Jamal Crawford CALLS OUT Bad Basketball Trainers | The Basketball Society Podcast

[@BasketballSociety_]

What did you think about Jamal Crawford's comments? I forgot to mention that I also introduce players to breathwork and mindfulness practices, so when it comes to those intangible things with young players that have more to do with their attitude and energy, I'm completely committed to that side of development too

[@SoundstarMusic]

I have a son that plays the sport of basketball, I assist in coaching/training and I played the sport my whole life through high school as well right here in St. Louis. Here's what I will say as I would normally not even engage in conversations like these but I think it may shed some context a little bit on a few things that I see wrong and that many are saying that is wrong with the sport. (1) I personally didn't think that Crawford was referring to just dribbling as a bag but rather the entire method of unecessasry skill moves that don't translate to real games. Dribbling is a fundemental part of the game and if you cant dribble then you can't play this game. It doesn't have to be unnecceasry dribbling at all which is what most kids are being taught to do for IG likes. Dribbling unneccesarily, teaching Eurosteps and any other move that doesn't translate to games is ultimately what I think he meant. I agree with him. (2) Many parents are the problem with youth basketball! Wanting their kid to be the best or be perceived as the best is their goal. They will have their kid play on 5 different travel teams and play ball all year round..meanwhile they are not getting better and are coming back as the same exact player they were the prior season but because their playing "on the AAU circuit" now this means their kid is good? The parents gas the kids up so the kids believe they are something they're not just because they went out of town to play a game. 11 year old kids with parent managed social media accounts with 100K followers and 4.1 million likes is crazy when no one knows who the heck the kid is. (3) Kids are lazy (at least some of them) mainly because they havent been taught to work for anything and have poor work ethic in general. They don't work on what they deficiencies are or even what their strengths are for that matter. They have set in their minds that they're already good and no one is better than them. My experience tells me that the best 5th grader WILL NOT BE the best 8th grader, 9th grader etc. Theirs always someone working harder and is trying and desriing to get better when the lazy kid isn't. Travel teams have made these kids too comfortable with the idea of being a hooper vs the reality that they aren't one. Many of them just "like" basketball and the idea of playing vs "Loving" the game and doing the necessasry work to get better. (4) You don't need a gym to practice on anything basketball related. One of the biggest contributors to my own game was playing in the park against kids in my neighborhood and from other neighborhoods as well. Thats where we honed our skills and practiced the things that we weren't great in. My son and I, yes we gon to the gym but only when I feel its necessasry or when Im trying to simulate something in real time to him that i can't do in my driveway or garage. Kids dont play outside anymore nor do like playing outside which is just another mental weakness I believe many of them have. Again not all but many of them just are strong tough kids. At 8/9 years old what I did with my own son was took a look at what he could do well and what he couldn't. That gave me focus areas to work with him on. Dribbling and shooting are essentials so we always practiced that. Dribbling with both hands and then as he got stronger we incorporated other pieces of ball-handling with the sole purpose of teaching him to evade defenders trying to steal the ball. I've never taught him Eurosteps or just dribbling for dribbling sake. My philosophy in general and even with him is that you need to go somewhere with the ball and anything that takes 5 dribbles is too many dribbles.

[@BasketballSociety_]

Really well said. Thanks a lot for sharing. You're clearly one of the good ones! I've dealt with many parents and kids over the years and I think you're spot on with everything you're saying. The training landscape has become a growing business and market and some parts of it have become unsaturated. A lot of IG and internet trainers showing stuff that's good for engagement. At the end of the day it's all about the commitment to the work and the craft. I totally agreed with everything you and Jamal said. I think since he's been coaching his son and seeing more of the AAU stuff up close now, he couldn't help but speak on it. I for one intentionally stayed far away from coaching AAU and focused on being a true development resource for players. It's really a tough balance because as you pointed out, games are important. But the AAU model shouldn't be the only standard for game experience and exposure.

