WNBA expansion team Portland Fire uses training concept that emphasizes creativity, problem-solving

Fire had to move fast

The Fire and the league's other expansion franchise, the Toronto Tempo, had a shortened timeline to prepare for the season because of the drawn-out negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement. So Portland's quickly assembled roster has had little time to absorb Sarama's philosophy. At Fire practices, small-sided games are the norm, shot clocks are shortened and the emphasis is on speed. During one drill he told players: “We’re going a million miles an hour, but that’s by design.” Sarama wrote a book about the method: “Transforming Basketball: Changing How We Think About Basketball Performance.” And he's certainly not the only one to employ CLA. Los Angeles-based skills trainer Noah LaRoche has worked with Kelsey Plum and Russell Westbrook, as well as NBA teams. And CLA is not limited to basketball; The method has been used in other sports, including baseball and soccer. “With a CLA approach, it’s all about giving the players more autonomy," Sarama said. "Instead of saying you must do this movement, or I want to teach you this two-ball dribbling and do the same dribble over and over, or do this move to finish, it’s more we’re creating opportunities for them to be the decision-makers. We’re going to create environments where you’ve got to find the best solutions. I’m not always going to tell you what they are as the coach.” And that's part of Sarama's approach, too, letting the players lead. “He knows what he’s talking about,” guard Sug Sutton said. “He has a lot of intent to what he does, and that’s just going to carry over to us, and it’s just going to continue to allow us to have fun and bring that intent to practice.” In theory, the training results in better adaptability to different offenses and defenses during games. Los Angeles Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said many WNBA teams employ some aspects of CLA within practice, but Sarama is all-in. “They play a very unique style, and credit to them, they kind of take you out of what you're doing,” said Roberts, whose team faced the Fire in the preseason. Whether Sarama's approach yields results during the first season remains to be seen. The Fire intentionally signed players who fit within that vision, including many with experience overseas. Portland opens the season on Saturday at home against the Chicago Sky. Sarama sees the Fire as a long-term project. As with any expansion team, the results might not be there at first. “I think as an expansion team, if we want to be the most competitive team we can be, we have to be doing things differently,” he said. “If we’re copying every other team in the league, we’re probably doing something wrong. So if we want to get the community of Portland behind us, and we want to become the best team we can in the shortest amount of time, we need to push the boundaries of innovation.” \\\_ AP WNBA: