I'm currently rebooting my snatch (weightlifting). This is timely advice. Trying to change the drills and focus so I create a new (and hopefully better) habit.
Coach, you kind of touch on a topic I've been fascinated by for years. I don't know that anyone has unlocked the secret formula to improve what we call "touch" in various sports. In football, it's having soft hands when receiving. In soccer, it's first touch when the foot receives and controls the ball. Watch the world's greatest players and when their feet receive the ball, it doesn't ping off like a pinball, forcing them to chase it down and regather it.
In basketball, touch is a separator both near and far from the basket. I've seen it from the earliest ages to the pros. At early ages, some kids do it innately, while others nearly break the backboard. And interestingly, athletic ability doesn't seem to correlate to touch.
It has be related to the neuromuscular system, which still seems one of the great frontiers of the sporting world. I haven't seen anyone really crack the code.
It also has to start with a willing student who will receive and follow instruction. Assuming we ever actually have the instruction to improve "touch".
Agreed. I previously wrote about Curry's warmups and the super high-arcing shots he takes and other "goofing around" shots. Coaches hate these shots, but I feel these various shots practice touch. We practice some shots I wouldn't want to shoot much in games because they expand skill sets and hopefully develop some touch.
Also, I am convinced backboards in Europe are different than the U.S. and deaden the ball. Players fire the ball at the backboard and it drops into the basket. Over time, having the confidence to take these shots likely helps develop touch.
I'm currently rebooting my snatch (weightlifting). This is timely advice. Trying to change the drills and focus so I create a new (and hopefully better) habit.
Coach, you kind of touch on a topic I've been fascinated by for years. I don't know that anyone has unlocked the secret formula to improve what we call "touch" in various sports. In football, it's having soft hands when receiving. In soccer, it's first touch when the foot receives and controls the ball. Watch the world's greatest players and when their feet receive the ball, it doesn't ping off like a pinball, forcing them to chase it down and regather it.
In basketball, touch is a separator both near and far from the basket. I've seen it from the earliest ages to the pros. At early ages, some kids do it innately, while others nearly break the backboard. And interestingly, athletic ability doesn't seem to correlate to touch.
It has be related to the neuromuscular system, which still seems one of the great frontiers of the sporting world. I haven't seen anyone really crack the code.
It also has to start with a willing student who will receive and follow instruction. Assuming we ever actually have the instruction to improve "touch".
Agreed. I previously wrote about Curry's warmups and the super high-arcing shots he takes and other "goofing around" shots. Coaches hate these shots, but I feel these various shots practice touch. We practice some shots I wouldn't want to shoot much in games because they expand skill sets and hopefully develop some touch.
Also, I am convinced backboards in Europe are different than the U.S. and deaden the ball. Players fire the ball at the backboard and it drops into the basket. Over time, having the confidence to take these shots likely helps develop touch.