Youth Sports - Returning From Injury (1 Viewer)

[Anarchy99]

I have posted before about our now teenage son who plays basketball. He's played with the same kids for years and led his league in scoring (like 40 teams across multiple divisions) three times. He plays for his school and town teams, and unfortunately he got hurt in the first practice of the season. He broke his knee and was slated to be out the entire season with a minimal chance of being back for the playoffs.

He worked his butt off trying to get back. His rehab included months of physical therapy, work at the gym, individual private training with a cross fit trainer every other day, and training with his AAU basketball coach. He went to all his team practices, games, and team events even though he couldn't play (5-6 days a week). Basically, he invested 10-15 hours a week to his team and another 10+ hours a week rehabbing.

Throughout the recovery process, his coaches kept asking how he was doing, expressed that they couldn't wait for him to get back, and promised him a big role like in the past. Unexpectedly, his recovery went way quicker than expected and he got cleared way earlier than anticipated. He worked out all winter break and is now pretty much as good as ever. So far, so good.

After all the hoopla and talk from the coach about wanting him back and playing a big part on his school team, tonight was his debut with the season already 75% completed (only two weeks left). Obviously he was all excited to finally get back to playing. He had been practicing the past couple of weeks and was back to shooting lights out.

Except tonight he was the last kid off the bench (the 15th player to get into the game) in garbage time. He made all 4 of his jump shots in his two minutes of playing time and then got scolded for scoring too much.

It certainly seems there is no plan to give him a big role with the team, nor is there any inclination that he will see many meaningful minutes. A very similar outcome happened with his town travel team, as he was told directly by the coach that he has no plan to use him much at all.

Our son is really not thrilled with the outcome, and I can't say that I blame him. After months of hard work, it appears these teams were happy to have him NOT playing. All their encouragement looks like total BS and pillow talk. I told him he did a great job getting back to playing shape and things will be different next year, but he pretty much was angry he killed himself for nothing.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Yes? No?

 

[msommer]

Change teams an option?

 

[Bri]

It's just he's gotta show he's one of the guys first. Tell him to end the season showing he's a good teammate above all else.

Everyone has this paranoia (almost) about teenagers being "hot dogs" in hoops and hogging it. The praise while he was out and anticipation could have fed that paranoia.

His first step is everything in hoops. I'd remind him of that. Probably for the rest of his life his knee will either be getting stronger or weaker, but never be just ok where he can take it easy for too long of a time. Show him Magic Johnson highlights-discuss leading the team in assists while also scoring 20. That's hard as .... to do. There doesn't seem to be enough time.

Maybe you had plans for him, first step surgery, second recovery, third get back to playing, fourth score 20 in a game. Make sure the last two are separate. Just being out there is a definite accomplishment.

We had to jump rope a lot. Our coach had us jump over and back and over and back...over a one foot high line of string. It's no big deal til you do it many times. I hated this til I saw video of young Barkley doing it over a street side rail on NBA Today.

When I had that upside down M on my thigh, just above the knee, I knew my thigh muscles were super strong in great shape. Ya know with your arms and belly and all sorts that you did a nice job getting in shape, but as a junior I was excited about my thighs. I was 5-10 and could just barely dunk. I could finally "sit" and play D the way coach wanted for the entire game and not just long enough to make him happy and...maybe his offseason could be about getting bigger getting stronger.

You can take him to a pickup game and have him play with strangers. Discuss being the best passer setting people up and making an effort to do this one game. Discuss lighting it up the next. It stinks but even though they knew him and maybe he played with them "forever," he is the new guy since he returned. Hoops is like that, he's gotta be a teammate first, high scorer second.

 

[Todem]

You have to give it time. I understand he worked very hard and is ready and cleared to play. But he needs to be eased back into the rotation and gel with his teammates again. They had to learn to play without him and have been for 75% of the season.

Don't overreact and put thoughts in your kids head that this is BS. This is part of the process and this is about the team. There are other things working here.

Champion your son for his incredible work ethic, heart and passion to get back to this point. Things will take care of themselves and I am sure he will back in the rotation in no time.