[@patrickbrown5040]

Everything you said is the truth but kids is not lazy the parents is the problem

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@patrickbrown5040 MAN you just said it

[@SoundstarMusic]

@@patrickbrown5040 A lot of kids don't wanna work and do what it takes to develop their skill set. They'd rather play PS5 or XBOX vs work on their game but then wonder why such and such is better or you'll see them cheering for their competition right before they play against the same kid their cheering for. But yes parents are a huge problem as well so we agree there.

[@ameensimmons4626]

Young players need to master the mundane fundamentals. Youth basketball is filled with kids that are trying to master pro skills. And teaching offensive packages without defense principles is wasted time.

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@ameensimmons4626 as a personal skills trainer most of us are going to be focusing on your offensive skill set but that’s not to say defense can’t be worked on

[@kreativeproduction7203]

@@BasketballSociety_how’s that make any sense to focus on one side of the ball. When in every sport it’s two sides offense and defense. You don’t just teach a boxer to punch you teach them slipping,ducking, moving around a punch. 🤦🏾‍♂️ y’all trainers kill me

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@kreativeproduction7203 like I literally just said defense can be worked on it depends on the trainer and the player. I’m a skills trainer which will ALWAYS mean offensive skills first… yes there are defensive skills but in the average workout we don’t have time to go over EVERY aspect of the game do you realize how long that would take? Lol

[@kreativeproduction7203]

@@BasketballSociety_yes goofy ass trainer I know basketball has many fundamentals so therefore it would take longer to “train” doesn’t take from the fact you still gonna train it over and over again because at the end of day that’s why they are the FUNDAMENTALS. Bag work is a trick you pull out every now and then to keep them on their toes smart ass

[@paulsuber7656]

I've been training kid's for over 30 year's, and i have developed quite a few top HS, College, and NBA Pro's. I totally agree with Jamal Crawford, he telling the truth, Kid's are now being taught skills & Moves that don't translate to actual playing basketball, Coaches aren't going to let you do 100 dribble moves to get yourself free, or slick dribbles to set up a funky pass. I've seen kid's learn bad basketball, from some Trainer's that just don't know basketball, or have played, or been taught on a high level, they pick up certain stuff, and add to it, and teach it (and get paid), and it's incorrect basketball, and at the higher levels, you will be asked to be effective with less dribbles, and quicker decisions. Parents spend your Money wisely, get your Kids trained PROPERLY !!!. right on Point, Jamal !!!

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@paulsuber7656 yup!! Simplifying will always be the answer. Thanks for sharing.

[@schwanhumes323]

kids see the kids who get the biggest college offers and biggest salaries an they want to be that guy...that girl...that kid. If coaches leaned in on kids who were utility players...if those guys got highlighted..kids would want to be that guy.. I train kids... and parents dont get trainers to have kids get better or become a role/utility player.. an that is what the issue is not EVERYONE GETS TO BE A STAR OR PRIMARY OPTION. But almost everyone is training to be exactly that..most trainers arent working passing off the ball movement rebounding etc etc

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@schwanhumes323 yup that’s true… every kid and situation is different based on what kind of player they are and can realistically be… majority of parents have no idea what’s realistic… doing personal one on one skills training I have to focus on the main things which are shooting, dribbling, footwork and movement, I also train mostly guards so we’re not gonna be doing stuff like rebounding… every player deserves training tailored to them in my opinion

[@achiever4]

The biggest bag is DEFENSE and TEAM , it takes 5 players to win not ONE.

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@achiever4 so true when it comes to a team winning games, still need those players to be skilled.

[@achiever4]

@@BasketballSociety_ Facts, its a ton of individual coaches but I dont see alot of individual defense coaches

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@achiever4 maybe that's something more trainers will start to focus on specifically

[@geraldcarter2412]

“Bag” that’s a funny term considering most basketball players “Bag” stems from their mental development -Dr Carter Sports Performance Psychologist

[@BasketballSociety_]

I could have gone way deeper into that side of it.

