you sprint to the end of the line at the next basket, if you miss you get back in the end of line at the same basket.
3 - Miss/Make free throws - this time the the distance stays the same but the condition that changes is the outcome ----- miss off the front of the rim, swish and miss off the back of the rim (or substitute right and left misses for front and back). Try to see how long you can repeat the 3 conditions in a row.
4 - Change the physiology - incorporate free throws in to your conditioning. A traditional basketball conditioning drill is 16 cross courts in a minute. You could modify this drill by shooting one free throw every 2 cross courts. Now over the course of 8 free throws your heart rate and breathing is changing as well.
5 - Change the psychology - a common thought is that free throw percentages change in game because of the pressure associated with them. "With enough pressure water can break a steel pipe". Traditionally this has been done in practice by having missed free throws equate to more running. There may be some place for that but consider other ways as well ------ shoot more free throws in your competitive scrimmages, use to decide the next 10 minutes on the music playlist, determine the outcome for others, etc.
If the concept of random practice is new to you it can be intimidating to try to implement it, but start small and you will find it gets easier to do and the results will be well worth your time invested. Good luck.