I would be concerned with his travel coach just out right telling him he has no plans of using him. That is a discussion you need to have directly with the coach (if he indeed never uses him the rest of the season and physically he can play). See what his thinking is and his reason for just blabbing that to your son (after you give it some time and let things take their natural course and he still won't play him at all).

No matter how great your son his. Teaching him he is part of a team and the coach makes the decisions is vital. The last thing you want his to start making him feel bigger than the team. Not a good life lesson. Even if the coach is a duche bag don't turn your son into one. Not good for his future at higher levels.

Talk to the coaches, but give it some time. Has he been practicing with he teams? Has he had a chance to earn back his playing time by his coaches seeing he is clearly better than the players ahead of him in his spot in the rotation?

I am playing devils advocate.

 

[BassNBrew]

I have posted before about our now teenage son who plays basketball. He's played with the same kids for years and led his league in scoring (like 40 teams across multiple divisions) three times. He plays for his school and town teams, and unfortunately he got hurt in the first practice of the season. He broke his knee and was slated to be out the entire season with a minimal chance of being back for the playoffs.

He worked his butt off trying to get back. His rehab included months of physical therapy, work at the gym, individual private training with a cross fit trainer every other day, and training with his AAU basketball coach. He went to all his team practices, games, and team events even though he couldn't play (5-6 days a week). Basically, he invested 10-15 hours a week to his team and another 10+ hours a week rehabbing.

Throughout the recovery process, his coaches kept asking how he was doing, expressed that they couldn't wait for him to get back, and promised him a big role like in the past. Unexpectedly, his recovery went way quicker than expected and he got cleared way earlier than anticipated. He worked out all winter break and is now pretty much as good as ever. So far, so good.

After all the hoopla and talk from the coach about wanting him back and playing a big part on his school team, tonight was his debut with the season already 75% completed (only two weeks left). Obviously he was all excited to finally get back to playing. He had been practicing the past couple of weeks and was back to shooting lights out.

Except tonight he was the last kid off the bench (the 15th player to get into the game) in garbage time. He made all 4 of his jump shots in his two minutes of playing time and then got scolded for scoring too much.

It certainly seems there is no plan to give him a big role with the team, nor is there any inclination that he will see many meaningful minutes. A very similar outcome happened with his town travel team, as he was told directly by the coach that he has no plan to use him much at all.

Our son is really not thrilled with the outcome, and I can't say that I blame him. After months of hard work, it appears these teams were happy to have him NOT playing. All their encouragement looks like total BS and pillow talk. I told him he did a great job getting back to playing shape and things will be different next year, but he pretty much was angry he killed himself for nothing.

Wow, I'm amazed that there are actually coaches putting your kid's welfare first.

Gets you kid kudos for working his but off. that hard work will payoff down the road. Sounds like a great kid David.

 

[bigbottom]

Did the school team win its game?

 

[Cjw_55106]

Its been one game. R-E-L-A-X

 

[Captain Quinoa]

WHY WAS HE NOT IMMEDIATELY GIVEN STARTERS MINUTES, COACH!!??????? YOU BIG DUMMY JERKFACE

 

[TLEF316]

Its been one game. R-E-L-A-X

This.

 

[comfortably numb]

I don't know much but

-teenager broke his knee

-came back from inj earlier than expected

-plays in 2 basketball leagues

-looking to come back to both leagues and play close to regular minutes

If he was looking to come back to just 1 league, bringing him along slowly seems like the reasonable and responsible thing to do.

Looking to bring him back to BOTH leagues this fast and expect a lot more minutes just seems like you guys are asking for trouble.

Your son is a developing teenager not Willis Reed but as I said, I don't know much

 

[Anarchy99]

The docs gave a timeline of 2-3 months for the bone to heal, 1-2 months of rehab, and a month to get into game shape with a "best guess" of first practice on February 1st. So a 4-6 month window. However, he healed up faster than expected and the docs said he could start practice on 12/15 and play in live games on 1/1. So as of now, he has been practicing for a month and has played in a couple travel games and a whole tournament already.

Had the coaches said at the beginning they didn't want to push him, they weren't planning on playing him, or said take it easy and come back next year, we could have lived with that and taken a more relaxed approach to his recovery. However, they pushed for him to get better ASAP. To expedite the process, we paid for individual sessions wit a cross fit trainer from one of the NFL teams in addition to private lessons for his AAU coach. Just to be clear, his knee is fine, he has no residual issues, and has returned pretty close to normal. So their 4-6 month window turned into 4.5 months (with the bone healing timeline in the 8-10 week range). To summarize, he is better and the doctors say he can do whatever he wants and not to worry about it.

Clearly coaches can and will do whatever they want with their teams. I get that, but IMO they shouldn't be promising things and then not deliver. I did not expect him to go from 0 to 30 minutes playing time in a single game. However, I thought they would have tried to get him some meaningful minutes with the starters. So maybe first or second sub off the bench a couple times for a few minutes each time. By the time he got in the game it was a blowout, and they didn't want to score. He hasn't played on this team this year, so of course he took a few (four) shots. Then when he started playing defense, they basically told him not to do that either. Don't score and let the other team catch up so the final score wasn't too embarrassing. At that point, why even play him?

I did talk to the travel team coach already, and his position is he doesn't want him scoring at all. Like none. Without getting into strategy and positioning, they are playing our son off the ball, and he has told not to shoot more than 2-3 shots a game max. The coach only wants him for defense to guard big men in the paint and that's about it. This seems really odd to me, as he can score tons of points and is a shooting guard, not a center.

I think the coaches like him NOT playing him, as other kids are now getting a chance to do more. With limited time left in the season, they are probably concerned that he could disrupt team chemistry. I would hope they would take away a minute or two of playing time from several kids and let him play 15 minutes a game. IMO, it would be unfair to have him go to every team function and practice for 5-6 months. He went to and everything that everyone else did, yet they get to play and he doesn't? I still don't get it. Maybe things will change but they only have three games left in the regular season.

 

[Jobber]

As far as the travel team goes, that coach saying he has no plans to use him is a bit odd. At least give the kid some play time. If not, defect to another nearby travel team and hope your kid puts the wood to his old team/coach next season.

 

[Anarchy99]

As far as the travel team goes, that coach saying he has no plans to use him is a bit odd. At least give the kid some play time. If not, defect to another nearby travel team and hope your kid puts the wood to his old team/coach next season.

That is another issue. Rules for both school teams and travel teams are the same. You have to be a resident of the town to play, so we would not be eligible to play for any other town or school (unless we move).

I am working on an alternative plan for next year, which would be to stay with his AAU team even in the "regular basketball season," definitely forgoing the travel team and maybe even the school team if they only want him as the last kid off the bench.

 

[Angry Beavers]

How he can play travel during the school season??? in Ohio that is a huge no-no and reason to DQ the kid from the school team.

 

[TLEF316]

So much about this is really bizarre.

How old is he? When you say the "School team" are we talking middle school/junior high.

In what world does a coach tell his (presumably, assuming what you're saying is true) best player "I don't want to you to score. Just defend big guys". It makes absolutely no sense.

Serious question....How much do you know about basketball? I only ask because the only option that makes sense here (especially with the "we don't want him to score" statement) is that you don't really know the game and are completely misinterpreting everything the coaches are telling you.

 

[bigbottom]

By the time he got in the game it was a blowout, and they didn't want to score.

The coach puts him in during garbage time and he chucks it up four times in two minutes (sounds like he took every shot himself while he was out on the floor) when the strategy was to slow down and run out the clock. I know he was really excited to be playing again (and, seriously, kudos to him for working his way back), but I can see why the coach took issue.

At that point, why even play him?

It's his first game back after a major injury. This gets him some playing time when there's not a ton of pressure to go all out.

 

[sbonomo]

I have posted before about our now teenage son who plays basketball. He's played with the same kids for years and led his league in scoring (like 40 teams across multiple divisions) three times. He plays for his school and town teams, and unfortunately he got hurt in the first practice of the season. He broke his knee and was slated to be out the entire season with a minimal chance of being back for the playoffs.

He worked his butt off trying to get back. His rehab included months of physical therapy, work at the gym, individual private training with a cross fit trainer every other day, and training with his AAU basketball coach. He went to all his team practices, games, and team events even though he couldn't play (5-6 days a week). Basically, he invested 10-15 hours a week to his team and another 10+ hours a week rehabbing.

