Basketball on the Edge – What Should a Youth Basketball Practice Look Like?
As a parent of a young basketball player what should you be looking for in a youth basketball practice? There are youth basketball coaches with all different styles, abilities and knowledge of the game out there coaching kids. The good ones have certain characteristics and run their practices in such a way to help every player on the team improve their skills.
The first thing that should be happening is that every player should have a ball in their hands for the majority of the practice. The coach should be using drills that enable every player to be working with the ball. That means a lot of dribbling and shooting drills where each player is moving through the drill with his or her own ball, not waiting for the ball to be passed to them or standing around waiting for their turn with the ball. The drills should be simple to understand so that time is not lost explaining a complicated drill. Repetition builds skills and skill building is confidence building. Good coaches have a practice routine that incorporates many of the same drills every practice to reinforce key skills like a crossover dribble or a layup with the weak hand and then challenges players with drills just outside their players comfort zones.
Players should be encouraged to make mistakes. There is research out there as described by Daniel Coyle in his book The Talent Code that says the most beneficial type of practice occurs when the player tries to do something that is just a little too hard for them. The coach should be affirming that struggle. For example, when the player shoots a layup on the left side with their left hand, but misses the coach should acknowledge that the player was pushing themselves to learn something new even though they might have easily been able to make the shot with their right hand. This is great advice for parents too. Recognize your young player’s effort as much as their accomplishment. If parents and coaches praise the effort of a young player the child will connect their hard work with success. Sometimes praising an accomplishment will result in complacency. Young players have to be willing to look or be bad at a skill in order to get better at it. Coaches should be praising kids who are trying new skills during practice.
On the other side, a good youth basketball coach shouldn’t have 30 different “plays”. First of all if the team is only working on plays, that is a lot of standing around listening to the coach talk and explain what must happen to make the play successful. There are usually 5 kids on the floor during this time and the rest of the team is just standing and watching (and maybe listening depending on how long the explanation takes). Secondly, the younger the players the less likely it is they will remember the plays under pressure in a game situation no matter how many times they go over them. Time working on plays is time that could be spent improving the skill level of every player on the team. An organized team should have a couple of out of bounds plays, and maybe 2 or 3 offensive plays that they can execute. Any more than that is a waste a valuable practice time. A more skilled team will win more games too.
A youth basketball coach should be teaching and playing man to man defense. Many youth leagues ban zone defenses, but even in those that don’t, a good coach should be teaching man defense. As players get older and zones become a part of the game, those zones (at least the good ones) are based on man to man principles. Youth league zones usually involve 5 players standing in place with their hands in the air. That does not teach young players how to play. I understand why some coaches play a zone. It gives up mostly outside shots and keeps the ball out of the lane. Most youth basketball players aren’t great shooters from 17 feet. A zone may help the team win more games, but is that really the point of youth basketball? Or is developing the skill level of the players more important? Remember, skill building is confidence building.
Look for some of these things the next time you attend one of your young player’s practices and make sure the programs and teams your child is a part of have good coaching. Your young player will be better for it.
If you are a coach looking for some great drills to use in your practices or a parent looking to help your child get better check out our Make the Team Plan on www.headstartedge.pro
Basketball on the Edge – What Height Should the Basket be for my Young Player?
There are two schools of thought here in regard to basket height for young players. One says that the regulation basket is 10 feet and that is where it should be for everyone regardless of their age or size. The other one says that the height of the basket should be adjusted based on the age or strength of the player.
I believe that the basket height should be lower for younger, smaller players. As a parent you should start the basket low enough so that the child can shoot the basketball with proper form. That will vary from player to player, but a good rule of thumb is to match the age of the child to the height of the basket. So a 6 year old would shoot on a 6 foot basket, a 7 year old on a 7 foot basket, an 8 year old on an 8 foot basket and a 9 year old on a 9 foot basket. After that, you need to make a judgement about the ability of your young player to shoot the basketball with proper form on a 10 foot basket. If they can shoot from 15-17 feet with good form then move your basket height up to 10 feet. If they can’t, keep the basket lower until they develop the strength and proper shooting mechanics at 9 feet.
