Lessons from Camp: Do Your Ball-Handling Drills, Even the Boring Ones

To stay compliant with NCAA rules, the UNI basketball staff was required to show some of the drills they put their players through at the beginning of their camp to all the teams that were in attendance. While there's a lot of rules and practices from the NCAA that I think are ridiculous, I liked this one. While it's simply another hoop for UNI to go through before cashing the $450 check from each team in attendance, it was an opportunity for players and coaches alike to see what type of drills Division I basketball players use to play at that level.

The answer was a bit surprising, but it shouldn't have been. They showed us several ball-handling drills. These are not only the same or similar to the drills we have our high school athletes do, but they were also quite similar to what we have our youth players do as well. Basic, boring ball-handling drills.

As a coach, it was satisfying. First, it meant we were doing the right things. Second, it showed our players that it is actually that simple. They can't become Division I athletes without extended time working on fundamentals. Though many of them may believe they have become too advanced for something so simple as these elementary drills, reality has it that they will never be too advanced for them. Steady, focused work on fundamentals builds complete players.

It builds complete people too. No matter your profession or skill of choice, there is something simple and monotonous and probably mundane that you can be doing to improve. You want to lose weight? Work out, eat better, and maybe do something like writing down what you eat. You want to write? Get down on paper a thousand words a day. Read poetry. Publish something. Want a good bean crop? Walk beans (or do whatever is now done for that - it's clear based on my last post that I have no idea).

As a Christian, I can't afford to avoid the fundamentals either. I have not "arrived," nor will I ever arrive at a place in my faith where the spiritual disciplines are no longer necessary. Regular prayer, fasting, Bible-reading, tithing, etc. will never stop making me better. Conferences and speakers and Lent seasons and other "events" are nice and flashy and feel good; however, they will probably never produce the same consistency of results as those plain old-fashioned Biblical ball-handling drills.

***The June basketball camp season has come to a close, and this post will bring to an end my series on "Lessons from Camp." I hope you've enjoyed these posts as much as I have. I appreciate any feedback you have.