According to Harfner (2013), basketball is a game where tactics is as important as technical skills. It is not possible to become a successful basketball player without the knowledge of certain tactical skills. Combined with the technical skills developed at training sessions, tactical skills help develop a unique play style and move the ball exactly as it is needed on the field to ensure quality shooting and scoring.
Basketball players are individuals with a specific set of skills which is maintained by both their talents and skills and by the actual exercise action plan the person applies on a daily training basis. That is why the goal of performance task analysis for Ray is to present skills which can help establish a well-organized action plan and at the same time fit his performance characteristics.
The process of performance analysis is a multi-task process which involves the research of the basketball scheme, the role of the player within the team, the individual skills of that player, and balancing the player and his skills within the team environment by selecting an individual action plan for him.
Haefner (2013) notes the fundamentals that are essential for successful basketball player performance. Such fundamentals include training, which should be conducted every day at least for an hour; however, as Manwaring (2003) notes, basketball training is only necessary when a player needs to learn a set of new skills or when his position is slightly moved to another part of the field. The roles that are transformed in the team also change in this case. A player who always stays in defense is sometimes moved to offense in order to train his reaction and develop various skills of a defense player or shooter.
All these activities are required for the general expansion of the players’ skills. In our case, the player is already rather skilled. The position in the team that the player performs means that he has a deep understanding of the game and basketball tactics. Usually the inexperienced players who are new to the game are put into defense and perform secondary tasks such as man to man or rebounding (Texas Woman’s University 2009). However, in Ray’s case, defense skills are very weak. In addition, the training that is provided only on weekends and which results in the total of 12 games per year is not enough for the role this basketball player performs within the team.
Ray is provided with a certain period of time to transfer his skills from offence to defense. In general, the position of a point guard who controls the ball movement over the field is essential for any game’s success. While other players such as shooters perform only technical jobs, a point guard is a coach on the field. For this reason, all players’ maneuvers as well as ball movement are discussed with the coach before each game. A point guard not only monitors the field but also helps other players position themselves correctly and perform their technical tasks. Such form of administration is needed in order to maintain control over the ball during the whole basketball game. This is one of the major strengths of such a player: he not only sees himself on the field but is also able to judge his team’s actions.
However, there are skills related to the player’s technical skills which need to be developed in such a situation. Currently, both of them appear to be the weaknesses of this player. When analyzing the game and the role which a point guard plays, it is easy to see that a point guard usually performs the following tasks: man to man, team skill, and pass control. These three technical skills are needed for a point guard to be in full control of the game and the ball on the basketball field.
According to performance analysis, Ray’s weaknesses include screen efficiency, shooting, 3 point, and off ball movement. Despite the fact that the overall analysis of this player is rather positive, Ray fails to fulfill the basic requirements needed for a basketball player to be a point guard during games. Therefore, the action plan should focus on his two major weaknesses — shooting and screen efficiency.
Prior to deciding on how a person should train, it is necessary to look at the sequence of skills that should be improved. The fact that 3 on 3 and 4 on 4 situations do not involve defense tactics implies that this is what needs to come first. First of all, the school should provide more time flexibility for Saturday trainings. More time should be allocated for training as well as activities besides the games based on 3 on 3 and 4 on 4 combinations should be practiced.
Haefner (2013) believes that the games that are conducted within the team are usually helpful for developing a friendly and positive team climate and help develop team play and spirit. This is one of the most important point guard’s skills. For this reason, such a player should be conducting his training together with his team.
In this case, block is rather important for a point guard; this skill not only helps to move the ball correctly, it also helps preventing other teams scoring. In addition, block is one of the most important skills in basketball and something that is very specific to the game. Screen efficiency is also a significant factor; it enables to take very fast decisions concerning the state of the game in order to assist one’s team efficiently in just a few seconds.
In general, in order to develop an action plan, one very important issue should be attended to. Due to the fact that the school does not focus on basketball and on developing basketball skills of its students, it is of utmost importance that the training time given to the selected player is used at the maximum level.
That is why the whole action plan will be based on a combination of team training and individual skills training. The effectiveness of such training is evident as it helps to both address the weaknesses of the player under research and, at the same time, develop team skills and man to man tactics that are so important for Ray. As a basketball player, Ray is rather talented. However, these talents need to be developed wisely.
