Soccer and Hoops

My wife sent me this article from the NY Times today. It’s entitled “Soccer as N.B.A. Building Block” and summarizes the influence of Soccer on many players within the NBA. It’s an intriguing article and one, in my experience, that has plenty of support.

One parallel between the two games that the author didn’t mention–and one that I believe is one of the most important–is the rhythm or flow that is found within the game of Soccer. For I believe that the game of basketball is best played when it is played more like Soccer and less like American Football. For if you take a casual look at the two games, you can see that Soccer is a game that requires the players to read the defense and take chances and communicate with one another and learn how to play together. That’s true in American Football as well, but in a much different sense. For American Football is much more detailed and/or structured. Rhythm is necessary, of course, but it is a different kind of rhythm. After all, you run a play (that you have mapped out) and then return to the huddle to prepare for the next one.

From my vantage point, Basketball encompasses the best of both worlds. For there needs to be a good deal of freedom while playing the game. But at the same time, more structure is needed than in the game of Soccer. At times, you need to play with greater freedom, make reads, etc. and at other times, you need to stick to the game plan and make your reads in a more limited context (like American Football).

That being said, I believe the most dangerous teams (and the teams most fun to watch and play for) are the teams that know how to play the game of basketball with that Soccer element….with that element of freedom that makes the game so fun and your team so dangerous because you don’t know what they might do next. It’s the element that helps you work together, communicate with one another; the element that enables everyone on the squad to be on the same page and to function as one.

Structure will still be found (as it is in Soccer), but not in a restrictive sense, but in a sense that brings true freedom and, in my opinion, a greater chance for victory.