What makes a great play is if it works on the field with the players you have. No matter the nomenclature, strategic genius, or underlying theory: what happens on paper matters little.
In general, I would say most team’s playbooks (and plays) are too complicated. Go simple. And a few simple rules are:
1. Does the play work? (Not, “it would have worked if…”)
2. What is option B if the first pass doesn’t go as designed? Assuming first pass works, options for second and third passes get tricky. Be careful with being too prescriptive.
3. What do you do when the opponent defends the play perfectly?
Often it is dealing with number three that is player dependent. Your best handler or your smart role player whose been at every practice may bail things out if no one else recognizes what is happening, but that often puts you in a defensive position, re-grouping to get your O cranked up again. How well (and how quickly) you go from the plan not working out at all to something that puts pressure on the opposition is something you hope to get to with a set play, and your O in general. To practice that, just tell the D what’s coming.
All this said, commit to a few plays and get them down as a team. Run them over and over at some tourney. If later they don;t work as well they will at the very least help you probe out how another team plays you or give you a framework from which to adjust.
Back to Issue