He Ximeng didn't bother to bicker with these youngsters. As long as it didn't affect training, He Ximeng was indifferent.
After the grassroots matches in the Zhejiang division, He Ximeng realized that the team had many problems. Of course, these problems were not in comparison with professional teams. He Ximeng could now lower his standards and correctly view the level of high school basketball. However, even with lowered standards, He Ximeng still felt that Zhuji Middle School had many areas for improvement. After all, in the upcoming Eastern District Finals, the opponents' strength would generally be significantly improved. At least, they would all be teams at the level of Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School. And Huipu Middle School basically represented the average level of the national finals.
Compared to Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School, the gap for Zhuji Middle School was not large. But compared to Huipu Middle School, Zhuji Middle School still had considerable room for improvement.
The main areas for improvement were, on one hand, physical fitness, and on the other hand, chemistry between teammates.
The former represented the team's floor, and the latter represented the team's ceiling.
Physical fitness was the foundation of all basketball skills and was also the easiest area to improve in a short period through persistent training.
Chemistry was the guarantee of smooth tactical execution among team members. It also required a lot of training for coordination.
For this reason, He Ximeng proposed to increase the daily training time from one and a half hours to two hours, and at the same time, not to rest on weekends, striving to use the next month to elevate the team's strength by another notch. Or rather, to make the team's performance more stable.
Specific training subjects included physical fitness training, which was naturally indispensable. In terms of tactical drills, He Ximeng, on one hand, asked his teammates to continue practicing the "three-line fast break" tactic. In addition, He Ximeng also planned to teach his teammates how to conduct beep-beep tactic training!
This beep-beep tactic, not the beep-beep of talking, but a direct translation of the English word "beep-beep."
Beep-beep tactic, to put it plainly, was a five-man fast break passing drill!
Simply put, five players lined up at the baseline, started a fast break simultaneously, and after the fast break, they retreated to the backcourt simultaneously. One offense, one defense.
After the first group finished, the second group would come on and repeat the same tactic.
Compared to the three-line fast break, the beep-beep tactic training had two major differences.
First, the three-line fast break mainly trained offense and not defense, while the beep-beep tactic, while training fast break tactics, also trained defense against fast breaks.
Second, the three-line fast break was a direct cooperation between three players, while the beep-beep tactic expanded to five players. The positioning was more complex, requiring off-ball screens during movement and backdoor cuts after screens.
During the three-line fast break, it was basically the player in the middle holding the ball, with one player on each side fast-breaking.
In the five-man fast break, there were two teammates on each side, with overlapping positions. So, after advancing to the frontcourt, it was required for the two players to simulate an off-ball screen, a pick-and-roll, and one player cutting for a layup. The teammate controlling the ball in the middle would then pass to the player cutting on the left or the teammate on the right... In comparison, this training item tested the teammates' chemistry, tactical proficiency, and concentration on the game more.
On the defensive end, He Ximeng still insisted on zone defense as the primary tactic, with fast break defense as a secondary, and at the same time, he had everyone practice full-court press tactics!
The main purpose of practicing full-court press tactics was not for Zhuji Middle School to use it themselves, but so that when they encountered a strong team like Huipu Middle School again in the Eastern Division or the national finals, and the opponents used this set of tactics against Zhuji Middle School, they could respond more calmly, break it down with ease, and not be overwhelmed and flustered by the opponent...
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.
There were not many tactics that could be used on the high school court, and the difficulty could not be too high because the training time was limited, unlike professional games. The difficulty of the full-court press tactic was basically at the ceiling level in high school.
Zhang Yide, after "lying down and winning" his first best coach trophy in his coaching career, began to invest more energy in the team.
Of course, this was without affecting his "part-time job."
After finishing his off-campus tutoring classes every day, Zhang Yide would return to the Zhuji Middle School gymnasium to observe the team's training progress and ask Cui Tianci what training items He Ximeng had led everyone through today... If he heard of any training items he hadn't heard of, Master San would instruct Cui Tianci to take notes!
"Okay, remember it well, make sure to record it clearly! After the national competition ends, I will write a summary report for the school, and I will need to use these materials..."
Cui Tianci readily agreed, but kept a watchful eye and reported to He Ximeng about Master San asking him to record tactics and training procedures.
He Ximeng didn't mind these at all. He told Cui Tianci to write it down for Master San, considering it as a small gift for the future Zhuji Middle School.
While helping the team improve its strength, He Ximeng did not forget to improve his personal abilities.
From Monday to Friday, he religiously added at least two hours of extra training.
From basic ball-handling skills, passing accuracy, to shooting stability... He Ximeng set himself the most detailed and efficient training plan.
On Saturdays and Sundays, He Ximeng basically trained for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, persistently.
The school gymnasium was not open on weekends, so He Ximeng would take Cui Tianci directly to Zhang Zhenpeng's home gymnasium. Outdoor courts were not impossible, but He Ximeng knew the risks of outdoor courts. Especially at this critical juncture of aiming for the national competition, he could not afford to get injured. A serious injury could potentially ruin all previous efforts... Ruining his efforts was a minor matter. The key was losing the opportunity of the national competition. It would be very difficult for He Ximeng to showcase his talent again.
Zhang Zhenpeng and Zhang Tian'ai couldn't be happier!
Zhang Zhenpeng was worried about not finding opponents to practice with, and Zhang Tian'ai was also worried that there was nothing left to shop for in Zhuji. The places they could shop had already been swept clean multiple times...
He Ximeng's主动上门 (proactive visit) directly made the siblings' weekends much more fulfilling.
The only thing that dissatisfied Zhang Zhenpeng was that He Ximeng spent most of his time training: dribbling drills, passing drills, shooting drills... There was very little time to play one-on-one with Zhang Zhenpeng.
However, He Ximeng taught Zhang Zhenpeng an interesting shooting drill called "chair drill."
This was a common solo training method used by NBA players. Chairs could be used as simulated defenders, placed at both ends of the free-throw line. This position was a common spot in zone defense tactics. The trainee needed to dribble past the "chair defender" and then shoot!
Alternatively, chairs could help players determine shooting positions and running routes, such as making a figure-eight run along several chairs, simulating an off-ball screen, and finally running to a designated spot to pick up the ball from the chair and shoot...
In short, the chair drill was simple, convenient, and highly effective, able to simulate a "shooting with defense" environment as much as possible.
And shooting with defense and shooting without defense placed completely different psychological pressure on the shooter.
After He Ximeng left, Zhang Zhenpeng could continue to improve his shooting skills with the help of the "chair drill" tactic...
In the blink of an eye, three weeks quickly passed, and it was early November. In another week, the Zhuji Middle School basketball team would depart for Shanghai.
This weekend, He Ximeng specifically asked Master San for help to get the school gymnasium for a final joint practice with his teammates.
Weekends were more relaxed than weekdays after school, so the training content would be more substantial.
However, just as He Ximeng finished leading everyone through basic physical training, the gymnasium doors were pushed open by a group of uninvited guests.