Throughout the recovery process, his coaches kept asking how he was doing, expressed that they couldn't wait for him to get back, and promised him a big role like in the past. Unexpectedly, his recovery went way quicker than expected and he got cleared way earlier than anticipated. He worked out all winter break and is now pretty much as good as ever. So far, so good.

After all the hoopla and talk from the coach about wanting him back and playing a big part on his school team, tonight was his debut with the season already 75% completed (only two weeks left). Obviously he was all excited to finally get back to playing. He had been practicing the past couple of weeks and was back to shooting lights out.

Except tonight he was the last kid off the bench (the 15th player to get into the game) in garbage time. He made all 4 of his jump shots in his two minutes of playing time and then got scolded for scoring too much.

It certainly seems there is no plan to give him a big role with the team, nor is there any inclination that he will see many meaningful minutes. A very similar outcome happened with his town travel team, as he was told directly by the coach that he has no plan to use him much at all.

Our son is really not thrilled with the outcome, and I can't say that I blame him. After months of hard work, it appears these teams were happy to have him NOT playing. All their encouragement looks like total BS and pillow talk. I told him he did a great job getting back to playing shape and things will be different next year, but he pretty much was angry he killed himself for nothing.

maybe your kid is not as good as you/he think? Honestly, if he helps the team as is the type of stud you mentioned then why wouldn't he play?

 

[Anarchy99]

So much about this is really bizarre.

How old is he? When you say the "School team" are we talking middle school/junior high.

In what world does a coach tell his (presumably, assuming what you're saying is true) best player "I don't want to you to score. Just defend big guys". It makes absolutely no sense.

Serious question....How much do you know about basketball? I only ask because the only option that makes sense here (especially with the "we don't want him to score" statement) is that you don't really know the game and are completely misinterpreting everything the coaches are telling you.

I know a fair amount and have played and coached some myself. This is middle school/junior high. In our town, the school team and the travel team both have the same roster (but different coaches).

When he plays in town, they play him as a forward and won't ever play him at guard. When he plays AAU, they play him only as a guard. But since they have more guards than forwards, they won't play him at guard. And since the bigger kids can't rebound or play defense, they need help with their interior defense. Since he is the only one that will fight for the ball and box out to rebound, that's how he ends up playing in the paint. But they are asking him to cover kids that are 6 inches taller and 30-40 pounds heavier.

Both teams use a high triangle with the center in the high post and two guards. They have our son as a weak side forward on the block. Whichever way the ball goes, they want him to switch sides of the court and move AWAY from the ball (so he essentially is always two passes away at a minimum). They have him boxed in a la Dennis Rodman. No set plays, inbounds plays, or offensive formations to get him the ball. The two guards and centers are intended to get 85% of the shots. Sometimes a guard or center will pass to the strong side forward, who is instructed to shoot or drive. They do not want our son to flash to the ball or cut to the basket. Just stay on the block and fight for rebounds. If he wants to shoot, get a rebound. If on rare occasion he ends up with the ball on the perimeter, they want him to act like he will shoot to draw the defense and then pass to the center coming down the lane. From loose balls and rebounds, he should be able to get 2-3 shots a game. That is the plan for him.

Almost every team he has been on has tried to limit what he does. He has had multiple games where he has scored 20-25 points in a half and then they bench him. Up until this point, the coaches really haven't cared about winning and have indicated they can't have kids going off for 30-40 points. The current crop of coaches want each starter to get 6 points and the reserves to get 2-3 points and have a true team environment where they can all sing kumbaya and hit 60 points. Usually they let him go nuts in the playoffs, and he has single handedly carried teams in the playoffs and tournaments.

Although hard to really understand in a message board post, he is not a ball hog. Most teams have not gone out of their way to get him the ball and he will almost always past first unless he is wide open. He also tries to get everyone else involved, but if no one else is scoring he will start to score most of the points.

