Rebounding is a tricky skill to teach, a difficult skill to master, and an easy skill to forget. Failing to practice rebounding is not an option though, and in today's post we will look into ways of improving your team rebounding. It is important to focus on 3 aspects: Culture, Concepts, and Skills.
If you want to be truly great at team rebounding, 'culture' is the most important aspect. I can speak from experience since my last job included successful teaching of concepts and skills, but a miserable failure in creating a team culture of taking rebounding seriously. The first point is critical - players who take rebounding seriously have to see playing time. Nothing speaks louder than minutes. Putting that talented player who refuses to rebound on the bench is hard to do, but it is worth it in the long run. The message sent when you consistently play players who don't work hard in the rebounding game is clear as a bell. And the good news is that when it come to rebounding, high effort is usually enough for a player to be an above average rebounder. You don't need them all to be exceptional, but you do need them to give a focused effort.
Rebounding skills are pretty straightforward and generally are consistently addressed by coaches, however, without a rebounding culture on defense it is just another drill. There are too many thousands of rebounding drill to list them here, but I want to touch on one thought. Make sure your rebounding drill includes some component of defense, since those are your critical rebounds. Rebounding is also a great skill to combine with a hustle drill.
The first two rebounding skills that should be taught and drilled are inside and perimeter block-outs. After numerous clinics and video review, I agree with many out there that the "sit down" style block-out is not appropriate for perimeter shots. Done improperly it can lead to a shooting foul, and done well can make it hard for defender to keep offensive player away from interior. Ultimately there is just too much space for your opponent to run around you. A better way is to turn your body sideways and deflect any shooter that follows their shot away from the interior. Inside, or interior, block-outs are pretty simple. Pivot to open your body to the rim, while bending knees and making contact with your defensive assignment.
The other two skills of importance are retrieval and ball security. You need to have time in your rebounding drills for players to practice elevating to meet the ball in the air. Since everyone has different vertical jumping abilities, they need to become comfortable knowing when to jump for possession. Teach players to land facing up the court as often as possible, and to be able to pivot quickly to face up court when it isn't possible. In order to maintain ball security always teach two hands on the ball and elbows out. I like my players to have a third point of contact on the shoulder, although some coaches teach to chin it. The only reason I don't teach the "chin it" is that I feel it leads to more jump balls, owing to the fact that it is harder to pass or dribble quickly when the ball in that position.
Rebounding concepts are tougher to teach, but worth every practice minute if your team can learn them. Weak side rebounding, long rebounds, baseline seals, and free throw setups are all concepts that will make your rebounding more effective, but you won't have time for them all. It is far more effective to focus on just a couple concepts at a time until they have been mastered and a new one can be introduced. I'd like to have a more in-depth discussion of rebounding concepts in another post, so I won't get into the finer details this time.
Just like offensive and defensive, rebounding requires teaching time, regardless of the defensive system you use. Your players should understand their rebounding assignments in every phase of the defensive movement, and you must always drive home the importance of a weak side rebounder. If you cover no other rebounding concepts in an entire season, make sure that one doesn't slip by.
The advantage your team can gain if they are consistently able to limit their opponents to one shot is huge, and the drop in energy that can occur when they consistently give up offensive rebounds is real. Don't make the mistake of not devoting enough time to rebounding.
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