Rebound (bxb)

Chapter 11

Erol

"For today's drill is all about layups but before I teach you the correct techniques, I want you all to show me how far do you know about the simple layups you guys do," sabi ko sa mga kalalakihang nasa harapan ko habang hawak-hawak nila ang kani-kanilang bola.

When a girl asked me to coach her Japanese team in Japan, I grabbed the offer since sa eskwelahan din naman iyon nag-aaral si Raiga. Imagine our surprised noong nalaman namin na sa eskwelahan pala na iyon nag-aaral ang aming pamangkin. To be officially get the job, lumipad kami ni Rafael sa Japan. To be honest, why did I accept the job? It was because I really wanna see Raiga soar high.

"Not bad," sabi ko sa kanila pagkatapos nilang ipakita sa akin ang nalalaman nila sa layups. "But I'm going to teach you the three famous layups that a players like you should know," sabi ko pa bago dinampot ang bola sa aking paanan.

Tinawag ko si Xeno. Lumapit ito sa akin at saka pina pwesto ko sa siya loob ng key malapit sa rim ng backboard.

"The first one layup drill will be called Euro. Paano ito gagawin? Watch me and pay attention," sabi ko pa bago naglakad patungo sa free throw line. "First thing you should know about this drill is to know the distance between you and the defender. That's why I have Xeno here acting the defender, do you follow me?" tanong ko sa kanila.

Tumanngo sila sa akin.

"Good," sabi ko sa kanila. "To do it, you have to step your first foot either it your right or left foot and then step side your free foot away from the defender and then shoot and vice versa. Another thing to keep in your mind like what I told earlier is the distance between you and your defender. For example," sabi ko bago lumapit kay Xeno. "If I step my first foot too close to the defender and then step the other foot, a chance of hitting the defender will likely happen and it will cause us a foul. To avoid that, know the exact distance you wanna execute before doing Euro Step. Think you can do it?"

"Yes coach," sabay-sabay nilang sagot.

"Alright. Do it. I'll stand as the defender. Show me your moves."

Perfect. All of them did it like the way I wanted to them to do most especially the first five. If I wanted them to win the upcoming preliminaries, they should expand what they have learned before even Raiga. Marami pa akong hundi naituro sa kanya ngunit sinisikap kong ituro ang madalas na drills na ginagawa ng mga professional basketball sa lokal man o sa international.

"The next will be the thing they called up and under. I'll show you how this move should be executed," sabi ko pagkatapos pumuwesto sa kanang bahagi ng free throw lane. "Akira, passed me the ball," sabi ko sa kanya na agad naman niyang sinunod. Pagkapasa niya ay humarap ako sa basket at saka humakbang ng ilang hakbang habang hawak ang bola at kapatapos ay huminto ng saglit sa sa kanang bahagi ng basket at saka nilipat sa aking kaliwang kamay ang bola at pagkatapos ay ipinasok ang bola sa kaliwang bahagi ng basket. "The move I just showed you guys is the up and under layup which you should learn. This move will definitely help you when a defender decides to block your layup. This move is the ultimate key to shoot a ball especially when you are being block. Make sure that you corporately using your left and right hand to execute the drill. Think you can do it? I will going to play the defender block this time,"

Tumango naman ang mga ito at wala akong narinig na reklamo which of course I anticipated. All of these boys are eager to know more and I'm glad they didn't say any words yet to go against it.

Makalipas ang ilang minuto ay maayos jila itong nagawa which earned them my clap.

"Nice boys. Now let me show you the last drill of layup. Again, I want you all to pay attention because after this, I will let you practice everything from the drill I taught you from the beginning up to now," sabi ko sa kanila.

"Yes, coach," sabay-sabay nilang sagot.

"The last layup that I'll going to teach you is the inside hand finish. Unlike up and under, we will not shoot the ball in the left side of the basket when you are on the right side or vice versa. In the inside hand finish, you see, I'm holding the ball using my right hand and I am currently on the right side of the court. All I'm going to do should run and shoot the ball with my right hand right? No. That's wrong. The perfect move for this should be like this," sabi ko sa kanila bago bumalik sa kanang bahagi ng court pagkatapos mai-shoot ang bola sa basket. " You see that my left hands is free right?" tanong ko pa.

Tumango sila sa akin.

"Since it's free, I'm going to use this hand to shoot the ball. Watch me."

Habang nagdidribble ng bola palapit sa basket gamit ang aking kanang kamay. Inilipat ko sa aking kaliwang kamay ang bola at saka initsa ang bola mismo sa kanang side ng basket gamit ang kaliwang kamay. Inulit ko uli and drill na ito at sa kaliwa naman gamit ang aking kanang kamay.

"Did you see the difference between up and under and inside layups?" tanong ko. " Hindi ko initsa ang bola sa kaliwang bahagi ng basket kahit na ang gamit ko ay ang kaliwang kamay or sa kanang side ng basket gamit ang aking kanang kamay hindi ba?"

Tumango sila.

"Ang layup na ito ay mabilisang galaw bago pa dumating ang defender blocker kumpara sa up and under layups na para sa blocker na nasa harapan mo na mismo. Naiintindihan nyo ba ang pagkakaiba nila?" tanong ko.

