Youth Coaching

[chasineyes]

Hi, I'm a coach for a 3rd and 4th grade in house team. I'm looking for some tips or rules that other towns/teams enlist in their programs. One of the things I"m trying to change is a "no steal" policy. So far this year we have been trying to run our "play" but as soon as the girl crosses the half court line it is stolen. Now I"m sure I could tell her to just drive by the girl and go to the hoop but want usually ends up happening is a pass (or heave) of the ball up in the air. I'm in the camp that half of the girls playing have NEVER played ball before and am seeing that this constant steal and run is portraying a negative affect on the game. I gues if we just want to steal and run, steal and run that's what we will do. But then don't turn around 4 or 5 years from now and wonder why they don't know how to pass or play as a team.

Help please!! By the way, we have about 5 practices and 13 games a season.

[jpettit]

would setting a pick or screen work to get pas tthe 1/2 court line?

or try a pass prior to getting to the line have a player step out to take ball quicker. just a thought. i agree with you if we don't teach kids early they are clueless, disinterested if they keep losing, ther is nothing better than coaching & seeing it finally click for them. good luck.

[chasineyes]

I know what your saying but I'm still having a hard enough time getting them into their "position". We are trying a simple 1-2-2 offense. And the 2 High post players still don't know where there "home" is.

[CJH]

I know when I was young we ran a 1-4 offense. Before the point came across half court he would call a number and (10, 20, 30, 40 - or whatever works for you) and that person would come up and set a pick around the elbow. From there they would roll or pop for a jump shot (call out 15, 25, 35, 45). Often the PG just got a layup.

Doesn't seem like very many practices.

Good Luck!!

[Scott M]

Are you saying before any play can be run, opposing teams are swiping the ball from the point guard when she crosses the timeline, or the opposing team is overplaying the passing lanes and stealing passes?

For the former I would get the girls to practice their dribbling skills...make invisible lanes they have to work from one end of the floor to the other in with a defender covering them. Tell the defender to keep her arms behind her back and stop the dribbler by cutting her off with only her body. Then tell the dribbler to work back and forth in the invisible lane and up and down the court...the dribbler must learn to crossover, keep her body between the ball and the defender, and look up while dribbling. It's hard to play games without any fundamentals, because like you say, young players can learn bad habits or get discouraged quickly.

For the latter problem, I would make the girls work on v cuts. Make them sell going one way, then popping out on the wing to catch the ball and initiate the offense. This is another good practice activity. Making offensive players set up their defenders on the wing, practicing good crisp passing, showing hands on the wing, and if you want to add another wrinkle, make the defense defend it, and teach the girls that if the defense overplays, you can go to the backdoor cut. Keep it all very simple.

*****************

These days they're starting them earlier and earlier in games. I played traveling ball and AAU starting in fifth grade but formally started in community education in 1st grade...We scrimmaged a couple times in 1st and 2nd, then increasingly more in 3rd and 4th, but the emphasis in grades 1-4 was fundamentals and having fun...it got more competitive with each increasing year. I'm not saying that's the only way to do things, but it certainly helps hone a certain amount of skill before starting competition.

Good luck coach. You don't have an easy job, and the imbalance of practice and games doesn't give you much time for teaching which it sounds like this group needs more than games.

[mitch]

Are you looking to change to a no steal rule?

I ref a lot of 4th-JV games and in some tournaments there is a "No Steal" rule for the young teams. The rule says that you can only steal on a pass. You can't steal from a dribbling player or a player that is just holding the ball.

It seems to help a bit. There is less reaching in on the defense and it teaches them to play D with their feet, not hands. I think the teams can move the ball around a little better with the rule. It gives the offense a slight advantage, which is needed at a young age. Anyone who has watched a 4th grade basketball game knows you are lucky if you score 25 points combined in a game.

I'm not sure if the rule will help your offense work any better but it might help the girls get around defenders and pass better. It also lowers the amount of jump balls and reach in fouls that are often called in 3-5th grade games (which really speeds up games and makes them more enjoyable to watch).

The most important part is that they have fun and want to keep playing the next year. I laugh at the parents and coaches that yell and get really intense at these 4th grade games (not saying you do). The outcome of games at this age doesn't matter. I can barely remember varsity games I played in 5 years ago let alone games in 4th grade.

