Transitioning From Shooting Guard to Forward

Ask the Coach- Q4

I have a daughter that I have always worked with as a point guard or 2 guard. She is just going into 6th grade and while is not tall (5'6") she is one of the taller ones on her team. I expect her to play guard in high school but she may wind up playing forward most of the time this year. On the other hand, forward experience may help her in the long run. Do you have any ideas on points I should stress for this temporary transition.
Darrell Oller

Well first of all I think you're on target when you say playing some forward will help her. One of the most difficult transitions for young PG's or shooting guards to make on to the higher levels is being an effective player when they don't have the ball. By playing forward I believe she will (through both coaching and playing experience) learn to play more effectively away from the ball.

The skills I would work on would include:
1) Learning to use her body to pin players, or alternately take the backdoor on a defensive overplay in the process of creating a open lead for a pass from the guards. Forwards generally have a little less space to work with on the court than say the point guard. We will be having a clinic on getting open in the coming month where I'll go more into detail on this. The bottom line is she should be able to explode from a stationary position for 2 or 3 steps and then be able to quickly stop and reverse directions. If she is overplayed she can learn to seal the defender off away from the basket. When the defense tries to release this pressure for fear of a backdoor cut, or lob pass, it usually doesn't take much effort to get open in the direction of the ball. The toughest players to guard are those that use their bodies to effectively maintain the space or position on the court that they want. Of course a good defender, tries to deny them that space. She is probably a little bit young, but in the next few years, you might try teaching her to make the defender "defend hard" a space which she actually doesn't want to get the ball. For example, if she wants the ball on the wing, she should do everything she can to make the defender think and respond to her "supposedly" wanting the ball under the basket. This is a very basic concept, but one that most players have difficulty mastering. Larry Bird, was probably one of the great masters of this skill. He would make a player, or team of players think he wanted the ball in the corner, just so he could gain a slight advantage over the defense for a jump off the left elbow, that he really wanted.

2) Working hard on a long, low, explosive first step penetration to the basket with either hand to create a pull up jumper or penetrate all the way to the basket. I've coached numerous forwards who were somewhat effective to their strong hand, but once their strength was taken away were mostly harmless. James Worthy was one of the best examples of a true forward who could penetrate very effectively with either hand, and even more amazingly finish exceptionally well with either hand. It would be a good idea for her to practice a variety of shots and lay-ups off of the dribble, where as she nears the basket she is using her body to shield a taller player from blocking the shot. These might include a quick pull up jumper from 5-7 feet, a short hook using the backboard with either hand, a reverse lay-up suing the basket to protect the shot (although this isn't too much a factor in girls youth basketball).

The difference with penetration from the forward and the PG positions is that normally the PG has the dribble, or some space with movement to get the defender off balance. A forward usually receives the ball on the wing, and has less space to make an effective penetration steps. Small forwards who can penetrate taller forwards are a very effective weapon for most teams, presuming they can score or create a scoring opportunity off the pass for a teammate, from the penetration.

3) A third skill to practice should be distance shots. The best small forwards set up their penetration by being exceptionally good long distance shooters. Katy Stedding of US Women's Gold Medal Olympic team was one of the best at doing this. Again, there is a difference between long distance shooting for forwards and guards. Many times a guard will get a long distance shot, where the defense has sagged to help, or collapsed to stop penetrator on a defensive breakdown. In this situation, the guard usually has time to spot their feet and "get prepared". The forward on the other hand usually must catch the ball against pressure on the outside hand, from a V or I cut, and immediately square up against pressure. I would spent a considerable amount of time practicing this catch and pivot footwork so that she can confidently shoot this shot, when the defense backs off for just a split second. The more dangerous a shooter from this position she is the more effective she will be at penetrating from the wing positions.

4) She should develop good passing skills to the post with either hand and learn what to do when her defender sags to help. If you watch the Pro's they are very adept at passing to the post, and cutting off the pass. Of course this depends somewhat on the goals of the teams offense, but as a general rule, a forward should be able to react and cut quickly through the defense for a return pass from the post, when their defender over helps.

5) Finally, by playing forward, there is an additional team responsibility that is added. That is rebounding. Most guards are taught to stay back and protect against the fastbreak. If she is going to play small forward, she must learn to be aggressive in pursuing the ball on the shot, both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. This can be practiced and learned. I think ball pursuit is one of the most underrated, and under discussed skills in the game of basketball today. Dennis Rodman, is "in terms of ball pursuit" probably the best example, although there are many other talented players in this respect as well. A smaller forward with their quickness should be able to anticipate where the ball is going and get some garbage baskets to help their team. A small forward who doesn't do these things puts a lot of pressure on the remaining two post players to control the boards. Nearly all coaches say we want 3 and a half players on the boards at all times.

I'm sure there may be other skills I have overlooked, but maybe these will give you some ideas of where to focus your time. Most importantly, make sure she doesn't loose the enthusiasm for playing. There is so much pressure put on kids today, that in getting to the end of the "rainbow" they loose all desire to continue. One of the purposes of playing basketball should be to be able to say, when their competitive playing days are over to say " I truly loved and enjoyed playing the game". Otherwise, extended long hours of practice are lost effort. and misguided purpose. As long as young players remain eager to learn and have fun along with the hard work, they will maintain one of the key motivations for a long, healthy and happy career in basketball.

Thanks for your question, and visiting The Basketball Highway