Project by: Ruby Hutchins (11th Grade)
Project Advisor: Preethi Thomas-McKnight
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Preethi Thomas-McKnight

I set out to design a new pre-game warm up for the Varsity Girls Basketball team. This is my third year on the team and by changing the warm up for each game, I hoped that the players would go into each game better prepared, more energetic and ready to play. I believed that the stretches and drills we do before each game can have a significant impact in how well we play each game, as well as protect our bodies from injury. I looked at the most recent research on the types of movement that can benefit the players, and sufficiently warm up the major muscle groups that are used in basketball. I also wanted to change the drills we do, so that instead of spending a majority of our time standing in line waiting to take a layup, we would actually be shooting/dribbling/passing, in a way that minimizes the wait time. I hoped to learn about how to structure the warm-up so that all athletes get the movement and stretching they need to keep their bodies injury-free, as how to design the drills in which everyone is involved and touching a basketball for the majority of the time, allowing for athletes who are “ready to play” by the time the game starts.

Video showing part of the warmup the varsity girls did before we played York Prep:

Reflection: Updated 12/11/19:       

I went to both a Varsity boys and a JV boys game to watch their warm ups before the games to see what kinds of drills they did and if they were different from ours. I found that both teams stick to just one or two drills during the warm up, but the drills that they were doing encompassed shooting, dribbling, and passing. I found that how the players acted really differed between the Varsity and JV teams. The Varsity boys seemed to be serious and be concentrating intensely on the drills, while the JV boys didn’t seem to take the warm up very seriously. Right when the game started however, both teams seemed to concentrate and focus on the game. I wonder if concentrating and focusing during the warm up really improves how you play in the game, because then the players don’t have to change how they act really fast.

My notes on the JV and Varsity warm ups:

JV Boys Warmup: I went to a JV boys game to watch their warmup and I found out a couple of interesting things. They did layup lines almost the entire time and they didn’t take it very seriously. Many of them missed layups because they weren’t really concentrating on making them, and when they missed they would get the ball and make bad passes to their teammates who were waiting for a while in the long lines. After about ten minutes of layup lines, they then took foul shots one person at a time. They didn’t have enough time to all take foul shots though, and only about five of them got to before the coach called them in for a team huddle since the game was about to start. I watched a lot of their game too, and I found that for the most part they all acted totally different in the game, than how they acted during the warmup. They were all super serious and concentrated on making good passes, and taking good shots, which is totally different from how they acted during the warmup. (The entire warmup was about 15 minutes → 10 min of layup lines, 3 min of foul shots, and 2 min talking to coaches). 

Varsity Boys Warmup: I went to a varsity boys game to watch their warmup and it was slightly different from the JV boys. At first they were all shooting at the same time and they had a bunch of different balls which seemed kind of unorganized. However, once more people got there to watch the games, they started doing layup lines. They modified the layup line drill, so they had three lines, one which dribbles to the basket then passes, one that catches the ball and makes a layup, and one that rebounds. This drill made a lot of sense because they aren’t just making layups, but they’re also working on dribbling and passing too. They did jump shots, and threes in the same drill too, but I noticed that they didn’t do those drills on the left side. They only did it all on the right, which isn’t realistic since in a game they’ll be using both sides. I also watched the other team warm up (Mary McDowell) and they did the same three line layup drill that LREI did. (Although they did warmup on both the left and right sides). Mary McDowell also did a drill where one at a time, each player dribbled from the baseline out to the three point line, then crossed over/ changed direction, and then made a layup. This was a really cool drill and the only thing I didn’t like about it was the fact that only one person could go at a time. They waited in lines for a while before being able to go, when at least two people could have probably gone at the same time. (Two sides of the court/ along the two wings)

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Reflection: Updated 11/13/19: I started this honors project by planning and coming up with ideas on how to figure out what the best warmup for the varsity girls basketball team would be. I found reputable websites on dynamic warmups, stretches, drills, and the order in which you should do each part of the warmup. I found that the dynamic warmup goes first which includes jogging around the court, defensive slides, back peddling, and footwork patterns until the players break a sweat. Then the stretches come after that and the main reason for them is injury prevention and doing certain stretches can help with certain injuries and with injury prevention. 

