Unified Sports - 3v3 Player Development

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February 9, 2022

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Agenda

• What are Unified Sports
• Player Development 101
• Rules of 3v3
• Rule Differences
• Getting Started
• Questions

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What are Unified Sports

Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team.

It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.

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3 Types

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1. Competition
2. Player Development
3. Recreation

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Player Development

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Why Player Development

• A gap exists in the sequence for a group of athletes with lower ability levels or challenges in team sports. These athletes participate either in Individual Sports Skills Competitions or the lowest competition divisions for team sports.
• Transitional Team Sports, like basketball, require the application of learned skills and tactics in an ever-changing “flow” environment where teams switch from offense to defense.
• The Unified Sports Player Development model works well for transitional team sports.
• The guidance of a Unified Partner allows Special Olympics athletes to learn the skill of making quick decisions or deciding which skills should be applied in a fast changing dynamic setting.
• The overall team experience for the athletes is significantly enhanced.

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What is Player Development

• The purpose of Player Development is for athletes to acquire the skills, understanding and confidence to independently play a team sport.
• Unified partners act as mentor coaches on the field of play with verbal, visual and physical cues as well as encouragement during practices and competitions.
• Special Olympics athletes improve their skills and knowledge through the on-court coaching/mentor support provided by the Unified partners.
• During competition, athletes play and Unified partners coach and facilitate play on successful Player Development teams.

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Athlete Benefits

• Sport confidence and skills improvement
• Instruction occurs in an interactive way and in close proximity between the Unified partners and athletes.
• Shared on-court experiences foster the development of friendships.
• Athletes learn through modeling the actions of Unified partners
• Improved understanding of teamwork, cooperative effort, and communication
• Opportunity for skills athlete to participate in a team sport.
• Opportunity for 3v3 athletes to improve their game and play at a higher level.

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Role of Unified Partners

• On-court mentor, teacher and supporter of the athletes
• Role as a facilitator – setting the athletes up for success
• Model behavior – if the ball comes to you on a rebound – model appropriate behavior
• Partners coach and players play (2 on 2)

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Role of Unified Partners

• A Unified partner MAY NOT do the following:
• Shoot
• Play defense against an opposing Special Olympics athlete
• Play defense against the opposing “Partner/Coach”
• Steal the ball
• Set screens
• Favor one athlete
• Compete against athlete for a loose ball
• Actively rebound

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Role of Unified Partners

Unified partners CAN:

• Dribble and pass
• Rebound if ball falls within their general vicinity
• Provide continual on-court instruction to their athlete teammates verbally and visually.

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Rebounding: Unified Partners should not rebound unless the ball comes directly to them or falls in their general vicinity. In these instances, Unified Partners should demonstrate appropriate playing actions as “mentor coaches” and rebound the ball.

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Role of Coaches

• Recruit Partners
• Identify Athletes
• Organize practices
• Teach the athletes the skills and technically skills
• Teach the partners how to coach the athletes on the court
• Assess the athletes on how they learn – visually or auditory
• During the Games
• Coach is instructing the partner
• Coach substitutions/rotations
• Coach/Partners communication – short phrases/commands to help them see what the athletes might be doing on the court

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�Rules of 3v3

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The Game

• Points - Field goal counts one points, unless attempted from behind the arc, when it counts 2 points.
• A made free throw counts one point.
• Stopped clock applied. The clock will stop for all dead ball situations (e.g., fouls, violations, field goals with a foul, and timeouts).
• Game Start - flip of a coin for possession.

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The Game

There is no jump ball. All jump balls will be administered by alternate possession, starting with the team that wins the flip of the coin.

• If overtime is required due to a tie at the end of regulation play, the team that didn’t start the game with ball possession, will start the overtime.

The referee will handle the ball after a dead-ball-situation.

Ball is dead after a foul or violation is called or any other time the referee blows his/her whistle.

After a made field goal the ball is still alive

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The Game

Teams change possession of the ball after made field goals

On any change of possession, the team which just gained possession of the ball must take the ball back behind the arc.One 60-second timeout is allowed per team.

A player injury timeout may be called by the referee

No Jump balls! The ball shall be awarded to the defensive team.

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The Game

Fouls -

On all fouls (personal, common, technical), the offended against team will get possession of the ball at the designated spot behind the foul line extended and within the restraining circle at the top of the key.

There are no individual or team foul limits.

The referee can decide to give a player an Unsportsmanlike foul if the player does not adapt his/her game after making several fouls and a warning of the referee.

(2 Unsportsmanlike foul is disqualification of the game.)

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The Game

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• A technical foul shall be awarded with 1 free throw and ball possession.
• An unsportsmanlike foul shall be awarded with 2 free throws and ball.
• A player making a throw-in shall have five seconds to release the ball.
• The penalty for taking more than five seconds shall be loss of possession.

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Rule Differences

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Rule Differences

• The Game - 15 minutes or scores 21 points.
• Team Min and Max
• Minimum: 4 athletes and 2 Unified partners
• Maximum: 5 athletes and 3 Unified partners
• Starting line-up
• 2 Athletes
• 1 Unified Partner

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Rule Differences

• Age Requirement
• All players must be of similar age
• Under 18 maximum age variance allowed is 4 years
• This means max of 4 years between the youngest and oldest player; example if the youngest player is 12, all other players must be 16 or younger
• Over 18 maximum age variance allowed is 20 years.

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The Game

i. Substitutions: A head coach may make a substitution in dead ball situations only (i.e. after a basket has been made, the ball goes out of bounds, or a foul is called). The coach must inform the referee first, who will stop play momentarily to allow the substitution. The referee should preferably use a verbal and physical signal (see diagram):

ii. Travelling: The referee will allow Special Olympics athletes an extra step with the ball before calling a travel violation. This includes a shuffle step a player may use when positioning himself/herself towards the basket for a shot.

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The Game

iii. Three Second Rule: The three second rule allowing offensive players to remain in the free throw lane for only three seconds will not be enforced against Special Olympics athletes, but will be enforced against the Unified partners.

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iv. Referee’s Discretion: Keeping in mind the primary purpose and spirit of the Unified player development experience, the referee will utilize his/her best discretion to determine if a minor violation should be called.

For example, if a player technically carries the ball but does not gain a competitive advantage as a result, the referee may decline to make this call.

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�Getting Started

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Recruitment Athletes

• Skill Athletes
• Coachable athlete
• Basic skills of basketball
• Shoot a ball (close to the basketball)
• Dribble ball (not standing in place)
• Lower Level 3v3 teams
• Well suited for this opportunity
• Take your current 3v3 team and add 2 or 3 partners!

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Recruitment Partners

• Siblings
• Coaches from other sports not in season
• Unified Partners need to be able to:
• Coach our athletes
• Understand they are not a player, or playing the other Unified partner

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Competition Opportunities

• When starting player development it is highly encouraged to develop multiple teams to allow more competition opportunities at the local & Regional level.
• Opportunities will be made available at State and Sectional events.

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Player Development teams should only play against other player development teams.

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Questions???

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April L & L

April 13, 2022 @ 12 pm

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What kind of Coach are you? Driver, Analyzer, Expresser or Amiable!

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April Registration Link

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