Made the trek down I-35 to Northfield to catch this afternoon's practice at St. Olaf. Head Coach Dave Stromme was their to greet me at Skoglund Center and was an incredibly gracious host. In addition to getting a sheet showing what the team would be working on today - and a chair to sit, I would also get to learn a lot about how he teaches the game of basketball to his players. But even before practice began, I had a chance to talk to one of the leaders on the St. Olaf team; junior PG Mackenzie Wolter who, IMHO, is one of the top two or three PGs in the MIAC and is a definite candidate for conference POY; a very smart player who knows how to make her teammates better and one of the reasons why this St. Olaf program is on the rise. The team goal this year, according to Wolter, is to compete for the conference crown and secure a home conference playoff berth.
Stromme had his team start off with some challenging dribbling drills that really tests a players ability to do different things with the ball. Also done was a very tough passing drill where two players have two balls. One player does an overhead pass while the other one does a bounce pass at the same time. Needless to say, this has to be done just right or balls will be going all over the place. Also done is jumping rope and some stretching.
The team then delves into the main course of practice which begins with layup drills (both reverse and off the glass). Another fun drill to watch that Stromme has his team do is what is called "5-spot shooting" with two groups of five players making shots around the perimeter with the 35-second shot clock being used (the squad that lost got to do push-ups). Next was a 2-on-1 "set up" full-court drill, which, needless to say, makes the single defender work very, very hard against two players coming down the court at full speed. Also done was a 4-on-4 "shell" drill that incorporated a variety of finer items; i.e., dribbling, active hands, and communication. Also done was a complicated 5-oon-0 drill that featured two passers with baseline shots on both sides (this drill had cutter and post, post to post w/"flash", hi-lo, under & over/stop & read, and point flare).
After a round of free throws, the team then headed over to the south end of the gymnasium area as the mens team moved onto the main gymnasium floor to incorporate their drills. Stromme then had his team work on defense which included 3-on-3 defend line/defend cutter. Another 5-on-0 drill was done plus an interesting 1-on-1 drill with two passers and post defense being emphasized. Still another drill had three players going full court with one player having to go lower and wider on their treks down the court. Finally, the players had a free throw drill whereby, if a FT was missed, the team then had to do sprints (up the floor and back).
The thing I really, really enjoyed about this practice is that Coach Stromme constantly talks to his players in a very encouraging way. He won't yell at a player unless they really, really deserve it. Perhaps even more importantly, he TEACHES the finer points of the game to his squad and demonstrates how it should be done (FWIW, if they allowed it, Stromme could suit up and still probably play pretty well with the men's team). Even I was able to learn some things from what he was telling his players and it will help me watch the game and analyze the game better. Also cool was how he quoted Coach (that's what we UCLA people call the great one - John Wooden) during practice when he said, "Be quick, but don't hurry." You just have to like that.
Okay, so what is the outlook for this St. Olaf team this season? I think last year was something of a learning experience for this team that fell just short of making the MIAC playoffs after a promising start. They now have that year of experience under their belt and have developed the necessary team chemistry and have meshed quite nicely. They have a very, very good blend of size and athleticism that perhaps can only be topped by UST. With that experience, chemistry, and physical make-up, this squad SHOULD be ready to make a move into the upper-echelon of the MIAC. There are a couple of injury issues at the moment: sophomore Maddie Ehrich suffered an ACL injury late in the summer league and, although she is making some excellent progress, it's unlikely she'd be available until late in the season, if then. Also, sophomore post Elise Raney suffered a minor knee injury about four weeks ago but she is recovering nicely and although her participation in practice has been limited to non-contact drills, she hopes to be able to go full-bore next week. Although St. Olaf's margin for error is significantly larger than Macalester's, their chances of success will hinge upon staying healthy; they can ill-afford a season-ending injury to a key component on the team. Towards that end, the squad will be bolstered by the return of junior Kirstee Rotty after volleyball finishes up. Stromme feels his team has to prove itself yet when the opportunity presents itself. I feel that this team, led by Wolter, is primed and ready to make that big jump.
No comments:
Post a Comment