To Change or Not to Change a Skill? That is the Question!
#44- To Change or Not to Change a Skill: That is the Question?
Making a Good Decision About Changing a Learned Basketball Skill
Making a Good Decision About Changing a Learned Basketball Skill
by Alan Lambert
Introduction
Everyone knows or has been told at one point in their life that the straightest distance between two points is a line. One of the easiest ways to insure that you do not develop as quickly as a player as possible is to over-learn a basketball skill (e.g., shooting) the wrong way and then end up having to change your technique two or three times over the course of the next couple of years to correct it. While there are some players who can be shown a skill properly once and then repeat it over and over again, this more the exception than the rule.
For most players their technique is smelting pot of various coaching tips and drills provided by a wide array of coaches and skills modeled from their early years in the game up to the present moment. For the fortunate player the information and teaching provided was consistent enough they developed the correct technique and carry it to this day. To the less fortunate player their technique is more of a calico of skill technique which resembles basic technique but leaves their performance in practices or games less than reliable.
If you are that player who has struggled with consistency in your shooting, dribbling, defensive footwork, passing, pivoting, or penetration technique, you have undoubtedly asked yourself what I can do to change my skill so that I can be an effective player. This is the focus of today's Playground Pointer. It is not a simple question which you will soon see, but it is important to understand skill development, and the processes which affect you learning and automating your basketball skills. Together with your coach you can then come to a rational decision about the cost and benefits of changing your already well learned (if not correct) basketball skill to reach a higher level of performance.
How are Skills Built?
It has been said that a well learned skill is a habit. In some ways this is very true. In more modern coaching terminology I have often talked about automating a skill which is essentially the same thing. It is your ability to nearly perfectly execute a skill without ever having to think about the minute details of its execution. This leaves your brain free to process rapidly incoming streams of information about the game and make quicker and more effective decisions on the court under pressure. The more you have to think about a skill, the less likely you will be able to execute it under pressure. So your primary goal should be to learn a skill to the point of automation. In fact to be a great player you need to learn all your basketball skills to this level.
Just having an automated shot, doesn't mean you'll be able to get that shot off if you are focus is instead on your footwork, or catching and positioning the ball without proper practice of those peripheral skills. There a couple of key points you need to understand about skill learning which I want to make to you before proceeding with the question of changing a skill.
First, you must realize that learning is indifferent to direction. This means it is just as easy to develop and automate a skill the wrong way as the correct way. If you begin by not listening to your coaches early on in your basketball playing career, and doing it your way (for let's say the immediate success of being able to make the basket), you will penalize yourself later on because there is a correct way to practice all skills. You've heard it said, practice doesn't make perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect. In a general sense this is absolutely true. When you are building a basketball skill, each repetition serves as what is called a "frame of reference" (a series of perceptual coordinates you could say) which is stored in the brain for comparison against future efforts. With increasing repetitions, the frame of reference should move closer and closer to the perfect way to perform a skill. This in return makes it easier for the basketball player to determine what causes an errant shot (for example) and simpler to correct.
Less practice makes it difficult for a novice basketball player to know what the correct frame of reference is. They must rely on video, a coach, or teammates who model the correct shot to give them feedback which is useful, but not always as accurate or purposeful as internal feedback. The goal in automation of your skills is to have a clear proper frame of reference which easily allows you to correct your own errant skill. It is important that you practice the skill as close to the way it should be performed at all times (both in the early stages of learning a skill as well as later in your practice repetitions). If you practice a lot the wrong way, you will automate the skill incorrectly. Then at some point you will have to change that skill to remain competitive on the court, and it may be too late.
The second important point you need to know is about the actual number of repetitions it takes to learn a skill. It is estimated for most basketball skills that it takes 250,000 nearly perfect (or similar) repetitions to automate a skill. For something like a jump shot, this means repeating the same shot technique about 500-600 times every other day a week for over 2 years. For the average young player taking 200-300 shots is a chore. If you are shooting, or passing a basketball only 200 times every other day, it might take you 6 years to automate that skill. The point is the more you work at it the quicker you can automate your skill.
There is no escaping this number of repetitions. Where most players fail however is in thinking that if they work out on their own 4-5 hours a day and practice their skill they will automate it. This is true, but it also may result in you automating the skill incorrectly and developing a shot, dribble, or pass that has a fundamental flaw when you perform it.
There is no escaping this number of repetitions. Where most players fail however is in thinking that if they work out on their own 4-5 hours a day and practice their skill they will automate it. This is true, but it also may result in you automating the skill incorrectly and developing a shot, dribble, or pass that has a fundamental flaw when you perform it.