Its something you could bring up to the other coaches or the league director. Sorry for rambling, but I hope this is what you were looking for if not just ignore it.

[Wildabeast]

I would take a look at a variety of local athletic associations inhouse rules. IIRC (it's been a couple of years) our local association had a loose rule early in the season (first 2 games 5&6 graders) that the defense couldn't pick up the PG at the line, they had to lay off to the top of key. If you go to the MYAS site they have links to most of the local associations and they will generally have the local inhouse rules available. Here's a link to my local assocition inhouse rules page http://www.eaasports.org/page/show/189327-coaches-corner. Good luck with getting the change. I've coached inhouse volleyball, football, and baseball (helped with basketball) and lack of practice time is always a problem. Face it though, there is a lack of facilities in most communities to accomidate the demand of youth athletics. In inhouse you can't really spend the time to help individuals you need to concentrate on the team. I try to teach the players some drills they can work on during the week on their own and then work on team skills during practice. It also helps if you can get interested parents to help in running drills. I use to help my sons basketball team by working with the bigs on post play and how to shoot while being fouled.

[guideman]

Hey coach,

First of all I'd like to say thank you for taking the time to coach. The people who take the time to coach grade school atheletics rarely get the thanks that they deserve. Especially coaching young girls who have probably never played a real game in their entire lives. Back in the day I coached my own kids in grade school and it's not an easy task for sure. The no steal rule really helped to get the kids into the game. It's tough enough for younsters to learn how to handle the ball. Most get to frustrated when they constanly have the ball taken away by the other team. The suggestion above about talking to the other coaches or your league officers is a good one. If you can get everybody on the same page I'm sure they will go for it. Afterall the kids should be the most important issue at that age not who wins or loses the game. JMHO.

"Ace"

[Weed Shark]

I seem to recall a "no steal off the dribble" policy at some point when my boys were really young. I just checked our Wayzata boy basketball HSOforum, and steals of all types are allowed at every level listed, second grade and up. There are various rules at younger levels: "no double teaming," "no pressing," "no pressing in the last two minutes." In second grade there was "no switching on defense."

I felt last year our 4th grade coaches were too intent on running "the play." (I was one of three "tag team" head coaches for my youngest, and also head coached at the 7th grade level). The team bogged down at half court and was afraid to cross the line (learning V-cuts and to back-door defenders who over play the pass helped somewhat). For a long time they didn't even look to fast break because they had to run "the play." Defenders picked up quickly where "the play-had to go" and adjusted.

I prefer dribbling across half court with the help of a pick and roll. The dribbler has to at least glance up for the roll to the hoop, it's usually open. If not a lay-up, this should accomplish getting the ball closer to the hoop (about the 3 point line), where it can be attacked. Also teaching to catch and turn into the triple threat position after catching a pass, instead of dribbling right away (try taking away the dribble for a practice drill). You're easily in trouble, once you pick up your dribble.

Most youngsters really telegraph their passes. I tell kids, “Fake a pass, to make a pass.” Hopefully it sinks in with some of them.

Hope that helps some...Thanks for coaching!

[Coach1310]

#1. THANK YOU chasineyes for volunteering to coach. Most folks don't understand the sacrifice made by volunteering to be a coach. It is a lot easier to sit in the bleachers and just be a fan, but youth sports NEED people like you to help them go.

#2. Focus as much as you can on the fundamentals. Learning an offense can take a TON of repetition to understand and there is a good chance any play you incorporate will be thrown to the wind next year anyway. Really focus on ball handling and spacing skills to allow more open lanes for your ball handlers. Not only will this improve your success this year, but the skills they improve they can take with them for years to come.

#3. Don't be afraid to talk to your program administrator or the opposing coaches about the issue. It may be that your program administrator doesn't know this is a problem and may implement a rule change to fix it. Also, an opposing coach may be on board with a rule for that particular game to help all parties involved.

#4. If the above do not incur the results you were looking for a simple screen for the ball handler should help a bunch. In my experience focusing on the skill of setting a screen and rolling to the basket is much more beneficial to the players than spending a ton of time on executing a perfect play.

**Sorry for the winded response. I train hundreds of coaches a year and sometimes I start preaching..... good luck and thanks again for coaching in your community.