Action Plan Week 1. The first week is devoted to developing essential skills of defense such as screen efficiency and off ball defense. It is predicted that both skills will also develop fast decision making and provide background to other important skills that Ray is lacking, like screen efficiency. Screen efficiency is estimated as one of the primary weaknesses of this player at the moment.
The activities of the first week include general training according to the FITT principles: frequency, intensity, time and type. The duration of practicing activities that involve passing the ball should not constitute more than one week, while the intensity of such training and the time devoted to it should be much higher. Passing the ball to other players is one of the most significant skills in basketball; that is why this skill will help Ray move closer to developing the following tactics: off ball defense, speed passing, screen efficiency, and shooting. Ray will get the feeling of the ball and develop quick reaction. This will help him to further work in pairs to train blocks with his team members. In the game activity, Ray will be put to defense in order to adapt to his new role as a team player and to develop his defense skills, especially block and screen efficiency.
Action Plan Week 2. The second week will develop Ray as a defense player. The key towards being a successful point guard is being good at both offense and defense. That is why Ray needs to balance both skills at the maximum level. During second week training sessions, Ray will fulfill only the role of a defense player in all games.
Focusing on defense will also require working in pairs and practicing basketball drills. One of them is X jump shot and screen to screener shooting. However, Ray will also be asked to try work in pairs on the man to man tactics. This is essential to further improve Ray’s defense skills. Team training during the actual game will reinforce Ray’s defense skills and help him feel comfortable with this role in the team.
Action Plan Week 3. When Ray already improved his defense and is able to perform effective shooting, the key weakness to focus on will be 3 point shooting. It is, therefore, suggested to try the following drills: one-hand set shot, lay-up, lay up rotation, and shooting under pressure. The last one is proposed to be the most intense one out of all drills.
The main activity of this week is shooting. After general training and warming up, Ray will practice his shooting together with other players. Then, the activities of man to man tactics will be applied. In team games, Ray will be moved to offense to develop his shooting skills and screen efficiency.
Action Plan Week 4. Ray has already been able to prevent other players from taking the ball, and he now knows the basics of off ball defense. During the fourth week, the player will focus on improving 3 point. Shooting, as evident from his records, has never been the most prominent skill of Ray as a basketball player; thus, due to the fact that in some cases a point guard directly affects the final score, Ray needs to practice 3 point both individually and within team play. Proposed frequency is one week, the time devoted to 3 point is not less than an hour per training, and the intensity of the drill should be medium.
This week’s activities entail shooting, off ball defense training with team members, and active attack modeling. During this week, Ray will already be skilled enough in both offense and defense and will be able to model the ball movement in the field. Such skills will be the first step towards his role as a point guard.
Action Plan Weeks 5 and 6. The last two weeks will be devoted to the development of off ball movement as part of offense tactics. Modeling various situations on the field will also be provided. The last weeks of the action plan will involve monitoring of performance and reassessment of the current player performance action plan to ensure his future development as a basketball professional.
The final weeks will be rather intense and exhausting for Ray. General physical training to keep him fit will be combined with tactics lesson. Ray will be advised to attend tactics meeting with the team captain and the coach in order to participate in formulating the team’s game strategy. Training hours will be increased, and Ray will no more be just a player in the team. He will become an important element of the game with his understanding and good offense and defense skills giving him the right vision of each player and his abilities to move the ball in the right direction in order to score.
In addition, general training will be provided to support the player’s physical form. Team skills will be taken notice of, and it will be necessary to see who helps Ray perform better out of his team players. Such an action plan will help the player under research improve accuracy of shooting by 44% in a six weeks period and address his defense skills which are not yet properly developed.
The three week actions plan should follow such a scheme: the first part of the training should be strictly individual and devoted to the technical skills’ development, while the rest should be comprise team game. In this case, pass control should be the tactics to pay more attention to. After individual training, the team should gather for a game. In this game, the point guard will practice and try to fulfill his duties.
However, the point guard is able to view how the rest of his team performs; he sees man to man situations and participates in them, and he looks at the possibilities and skills of each player of his team. Ray will then obtain the necessary combination of good shape with technical skills combined with the actual tactics understanding.