Westview's 6 areas of focus

I routinely go out and observe basketball practices. Last season, I went to Westview High (Beaverton, Oregon) to watch one of the top boys teams in the state.

Upon entering the locker room, one of the first things you see if a game chart with many areas of focus on it, including six statistics at the top of the list.

These are the foundations for Westview basketball and include:

• Hold opponent to 50 points or fewer
• Hold opponent to 40% field goals
• Draw two charges
• Make more free throws than their free-throw attempts
• Outrebound the opposition
• Commit 10 turnovers or fewer.

You may want to steal some of these for your program or tweak these ideas to come up with the statistics that matter most to you.

Either way, make these goals visible and discuss them after every game. Make your players aware of what you know are the keys to victory as you push through conference season.