Teaching Players How to Scan

In training sessions, we often freeze action and players in their on-court positions and ask a series of questions. Lots of times we simply ask players to describe what they are seeing. This is especially effective when we tell them to close their eyes first. Some of the questions we ask are where is the ball, where are your teammates, how many defenders are in front of you? etc. This is an effective technique to help players improve their ability to scan the floor, anticipate opportunities and threats and build attentional focus. All of these things help players anticipate and become better in-game decision-makers.