[@geraldcarter2412]

@@BasketballSociety_ it’s necessary considering most “Bag” development is physical muscle memory, hence athletes don’t know what to do with that bag of skills bc there is no mental development.

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@geraldcarter2412 exactly

[@CoachNirie]

Having a bag is definitely more than dribbling but it's not a player's entire game. The bag is what differentiates a player's game. It's about how many different ways you can achieve the desired result, be it offensively or defensively.

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@CoachNirie totally agree, thanks for the comment

[@sebastienhuot3921]

I think Mr. Crawford is definitely right. In all those video sequences, this is way too much dribbling.. If you have to work that hard to have an open shot, it means that the shot isn’t there and you need to pass the ball.

[@BasketballSociety_]

Most of the clips you saw you didn't see more than 3-5 dribbles. As players I work with get older the number of dribbles we use decreases. For younger players I think it's fine to experiment a bit and I'm sure Jamal would agree.

[@amonre31]

I work with youth and won't work 1 on 1 but with small groups. I only teach what collage coaches are looking for. Basic footwork on catch and shoot, jabs, drop and splits, how pivot, ball security, reading the floor.

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@amonre31 the basics are the most important things especially when you’re talking about things that translate to the college level

[@mrhoopfan1]

Really good video....what's "sexy" sells unfortunately, so I think trainers have a dilemma if they are relying on this as their full time job.......glad it's something I do on the side. Easily allows to stay true to simplicity

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@mrhoopfan1 appreciate it and very well said man

[@dvontaesmith1605]

There is No Hoopers any more. Everyone plays the same now. No real uniqueness to style is sad

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@dvontaesmith1605 the young hoopers who are real hoopers are definitely becoming more rare, but they’re out here

[@jewelhoward3321]

Jamal Crawford is absolutely right

[@BasketballSociety_]

it really is crazy out here

[@MrSilus2000]

Can you hoop? That’s the only stat. All these nerds shouldn’t be involved they think they can break it all down into a neat checklist

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@MrSilus2000 can’t say I disagree

[@martinsoaries3790]

The master of self piece is also interesting

[@gritbasketball9667]

100! Your Bag is Your Game. Great points Coach, Your “Bag” Is all aspects of your game. As you said, I think he’s referring to players doing a ton of dribble moves at a cone without a purpose.

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@gritbasketball9667 In a way we’re all working on our “bag”, even your IQ is part of your bag the way I see it! Definitely obvious what he’s mainly referring to but I find that interesting when we talk about a player’s “bag”

[@MrSilus2000]

They got football being run by an army of these clowns

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@MrSilus2000 damn that's crazy

[@SSSMOR.]

Trainers are supposed to teach one one skilss its the responsibility of high school coaches and aau coaches to teach players how to translate there one on one skills to team basketball

[@eg7949]

We get these terms and go crazy. People saying Bron scoring 40k points but no bag. Who cares.. if you got 1500 moves but only need four the gsme is about making it simple and winning..can u make the right play do you put your 10k hours in the gym to master your craft. DO hYOU HAVE SOME HEART? Do you care about winning or do you care about you? Trainers teaching 8 dribble combo moves but the kid not even reading the lead foot of the defender. Why do 8 when 1 works.

[@BasketballSociety_]

Well said... teaching a player how to execute more efficient dribbling combos versus how to care about winning are definitely totally different things

[@no_guarantees]

Bag still sounds gay to me , but for whatever the reason is that's the lingo.

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@no_guarantees lol clearly you just don’t hoop

[@MrSilus2000]

They know how to run you through drills. Look at Julian Newman it took all his feel for the game. They are con artists

[@BasketballSociety_]

unfortunately that's 100 percent true

[@barnardkemp9693]

A hit dog will hollow

[@Don_ZelleThaCreator]

Holler

[@stevenscott2762]

If the guy with the beard talks any slower.....sheesh

[@BasketballSociety_]

@@stevenscott2762 you’ll be ok

[@Alexandermhinton]

@@BasketballSociety_XD