Youth Training- “What a Champion Looks Like” Series (Part 5 of 8)
Athletic Improvisation
I know why you clicked on this. You read “Ice Cream” in the title and thought, “This MUST be good!’ And it IS, if you’re trying to become the best athlete you can become. If you’re out for ice cream, I bet you have your favorite toppings. (Me too: raspberries and chocolate chips!) But when you see the display of 30+ options, don’t you want to test and try them out? Isn’t it tempting to just put a little of everything on your ice cream? Or maybe play around with a few different combinations? Or better yet, come back several times, just to try out new flavors and work your way through all the candy options? Yes! Now that sounds like a great summer challenge.
And that same approach can be used in your sport.
If you’ve been working on a team or with a coach, you’ve no doubt learned drills and plays. Practiced them, memorized them, regurgitated them to your coach on demand. And all of that is critical to being a good player.
But what’s the next level?
How do you become a champion player?
Improvisation
Improvisation in its purest form is action that is not premeditated, unpracticed. In the world of athletics, this idea of improvisation takes the form of “instinct” or “reading” what the other team or player is doing, and responding in a way that benefits you.
“Read and React” is what The Athletic calls the Duke Blue Devils basketball team’s offensive philosophy. Led by Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the team learns plays, but what they are really after, is the skill of using the five players’ timing and touch to move the ball around as the play allows. To develop a sense of anticipation based on the team’s time together, their chemistry, and the nature of the current defensive front for that particular play. Their senior guard, Grayson Allen, from the 2017 team commented, “We put in sets, we put in our motion stuff, but you just learn to play together and make reads.” (1)
In the NFL, you see “zone read” and “read option” plays because the scene changes quickly. These plays give the quarterback the freedom to use improvisation to meet their objective for the play. If you’ve watched the game, you’ll see the quarterback pointing fingers, giving feedback to his offensive line. On the other side, you’ll see cornerbacks and linebackers, shifting, changing positions, acting like they’re going to blitz, and watching closely to determine what the offense is about to do.
All of these tactics are used by players who have mastered “the plays”. They’ve moved onto the next level and are using improvisation to determine their next move.
Adding Improvisation to Your Skills
First we cannot skip this truth: you can’t use improvisation until you know the fundamentals. In the arena of musicians, improv does not mean a bunch of discorded notes randomly played. It is a sequence of notes or chords that blend together, but are not a part of the scripted music.
In the same way, your improvisation is not a bunch of random movements, but the use or combination of movements you’ve already learned, put together to help you with your objective. In soccer, this could look like a series of dribbling movements to get past your defender, or in tennis, a series of quick volleys to score the point.
Used correctly, improvisation can free you from having to think through your movements. It allows you to relax and to respond to what is unfolding in front of you.
When you use improvisation, you are taking a risk. If it works…you look brilliant! If it backfires… fans might say, “What was he thinking!” So “practice” your improvisation. Practice different ways you can approach that particular pass, or that specific shot. Then when you see that type of situation in the game, you can freely adjust because you’ve seen it before. You understand the probable outcomes and can better “read” what you should do.
Also, accept that when you try to “read and react” you’re going to miss it sometimes. And that’s OK.
“During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.”
Even the best, failed. In fact, they all did. A LOT. But, they had a passion in their heart and a dream in their mind, and they got back up and did it again. So can you. So embrace that you will fail as you’re learning to use improvisation in your game. AND… keep learning how to do it.
Keep moving!
Coach Priscilla
1- https://theathletic.com/177205/2017/12/07/improvisation-the-secret-behind-dukes-no-1-offense/
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