This leads me up to the critical point of today's Playground Pointer. There are literally hundreds of players out there today who love playing the game, are pretty good in most aspects of it, but have "miss-learned and automated a skill the wrong way. It can be something as simple as making the same footwork off a catch and penetration for shot which leads to a consistent travel call. It might be that you learned to shoot off the non-dominant eye and find yourself shooting with your shooting arm angled across your forehead to this eye causing a sling shot and corkscrew on the ball versus the desired shot in one vertical plane (hand, elbow, knee and foot on the shooting hand). It might be something as well like making a drop step pivot on a post move the same way, and when forced to vacate this position a different way resulting in a travel call. It could be having incorrectly learned how to stop first step penetration on defense and consistently getting beat. When you or your coach is presented with this problem, an important question arises, should I invest the effort in terms of practice repetitions to change this skill or not? The answer is dependent on a number of things which I will address.
Changing A Well Learned Skill
The most critical factor in making a decision to significantly change a well learned basketball skill is the final destination has as a player in combination with your level of athleticism. For example, if your ambition is to play in the NBA or at any pro level foreign or domestic, there are very few players with what a coach might call "bad technique". There are some with less than desired technique, but if you can't score at least some, or pass the ball some, you won't make it to that level. The reason I say the final level is a combination of your goals and natural athletic ability is the following. If you are the leading scorer on your high school team (based on size, athleticism, or court savvy) but you really don't have the desire to play beyond high school, an effort to change your incorrectly learned skill in the middle of your senior season will be a disaster. You will undoubtedly lose your scoring skill, confidence, and likely playing time. Keep in mind that any time you change a well learned skill there will be a learning period which will be reflected in a performance decrement. The length of this decrement will be a function of how automated your incorrect skill had become and the amount of time you invest in the correct repetitions to change this skill.
Let us look at another case study for example which changes the answer. You are a sophomore in high school and have been the biggest kid on your team for several years and still are able to score almost at will because of your size advantage. You have some athleticism but based on your family history it isn't likely you will grow to more than 6'3" or 6'4". To play at the next level you will likely be a 2-Guard, or at the NBA level a PG at best. If your scoring or shooting skills are not correctly automated, as other players begin to pass you up during physical maturation, you will find your skills leave you in the post instead of moving toward the perimeter which will be your final player destination. If this is the case, you are better off experiencing a possible 6 month to 1 year performance decrement at this age while attempting to rebuild an incorrect shooting technique, than in attempting to wait until your senior year when time will limit your ability to change. In addition, the longer you wait to change the deeper you will automate your shooting skill the wrong way. This will require even longer amounts of time and great repetitions to relearn the skill the correct way.
Here is another scenario to consider. You are a professional player who is 28 years old and you have been making your living in the NBA or an International Professional League. You earn your living by being paid as a professional player. You have exceptional skills at one or two aspects of the game, and are a starter whose team success depends upon your consistent performance of those two skills. You think that you can get more playing time by changing one of them to include more diversity to your game.
In most cases at the professional level, the skills that are automated should not be changed. Instead the player at this level should look to increase the depth of skills automated by taking one skill per year and making that the focus of their additional practice time, not at the expense of the skills they should be maintaining crucial to their career and performance. Magic Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal are great examples of players who had terrific skills early in their NBA careers but who added additional skills each step of the way toward MVP years. A note of caution here however, it takes a worker and someone who really understands the effort required to add this one skill to make this change. If there is any doubt it is the right thing to do, the potential to do more permanent damage to a player's skill at this age is certainly riskier. Adding a skill is the more logical approach, while changing a skill may end a player’s career.
In most cases at the professional level, the skills that are automated should not be changed. Instead the player at this level should look to increase the depth of skills automated by taking one skill per year and making that the focus of their additional practice time, not at the expense of the skills they should be maintaining crucial to their career and performance. Magic Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal are great examples of players who had terrific skills early in their NBA careers but who added additional skills each step of the way toward MVP years. A note of caution here however, it takes a worker and someone who really understands the effort required to add this one skill to make this change. If there is any doubt it is the right thing to do, the potential to do more permanent damage to a player's skill at this age is certainly riskier. Adding a skill is the more logical approach, while changing a skill may end a player’s career.
Change Please, What's Left Over?
What then are the important things to consider when deciding if you should change your sputtering skill?
Here are several important questions to ask of yourself and your coach prior to deciding if you should attempt to change your skill:
What then are the important things to consider when deciding if you should change your sputtering skill?
Here are several important questions to ask of yourself and your coach prior to deciding if you should attempt to change your skill:
1. What is your long-term basketball career goal?
2. Am I willing to put in the extra hours above normal practice time to relearn a skill I already feel I can perform to a modest level?