If you watch kids play basketball many of them have very poor shooting mechanics they developed from trying to heave the ball at a 10 foot basket. They simply don’t have the strength to get the ball to the rim without sacrificing proper fundamentals. Those habits they develop when they are young are very difficult to break as they get older. It is much easier to develop proper shooting form in a young player than it is to correct the flaws in an older player’s shot. Fixing bad shooting mechanics can take months of daily practice and even then many players are not able to remake their shot. Help your child develop the proper techniques when they are young by keeping the basket at a height that enables them to learn to shoot properly.
Parents and coaches on the other side of this debate argue that kids should be practicing on the regulation basket where they will play their games. Your young player will be able to make the adjustment to the higher basket when they play in games. In fact, they will be a better shooter in the present time (and certainly in the future) than those kids who always practice on a 10 foot basket. Besides, your child will get plenty of shots at a 10 foot basket during their team practices, games, gym class, etc. Let them build their shooting skills on the driveway on a lower rim. Shooting at a lower basket builds confidence. Remember – Skill building is confidence building. I grew up playing on my driveway with a lower basket until I was about 12 years old. I believe it helped me develop the shooting mechanics that made me a Division 1 college player.
How much sense does it make to have a 6 year old and LeBron James shooting at a basket that is the same height. I would argue not very much. Help your young player develop the proper mechanics for shooting the basketball and keep the basket height lower. Your child will be a better shooter as a result!
Basketball on the Edge – My Type of Player
My college coach at Kent State gave me this list in a notebook during our first team meeting my freshman year. I took the list to heart and tried to be his type of player. What type of player does your child want to be?
My Type of Player
1. Is always loyal to their team, their school, and their coach.
2. Will accept decisions made by the coach because they are made in the best interest of the team.
3. Never criticizes a teammate, realizes that basketball is a team game and many times a team is only as strong as its weakest player.
4. Knows that referees are human and that arguing with them may cause an unfavorable decision later in the game.
5. Does not give up after a missed shot, bad pass, or bad break.
6. Never underrates an opponent. Any player with a basketball in their hands is capable of beating you.
7. Is a hustler every second in practice and in games.
8. Never makes excuses.
9. Plays hard.
10. Is a coachable player!
Basketball on the Edge – Dr. James Naismith’s 13 Original Rules of Basketball
Check out the 13 original rules of basketball written by Dr. James Naismith in 1891. The game sure has changed!
- The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.
- The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with the fist).
- A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man who catches the ball when running at a good speed if he tries to stop.
- The ball must be held in or between the hands; the arms or body must not be used for holding it
- No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping, or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed; the first infringement of this rule by any player shall count as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made, or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game, no substitute allowed.
- A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violation of Rules 3,4, and such as described in Rule 5.
- If either side makes three consecutive fouls, it shall count a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the mean time making a foul).
- A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal.
- When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. In case of a dispute, the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds; if he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on that side.
- The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.
- The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made, and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.
- The time shall be two 15-minute halves, with five minutes’ rest between.
- The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. In case of a draw, the game may, by agreement of the captains, be continued until another goal is made.
Note: Basketball was originally two words and these original rules were published January 15, 1892 in the Springfield College school newspaper, The Triangle.
Basketball on the Edge – The Importance of Sportsmanship
If your child has attended one of our Head Start Basketball Camps they have heard my speech about sportsmanship. I give the speech the first day of camp before we play our games. Sportsmanship is very important to us here at Head Start Basketball. We want our young players to play the game the right way, the HSB way.
What does that mean? We want young players to have good sportsmanship with three groups of people involved in any game they play.
Have good sportsmanship with your teammates. When they do something good out on the floor tell them “Nice shot” or “Great pass”. You never know how uplifting that can be to the spirit of that player and the team. If a teammate makes a mistake, don’t criticize them, encourage them with “Nice try” or “Let’s get it next time”. Share the ball. No one likes to play with someone who never passes the ball.
Have good sportsmanship with your opponents. Focus your energy on what you have to do, don’t worry about what your opponent is doing. Don’t taunt your opponent. Celebrate with your teammates when something good happens, don’t direct your celebration at your opponents. Always respect your opponent. Try your best to win and when the game is over, shake hands with your opponent and say “Good game”.
Have good sportsmanship with the referees. Don’t worry about the referee’s calls or try to do their job for them. You are focused on playing your best. Let the referees do their job. If you want to be a referee you can do that when you get older. It is much more fun to be a player, so be a player and don’t waste your energy arguing with the referees.
Teach your young basketball player to play the game with outstanding sportsmanship.
Addicted to Getting Better - On and Off the Court
