Featuring:
Raegan Pebley,
Texas Christian University Head Women's Coach; 2x Mountain West Conference Tournament Champions; over 200 career wins; as a player, was a 2x All-Big 12 forward and played 2 seasons in the WNBA
Taylor Larson,
Texas Christian University Sr. Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach; 2018 Staff Member of the Year at Central Michigan University
Essence Carson,
11-year WNBA player, currently a member of the Phoenix Mercury; 2016 WNBA Champion with the Los Angeles Sparks; 2011 WNBA All-Star with the New York Liberty; 3x Big East Defensive Player of the Year at Rutgers University
Brian Agler,
Dallas Wings (WNBA) Head Coach; 2x WNBA Champion (Seattle Storm 2010, Los Angeles Sparks 2016); 2010 WNBA Coach of the Year;most wins in women's professional basketball in the United States; back-to-back championships in the ABL (Columbus Quest '97 & '98) and 1997 Coach of the Year;
Coaches are in for a real treat when they pick up this video featuring presentations from four knowledgeable insiders associated with teaching and improving in the game of basketball!
To kick things off, TCU women's head coach Raegan Pebley provides an hour and a half practice session full of drills and coaching strategy. Once her practice concludes, Pebley paves the way for TCU strength & conditioning coach Taylor Larson, 11-year WNBA veteran Essence Carson, and two-time WNBA champion coach Brian Agler to speak on separate tenants of team and athlete development. There's plenty of great insight that any coach can immediately implement with their own program!
TCU Women's Practice
Are you looking for an alternative to traditional layup lines to get your players warmed up and, as an added bonus, communicating effectively with each other? Coach Pebley demonstrates how to instantly start off practice with exceptional engagement and a brisk warm-up using TCU's own take on the Circle Layup Drill.
One of the great benefits of watching an actual live practice is to observe how great coaches use both time and vocabulary effectively. Pebley offers many examples of how her and her staff use an economy of language to help maximize time on task and minimize cumbersome explanations about the goals and execution of various drills.
Both offensive and defensive drills are mixed to help show you how to create a comprehensive and competitive practice. There are a number of instances where Pebley tweaks the set-up for a particular drill to help emphasize a particular offensive or defensive concept.
Additionally, the near constant emphasis on timing and scoring in every drill will give you plenty of examples to show how to keep the competitive level of your team at a high pitch when designing your own practice plan.
The TCU practice portion of this video provides:
- Over 14 team and individual drills that maximize player engagement and development.
- Several unique methods to help improve your transition game, both offensively and defensively.
- Multiple ways to help build a culture of confidence and aggressiveness in your team.
Watching Coach Pebley's demonstration of how to run a high-level practice is a great way to stimulate your own thinking and help make every practice more effective.
Strength & Conditioning
If you feel that your players are being out-ran, out-jumped and out-muscled, it may be time to take a look at what you are (or aren't) doing in the weight room. Coach Larson brings his expertise to light as he discusses how to incorporate a quality strength training routine into daily basketball life.
Larson begins by discussing the importance of quality movement as the fundamental building block of everything his athletes do. You'll come to understand how he trains freshmen differently than seniors, and how to progress through vital exercises to maximize performance while reducing injury risk.
There are sure to be common mistakes that occur during your training, and Coach Larson touches on a few of those along with his ways to correct them. His philosophy is to identify fundamental weaknesses that athletes have and try to combat them directly.
In order for athletes to compete at a high level, they must improve from more than just a skill standpoint - they must condition their body to be in peak sport specific shape, both physically and mentally. Coach Larson outlines some of the most important concepts associated with this process and opens up a lengthy Q&A time during his clinic setting for maximum value to those who watch. The concepts addresses in his presentation can be applied to teams at any level.
Next-Level Preparation
Essence Carson, a high level player collegiately and professionally, shares valuable insights "from the perspective of a player" on the tremendous value of what coaches can provide not only on the court, but equally (if not more importantly) off the court. She talks about how her childhood coaches helped shape her into the professional she is today and how to pass similar lessons on to other players in today's game.
Carson also discusses what it takes from both the athlete and coaching standpoint on how to be successful in today's ultra-competitive environment. She talks about preparation for games and how often times games are won or lost before they even start.
Finally, Carson dives into how players need to develop counter moves to make them a more complete player. This includes moves for dribbling, shooting, and what she describes as "the lost art of passing."
Team Defense
Brian Agler discusses the fundamentals of building a solid, unified team defense. Coach Agler keeps it as simple as possible in his coaching philosophy, and states that he basic