3. Is it realistic time and effort wise that you can put in enough correct repetitions to unlearn the old skill and relearn the new skill prior to reaching your career goal?
4. Will a skill change be required for you to play your natural position upon reaching the highest level possible based on your natural athletic ability?
5. Do you have the patience, and mental temperament to handle a drop in your in game performance level over the period of time you are relearning this skill?
6. What are the consequences to my playing future if I do not make the change in the skill?
7. What time of the year are you considering making these changes? Remember, it would be best to begin the skill change (the hardest transition between the old skill and new) in the off season when there are less performance requirements in games critical to the success of your team.
8. Will my changing this skill significantly affect my team's performance and what are the consequences of that performance drop at least for a short period of time?
9. Does my coach support the changes that I want to make and understand the potential performance consequences? And will this change be articulated by the coach to my teammates so they understand this process you have chosen to undertake?
10. Are you a person who have a good sense of how skills are performed and you are a relative quick learner? The more adept you are at picking up skills, the more likely you will be able to handle the extended repetitions required to unlearn and relearn the new skill. Slow learners beware, frustration levels can set in which can totally discourage you from following through on the changes leaving you in skill quick sand.
2. Am I willing to put in the extra hours above normal practice time to relearn a skill I already feel I can perform to a modest level?
3. Is it realistic time and effort wise that you can put in enough correct repetitions to unlearn the old skill and relearn the new skill prior to reaching your career goal?
4. Will a skill change be required for you to play your natural position upon reaching the highest level possible based on your natural athletic ability?
5. Do you have the patience, and mental temperament to handle a drop in your in game performance level over the period of time you are relearning this skill?
6. What are the consequences to my playing future if I do not make the change in the skill?
7. What time of the year are you considering making these changes? Remember, it would be best to begin the skill change (the hardest transition between the old skill and new) in the off season when there are less performance requirements in games critical to the success of your team.
8. Will my changing this skill significantly affect my team's performance and what are the consequences of that performance drop at least for a short period of time?
9. Does my coach support the changes that I want to make and understand the potential performance consequences? And will this change be articulated by the coach to my teammates so they understand this process you have chosen to undertake?
10. Are you a person who have a good sense of how skills are performed and you are a relative quick learner? The more adept you are at picking up skills, the more likely you will be able to handle the extended repetitions required to unlearn and relearn the new skill. Slow learners beware, frustration levels can set in which can totally discourage you from following through on the changes leaving you in skill quick sand.
You Can Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later
In my coaching career I have always liked the slogan from the old Fram oil filter commercials; you can pay me now or pay me later. There is no short-cut to automating your basketball skills the correct way. If you try to cheat the learning process, you will be paying up big time later. When that occurs you will undoubtedly be asking should I try to make the change. My experience over the years indicates that if you have any type of college or pro level ability, than most skill changes up until you are about a sophomore or junior in high school are generally acceptable. Even your senior year would be okay if your performance drop doesn't affect your ability to get a scholarship and play at the next level. If however, your athleticism, quickness with which you learn and relearn skills are in question as to whether or not you can achieve playing at the next level, you would be better served to continue with your current skill until you have achieved the next level and have the support of a coaching staff that can assist you in making the changes after you have established your ability to compete for your new team.
Players who really don't have the aspiration of playing at the next level should stick to the skills that enable them to enjoy playing and performing at a decent level where they are playing. While these are not hard and fast rules, they should help you decide if a change is in order. Always consult your coaches and get their perspective on the consequences of a change. If they are encouraging a change that you are hesitant to tackle as a player, sit down and talk with your coaches about your concerns and some of these questions I have posted above. It is your choice to make, because in the end you will wear the consequences.
Most important to remember from todays Playground Pointer is the concept of time and repetitions to automate your skills and that it is indifferent to direction. If it is just important to score the goal regardless of your technique you may get by for a while. But eventually it will catch up with you. The result will be that you have to go back and unlearn (essentially the same amount of repetitions it took to incorrectly learn the basketball skill up to this point in time whether it be 50-100, or 250,000 repetitions) and then tack on another 250,000 repeats. If that is your way of getting from one point to another in a direct line you are going to be well behind the players that do it the correct way, in a straight line. Learn it right from the beginning and save yourself a ton of time. When you have to change, consider all the factors and make the best decision for you. It will require patience, commitment, and understanding your performance will drop during the transition, and the effort to follow through to see the full benefit of a skill change. If the benefits of the change outweigh the negatives, get to work!
Check back next month for another Playground Pointers courtesy of The Basketball Highway®.
Check back next month for another Playground Pointers courtesy of The Basketball Highway®.