Learning from Dwayne Wade's Individual Workout

I discovered stack.com's approximately three minute long clip about Dwayne Wade's training routine through a Facebook post by Sanders Jackson, an old friend, former professional basketball player, and current coach.  Some of the major points expressed by Wade's trainer and illustrated by the video footage of Wade's workout validate methods used by the Augusta Eagles and cause me to reflect on possible adjustments and additions to our individual and team workouts.  This is the video.  After viewing, read further to read my thoughts:

For several years, I have dedicated a significant amount of practice time to individual skill development.  I believe that players improve their ball handling, shooting, passing, rebounding, defending, and scoring skills through deliberate practice.  A significant time investment is needed to get the repetitions required for considerable improvement.  During the 2010-2011 season, I started changing the routines from somewhat monotonous to more varied, game simulating action.

For example, I have always placed a high value on shooting practice.  Until recently, I would pair up players and have one rebound for the other for ten or twenty shots, with the shooter alternating from one spot to another.  The rebounder and the shooter would then switch roles and the tandem would repeat this process for 50, 100, or 200 shots, depending on the time available.  I used similar high volume, low variation, drills for dribbling and defensive work.  The players benefited from the repetitions and became more skilled.

But recently, I came to believe two things that have made me change our practice and individual skill development routines:

1)  There are far too many variations of shots, drives, passes, catches, movements with the ball, movements without the ball, and reads of the defense to incorporate into a high repetition, daily workout.  However, repetition is still needed to improve skills.  I agree with Coach Mike Krzyzewski when he says, "it is not what you know as a coach that is important, but what your players repeatedly do under pressure."  (I hope I didn't butcher that quote to badly!)  Habits are formed through repetition.  So how does a coach make sure his players get the necessary repetitions and cover the wide variety of situations likely to be encountered during the game?

2)  To simulate game situations and provide time for enough repetitions to form sound habits and achieve significant improvement, a coach must commit to a consistent investment of a major portion of practice time, likely including off season development workouts, dedicated to practicing fundamental skills.  After adopting the "low repetition, high variation" method, I have found that the players enjoy practice more and improve more aspects of their games more quickly.  In such a program, a player may catch the ball after curling off of a down screen and and shoot a floater in the lane 5-10 times in a given practice (low repetition), but during the same practice that player may also shoot 5-10 three pointers after fading off of a similar screen on the other side of the court.  The key is to consistently dedicate enough time in practice so the player eventually gets back to practicing the floater in the lane coming off of the down screen within the next few days or so, and continues to get the same frequency throughout the season and year.

Dwayne Wade's workout seems to incorporate the wide range of movements, drives, dribble moves, and shots that he uses in the game.  I like the faking, the hesitating, the bumping, and the changing of directions that he seems to emphasize.  I also like that his trainer specifies that the workout be centered around actual basketball game situations and that the time dedicated, 45 minutes, and the rest time allotted, very little, simulates a game situation.  So Dwayne Wade basically trains to play well in basketball games by consistently performing at a high level in game simulating workouts, explaining why he is one of the best players alive and why he routinely makes shots that look so difficult.  He has made those shots thousands of times during his workouts.