Travis Steele (3)

Perimeter Player Drills - Developing Perimeter Players: Drills for Skills For ten seasons, Travis Steele served as an assistant coach at Xavier where the Musketeers went to the NCAA tournament eight times. That included a run to the Elite Eight in 2017. Now the head coach at Xavier, Steele shares his secrets to developing perimeter players. Having learned under a variety of successful coaches, Steele shows you how to create an effective individual perimeter player workout. Culture During his tenure at Xavier, Coach Steele has been directly involved in helping to create a culture of winning. He understands how to set the tone for players to develop into the best versions of themselves on the court. Having a plan and working within it, Steele has gained the trust of his players who buy into each and every workout and each and every drill. By sticking to the plan, players achieve their goals. Developing the Perimeter Player Workout Coach Steele builds an element of competition into his workouts. This helps players set the tone for each other at any given workout. The drills begin with form shooting and continue into a larger shooting warm up. Ball handling is next and then comes triangle shooting where players compete to beat their scores from the previous day’s workout. The perimeter player drills then shift to shooting on the move and then finish with a teaching segment where players apply their skills in 1-on-1 competitive drills. Doing so has been one of the keys to the success of the Xavier program over the last decade. Perimeter Player Drills Commando is a dribbling drill where players learn to handle the ball in tight spaces as they work from the baseline to the elbow and back. The great players are the ones that learn to play in straight lines rather than go to where defenses dictate. The Commando Drill helps players move in straight lines and work on different moves to get around defenders. The Two-Ball Command Drill works on dribbling on the move. Players use two basketballs instead of one and focus on dribbling with their head up to see the open floor. As they dribble, they are staying alert and ready for a coach’s command. Coach Steele’s 56-minute video demonstrates his plan and attention to detail when it comes to putting together a workout. Steele’s system of developing perimeter players is based on creating a culture of competition and it works! Rent this perimeter player drills for basketball DVD today.

Open Practice: Transition Offense, Spread Attack & Skill Development Xavier University has remained an elite Big East program under head coach Travis Steele who spent seven seasons as an assistant with the Musketeers helping to guide the program to eight NCAA tournament appearances and the 2017 Elite Eight. In this video, you will learn to play the up-tempo motion offense that Steele employs at Xavier. In addition, you will see effective practice drills for handling pressure and for developing low post play. Coach Steele shares some of his favorite baseline inbound plays and a strategy for creating a number of options off a single play simply by rearranging player assignments. Transition Offense Coach Steele shows you two different strategies for attacking with fast break. “Carolina” is the transition offense used after made baskets. It is a more structured approach where players have specific responsibilities and play as fast and as spaced as possible. After a miss, the “Phoenix” break is used to attack the floor with spacing. It puts pressure on the defense with rim runs, drives, and pick and rolls. The “Run the Circuit” drill is shown as well. It can help you run through all of the options in this transition system. Spread Offense In the half-court, Steele’s teams don’t simply slow down. You will see Coach Steele’s motion offense at work. It spaces the floor with four perimeter players to create driving lanes. There is plenty of ball and player movement as well as cuts, dribble hand-offs, and brush screens. “Flip” action incorporates the low post into a ball screen at any spot on the floor. You’ll see how to communicate the different actions to players on the floor. Coach Steele also shows you how to add weak-side actions into your ball screens to occupy help defenders. Coach Steele shows you different drills to work on the offense. 2-on-2 Ball Screen teaches players to beat their defender and draw help. The 4-on-4 drill challenges ball handlers to make correct decisions based on defensive rotations. Skill Development In the final phase of the video, Coach Steele shows five drills to develop how players handle pressure and play through the low post. Two Feet in the Paint works on the partnership between guards and posts. Baseline Finishes teaches posts to relocate and finish strong on dribble penetration. Around the Horn Passing works on passing and catching under pressure. Coach Steele does a great job of showing you the fast break, an up-tempo offense, and how to develop players so they can handle pressure.

Open Practice: High-Intensity Defensive Practice Drills & Concepts Current Xavier University head coach Travis Steele has continued the Musketeers high level of play since taking over for Chris Mack. Xavier has been to eight straight NCAA tournaments and reached the Elite Eight in 2017. Much of the program’s success is due to its lock-down defense. In this video, Coach Steele shares with you how he puts together a practice with the goal of producing a solid pack line defense. On-Ball Defense Coach Steele begins with drills to help players build their closeout skills. They play with high hands, choppy feet, elbows tight, and constant foot movement. Vegas Closeouts is a drill to train players to closeout with high hands and pressure the ball handler. After popping back off a jab step, defenders work on their push steps to stop the driver from getting around them. 2-on-2 Early Stunt is another drill where players use their closeouts and then go into a 2-on-2 situation. Defenders closeout and then must be there to prevent a rhythm 3-point attempt. These drills focus on being in help position with the ability to recover. Off-Ball Defense Play here starts in a 3-on-3 where players learn to build back-side defensive abilities by guarding cutters. The drill progresses to add a fourth defender and another offensive player in the post. In 4-on-4 Shell, Coach Steele simulates game situations to work on defensive rotations. You’ll see how to improve on defending drives and how to create early stunt situations. Ball Screen Defense To finish practice, Coach Steele teaches the hard hedge on ball screens on the wings. Once a post uses the hard hedge, the back-side help must rotate to build the wall around the ball. Post players will learn how to “X-Out” and switch post defenders. If you are looking to learn more about pack line defensive principles, this a great look inside a practice from one of the best up-and-coming young coaches in the game.