"Opo coach," sabay sabay nilang sagot.

Ngumiti ako sa kanila.

"Think you can do it?"

"Opo," sagot nila.

"Okay, chop chop. Do it. I'm giving you enough time to practice. And then we will go to another

drill."

Pagkatapos ng ilang minutong pagpa-practice ay muli akong tumayo at saka lumapit sa kanila to give some speech since ilang araw na lang ay magsisimula na ang laro. I already saw what their capabilities are and even saw the roles they can play inside the court.

"Listen up guys, I'm going to teach you the proper way of passing the ball. This will be the last drill I'm going to teach you since I will be focusing on each of your skills since you will be needing it in your upcoming game. I'm still going to ask you all your attention in order to execute the drill during our game. Do you get it?" tanong ko.

"Yes coach," sagot nila.

"Maki come here please," sabi ko kay Maki na nakaupo sa bench habang nakatingin sa amin. I knew this kid and he's Raiga's personal fixation right now. But since he's limited to move, siya na ngayon ang captain at six man ng team. Too bad nagka-injury siya noong last tournament na sinalihan ng team nila noong middle schooler pa lang ito.

Lumapit sa akin si Maki.

"Maki will be my partner for the drill so pay attention to what are we going to show you," sabi ko sa kanila bago pina pwesto ng ilang metro palayo sa akin si Maki.

Pagkatapos makapwesto ni Maki ay kinuha ko ang bola at saka tumingin sa kanila.

"First drill will be chest pass. First thing you should put on your mind boys is always use the strong foot you usually use. For example, your strong foot is the right foot. All you have to do is step it forward. Same goes to those who use their left foot. Why is it called a chest pass? Because I'm going to pass the ball to Maki coming from my chest right through his chess. Pass the ball coming from the chest and hit him right through the chest. I'm going to show you the right chest passing but I want you to pay attention to the way I use my foot, the way I release the ball and the way I snap my fingers when I pass it."

Since I am a right foot user, I stepped my right foot forward. Hold the ball from both sides and then realise it coming from my chest with enough force.

"Get it?" tanong ko sa kanila matapos maipakita ang tamang chest passing.

Tumango sila sa akin.

"Next will be the bounce pass. You guys should pay attention to this because a lot of players overdo this pass that sometimes makes the other team steal the ball from your team. It may sound so simple but actually, you need enough distance and proper calculation when you execute the passing. Watch this," sabi ko sa kanila bago humarap sa kanila.

Ipinakita ko sa kanila na kung malamya ng pagbounce ng bola patungo kay Maki, hindi ito aabot sa kanya at kung aabot man ay lilikha ito ng ilang talbog ng bola. Ipinakita ko rin sa kanila ang mangyayari kung sobrang lapit naman ang pagpapatalbog ko ng bola kay Maki na kung saan ay nataman ang kanyang sapatos o nagbounce ng wala sa tamang ayos ang bola.

"The way the bounce pass to Maki is not the proper way of passing which often happens in games especially when you're not calculating or did not pay attention to how you do it," sabi ko. "The key is the distance you have in between and that one place where you can bounce the ball one time to exactly where your teammate is. Remember the distance, space, and enough force to bounce the ball just one time at full speed. Do you follow?"

Tumango sila sa akin pagakatapos kong ipakita ang tamang paraan ng pasa ng bounce pass.

"Next will be the over head pass. This drill usually can be seen being used across the court," sabi ko sa kanila at saka naglakad patungo sa kabilang half-court mula kay Maki. " All you have to do is step forward your strong feet. Hold the ball above your head. Put some power on the ball before you throw the ball right to the person you wanna pass it," sabi ko sa kanila bago ginawa ang drill kasama si Maki. "Nakuha nyo?" tanong ko sa kanila pagkatapos.

"Yes, coach."

"Good! Next will be behind the back pass. Just like the bounce pass, behind the back pass is usually a pass that comes from your back," sabi ko sa kanila bago lumapit kay Maki but making sure there's enough distance between us. "Si Maki ay nandyan sa left side ng court habang ako ay nasa kanan so all I have to do is pass him the ball using behind the back pass. First thing you need to do is step on the last foot you did not use . For example I step forward with my right foot and then my left foot stays behind, right?"

Tumango sila sa akin.

"I am supposed to pass the ball from my right side going to my back to Maki but my left foot hinders it. All I have to do is step my left foot forward and then bounce it to Maki. Just like the bounce pass. Calculate the distance and the perfect spot to bounce the ball where Maki is going to get the ball. Remember, step both feet, pass the ball from behind by bouncing one and boom. Got it boys?" sabi ko.

Tumango uli sia sa akin.

"Alright and the last will be the behind the back chest pass. This drill is easy as one two three because we don't need to bounce the ball or step out our feet. All you have to do is look for a person you wanna pass the ball to. Then pass the ball from behind while making sure that the ball will pass right through that person's chess. Still you need to calculate the force you guys will use."

Matapos ang dalawang set ng importanteng drills ba itinuro ko sa kanila ay hinayaan ko muna silang mag practice. They need to learn it.