I’ve gone to a lot of college basketball camps over the past summer and I’ve remembered a lot of the warmup drills they would have all of us players do and I recorded which ones kept reappearing at multiple camps. A lot of the drills are variations of what drills we do during the warmup before our games already, but they really help with warming up different muscles and getting us prepared for the game with the lines being shorter and things like that. I know that they will help get warmed up so much faster than our current system and will help us play better in games too. I then went to Thompson and I did the laps around the gym, the stretches to halfcourt, and some of the layup drills but added time for the lines, and then I added up all the time for each part of the warmup. 

I made a different list for warmups before practices and the warmups before games because I realized that I have much more freedom before games and not practice. We also have a lot more time in practice but my coaches will probably give me only 15 minutes for the warmup before each practice. For games, we have more time to warm up and I can design not just stretches and sprints, but also actual drills and plan them out so that all players are able to practice passing, shooting and dribbling. 

I started these warmups in the past two games that we’ve had. With the help of some of the other players, I led the dynamic warmup and started the shooting drills before each game. I felt like we didn’t have a ton of time to warmup so I didn’t get to do everything that I wanted including the foul shots, and dribbling/passing drills, but I think later on in our season we will have more time before some of our games and I will be able to lead all those other drills. I believe based on all the research I did, the stretches that we’re all doing before each practice and game now will definitely help reduce the risk of injury. We had some already injured players before the season even started, and we can’t afford to lose anyone else even for just a few days because we have a smaller team this year. I can already see an improvement in the way that we’re playing, and I’m glad that I started this honor’s project and the warmup is changing. 

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PROJECT PROPOSAL:

Please write a description of the project you are proposing. Why do you want to take this on, and what do you hope to learn?

I plan to design a new pre-game warm up for the Varsity Girls Basketball team. This will be my third year on the team and by changing the warm up for each game, I believe the players will go into each game better prepared, energetic and ready to play. I believe the stretches and drills we do before each game have a significant impact in how well we play each game, as well as protect our bodies from injury. I will look at the most recent research on the type of movement that will benefit all the players, and sufficiently warm up the major muscle groups we use in basketball. I also want to change the drills we do, so that instead of spending a majority of our time standing in line waiting to take a layup, we can actually be shooting/dribbling/passing, in a way that minimizes the wait time. I hope to learn about how to structure the warm-up so that all athletes get the movement and stretching they need to keep their bodies injury-free, as how to design the drills in which everyone is involved and touching a basketball for the majority of the time, allowing for athletes who are “ready to play” by the time the game starts.

Critical thinking, creativity, citizenship and courage are essential LREI learning values. Explain how you’ll draw on at least one of these values to complete your proposed project?

Through this honors project, I’ll be primarily focusing on the creativity learning value. I’m planning to design something completely different than what most teams always do. I’m trying to figure out the types of movements and drills that will effectively work and warm us all up to get us ready for each game. I need to be creative to figure out what’s possible and what will work for us with the short amount of time we have.

What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project? How do you plan to share your learnings with the larger LREI community (e.g., exhibit of work, poster of learnings, performance, etc.)?

I want the final “product” to be presenting all the information that I’ve learned to my coaches, and then hearing their feedback and hopefully implementing most of my findings and new ideas into the warm up before each of our games. I want this project to not just be about the research but also about really trying out these methods and drills to see the impact they have on our games.

Please provide a general outline that indicates your work plan for the trimester? What are some of the key project benchmarks (i.e., goals that will help to ensure that you finish the project)?

First I want to find reputable sources, (articles, interviews, books, websites etc).
Then I want to pull out relevant information that would improve the warm up for high school basketball players.
Then using what I’ve learned, I will design a warm up including both the stretching and drills that will benefit all the players.
I’ll then present my new warm up plan to my coaches and explain to them the drills that I’ve come up with and how these changes will positively impact the outcome in our games. With their help, I’ll implement the new warm up time before each varsity game.

When do you plan on meeting?
(Not sure yet)