The Bill Lavery House of the Running 1-Hander!!!…Some say “runner” and some say “floater”! But is there a difference?…Most kids today are taught to do a right handed lay-up off their left foot. Conversely, these same kids are taught to do a left handed lay-up off their right foot. This is great and the absolute best way to teach kids. When we see this sequence of skills it looks right to most people and to most every basketball player in the United States; it feels right. I also believe that in 2nd or 3rd grade every coach in America deserves to do a happy dance when their last kid in line does a “fundamentally correct” lay-up on both sides of the rim. #happydance #fundamentals #happycoach…
There are moves in basketball that change how a generation of kids play the game, the most recent one has certainly been the euro-step. This move is now a mainstay but it definitely took some time to catch on. When kids think of the best euro-steps in the NBA, they often think of guys like James Harden. However, let’s not forget guys like Manu Ginobili and Šarūnas Marčiulionis who walked the dog first.…If you’ve ever played defense and been beaten by a euro step, it’s a drowning in quicksand type of feeling. It makes you as a defender think, I am going to use this move the next time I am on offense.…If you have never been hit by a runner, it is similar to the feeling of being hit by a euro-step, just more confusing. It, at the very least is an eye opening experience but unfortunately it is still not in every kid’s bag like the euro is.…To spark this article, a friend sent me a video of the top 10 plays from MaxPreps. As I turned on the video, I heard the commentator say the words NOELLE LAVERY!!! At that moment, I knew what was coming. He didn’t need to tell me that the runner was coming, I knew it and couldn’t wait to watch it. In fact, I think I’ve watched it 25 times. See, her dad Bill Lavery coached pro basketball in the old CBA with the Rockford Lightning and had a runner that certainly could have been trademarked.…So, now I’m on a mission to find out more about Coach Lavery’s daughter. How’s she doing? What’s she averaging? Are any schools looking at her? The last time I was in the gym with Noelle, she was probably in 6th grade working on her game daily. Come to find out, she is almost averaging 19 PPG and 9 RPG at Rockford Christian High School as a junior with official visits to D2 schools scheduled after the season concludes. Wow! Love it! I look forward to checking out her Rockford Heat travel team play and watch her accolades continue to grow as a 3 year varsity starter in high school.…But, the question still exists; should it be called a runner or a floater?…
The MaxPreps reporter in the video below called it a “floater” and after watching it, I don’t think anyone would argue that the ball floated through the air as if it was suspended at its peak just waiting to hit the bottom of the net in an instant. Yes, agreed; that was a floater!!!…(And now inside Coach Warner’s head for a brief paragraph.)…Yes, agreed; that was a floater!!! Or was it? What? I just convinced myself it was a floater, and now I’m wondering whether it’s a runner instead. Dude, you should know this. What will people think if you don’t know what you’re talking about? You are an idiot, that’s a runner…a floater…a runner…a floater!!! Ok, fine if the definition of a runner is to attack the basket off the dribble and right when the defender is on their heals, the driver turns it into a running shot, it should be a called a runner!!! Explained! Confirmed! End of Story!…(That was a scary place!)…Fine, needless to say I’m convinced I don’t really know, I need to call in the expert. So, I picked up the phone and called Coach Lavery himself. My goal was to find out; is it a runner or is it a floater? After several minutes of me complimenting Noelle on the time it takes to establish a move, it was determined that I was wrong on both accords and was not teaching my players the best terminology.
Coach Lavery convinced me that the best term for the runner/floater debate is that it should be called a “running 1-hander” because that encompasses everything.…While I’ve mocked him for years about his unorthodox, yet effective shot, I continue to teach it to the younger players I coach in middle and high school but I have waffled in my naming of it depending on my mood. I do know this though, moving forward I will change my vernacular to describe the shot I teach as a “running 1-hander” based on that video and my investigative skills.…Through my years, I have always respected the coaches like the Don Meyers of the world or the Pat Sullivan’s who certainly could have coached at the highest levels but decided to teach not only players but coaches as well. I think what I learned most from guys like that is that nobody knows everything about the game of basketball and the more you seek out answers to basketball related questions, the better coach you become.…If by writing this I can encourage one coach to think outside the proverbial box of teaching “fundamentally correct” basketball, we will be one step closer to introducing the 1-handed runner to more kids and hopefully it can be quicker than the dwell period of the euro-step.…In the meantime, keep walking the dog Noelle, the rest of the country will hopefully see this and try to figure out how it works and we can get a new generation of kids coaching coaches the running 1-hander.…
See out the 2 videos below.
- From MaxPreps top plays – showing off her running 1 – hander
- From Hudl top 5 plays – showing off her running 1 -hander
- A Hudl Video of some clips of Noelle
Coach Jason WarnerCheck out the hudl video herehttps://www.hudl.com/v/2B4uiMCheck out the MaxPreps video herehttps://youtu.be/2HfHszgYF54Here are some additional highlights of Noelle.http://www.hudl.com/v/2Ax9tD
