For over a decade, our program, from top to bottom, has run two basic offensive systems: the flex offense ("Gator") and the Wheel offense, a hybrid of the Shuffle offensive system. The two systems worked well for our teams over the years, despite the fact that "everyone knew it was coming". But for the past 2-3 years, I have gotten antsy with our offense; the exact things that used to make those systems so attractive to me (sharing the wealth, interchangeable parts), were beginning to expose themselves as detriments. I found myself tinkering, re-working, shifting, and essentially trying to "re-invent" the Wheel to not only fit our personnel,but the results I wanted from them. Then late last season, I had a conversation that would prove to be influential.
I have always been a big fan of Rick Torbett and his Better Basketball series. The guy knows his stuff and yet doesn't come across as too rigid in his teaching of fundamentals and his attention to detail is impressive. Then someone told me about his "Read and React" offensive system. At first glance, it seemed like a hybrid of the Dribble Drive offense made popular by Memphis University, but upon further research, I found it was really unlike anything I had come across before - and in basketball, that is not just rare, it is unheard of!
But change an entire offensive system to something completely new? Yikes. I have to admit, it took me at least a month to finally take the plunge, Even then, after we had purchased the DVDs that teach the initial system, it took me another few weeks of indecision before I finally decided to jump in feet-first - and let me tell you, I am glad I did.
At first glance, the system seemed overwhelming - heck, it has over 20 layers! But after immersing myself into the system, it began to dawn on me - this is EXACTLY what I had been searching for. The "system" is really just a series of "reactions" that must be learned in order for the offense to run. It is shocking just how flexible the system is and how much creativity in not just allows, but encourages from our players. The real difficulty is just getting the players to "un-learn" some common, age-old offensive basketball habits (ie. elements of Motion)  and instead, begin to "Read and React".
I started introducing the system to our varsity guys this spring and for the most part, we were able to run the system in our summer league at about 60% efficiency, without even really touching upon the last 10 layers of the offense. Now, as our Fall preseason begins, we have begun incorporating elements of the offense into our open gym workouts through a series of breakdown warm-ups that touch upon nuances of the system. Although some of the players' heads are spinning right now, I really think it won't take too long before the light bulb goes on and they start to truly "get it"...  until formal practices begin in November and we are really able to "coach them up", though, we won't be able to see their learning curve. Until then, we will simply continue to spoon feed them some elements of the our new system and hope for the best!

The first week of September is a busy week for a basketball team. The guys resumed weight training this week, which we will do a minimum of 3 times per week from now until the end of November. They are coming in after school with Coach Shultz, the girls head coach and our resident "fitness guru", this week but starting next week, I will also bring some in for morning sessions with me. We also began open gym sessions this week, which will continue every Monday and Wed in Sept and Oct, 6-7:30p on Mondays and 6:30-8p on Wednesdays. All open gyms will be held at the Middle School. On Sundays, beginning Sept 18, the varsity guys will also be playing in the Vonnie Grimes Fall League. I will post schedules on this site...
Our main focus for this preseason is teaching our guys the TRUE meaning of competition and intensity. We need to learn how to compete at an ultra-high intensity level and be able to maintain our focus at the same time. This is not an easy task for a high school athlete, much less an entire team, but I believe it is paramount to our success for the upcoming season. It will be a "shock to the system" for the first few weeks of preseason, I am sure, but it  is necessary in order to squeeze every ounce of potential out of these young men. By teaching them to add intensity to everything they do - not just athletics, but academics also - we are teaching them a life lesson that will help them beyond the walls of West York. By teaching them how to compete, we are equipping them with the necessary skills to not just survive, but THRIVE in the hyper-competitive environment of the "real world". In a way, their high school basketball careers are simply practice for the REAL test when they leave these hallowed halls and set out on their own!