Again, I am not making him out to be better than he really is. He has gone to countless camps and clinics at colleges and Nike programs, has played on out of state teams, has played up grade levels, has particpated in invitation only player showcases, and has already had a couple of private/prep schools interested in him. When he playes AAU, he practices with high school kids. He gets invited to play on more teams than he could ever play on. Any place but our hometown he has people begging to play for them. But in our our hometown, he doesn't get that (and as mentioned earlier that is the only place he can play during basketball season).

 

[comfortably numb]

Does seem odd.

Almost seems like they prefer him not to play.

Maybe other parents have complained their kids don't get involved enough? Have you rubbed the coaches in any negative way?

 

[bigbottom]

Four shots in two minutes when the coach is trying to run out the clock does not sound like a pass first player, IMO.

As for playing time, it doesn't sound like your current middle school coaches have a win first mentality that supports utilizing star players. I'm sure that will go away once he starts playing high school ball.

 

[Cjw_55106]

Is it Friday up in here?

 

[TLEF316]

No coach "plans" for their best player to "just fight for rebounds" and "take 2-3 shots a game". Hell, in all my years of playing/coaching I've NEVER seen a coach that talks about how many shots each player should take or how many points each player should score. Its absolutely absurd to even suggest something like that at anything past like 2nd grade biddy basketball. (where half the kids can't even take 2 dribbles without losing the ball)

I had some of the crappiest, least knowledgeable coaches ever growing up (my age group didn't really have any basketball guys so it was usually just our baseball and football coaches doing their best) and I've never seen anything like this. If what you're saying is true, they're either A) literally the worst coaches in the world or B) have a problem with you or your son for whatever reason (bad attitude, hogs the ball, etc)

By like 5th or 6th grade (especially on a traveling or school team) every coach I've ever seen makes every reasonable effort to win games. Not sure what to tell you if your son's team is really doing what you say they are. If so, that sucks.

That being said, if your son truly the only player capable of guarding a post player and holding down the defensive glass, you can't really complain about that. Obviously you don't want him to get beat up, but if its best for the team, he's gonna have to guard bigger guys. He should take pride in that.

 

[MikeIke]

Take it easy, he's just now coming back from a major injury. He's not Jordan. Give the team and the coach time to work him back into the rotation. He's got time.

 

[nirad3]

Four shots in two minutes when the coach is trying to run out the clock does not sound like a pass first player, IMO.

As for playing time, it doesn't sound like your current middle school coaches have a win first mentality that supports utilizing star players. I'm sure that will go away once he starts playing high school ball.

annnnnd /thread

 

[sbonomo]

This whole thing makes no sense to me. Let's assume you are being a proud father, nothing wrong with this, for a moment. If your kid is half as good as you portray him then the coaches are either completely incompetent or your kid is a chucker. Either way, sounds like you need to find another team for your kid to play on to ensure he continues to develop. You made a comment above that "Almost every team he has been on has tried to limit what he does". There is something wrong here. You also mention that he has other teams begging him to play for them (assuming his style where he will apparently dominate). Why not do that if you think he has a shot to progress?

 

[Todem]

No coach "plans" for their best player to "just fight for rebounds" and "take 2-3 shots a game". Hell, in all my years of playing/coaching I've NEVER seen a coach that talks about how many shots each player should take or how many points each player should score. Its absolutely absurd to even suggest something like that at anything past like 2nd grade biddy basketball. (where half the kids can't even take 2 dribbles without losing the ball)

I had some of the crappiest, least knowledgeable coaches ever growing up (my age group didn't really have any basketball guys so it was usually just our baseball and football coaches doing their best) and I've never seen anything like this. If what you're saying is true, they're either A) literally the worst coaches in the world or B) have a problem with you or your son for whatever reason (bad attitude, hogs the ball, etc)

By like 5th or 6th grade (especially on a traveling or school team) every coach I've ever seen makes every reasonable effort to win games. Not sure what to tell you if your son's team is really doing what you say they are. If so, that sucks.

That being said, if your son truly the only player capable of guarding a post player and holding down the defensive glass, you can't really complain about that. Obviously you don't want him to get beat up, but if its best for the team, he's gonna have to guard bigger guys. He should take pride in that.

Agreed. It sounds absurd.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Four shots in two minutes when the coach is trying to run out the clock does not sound like a pass first player, IMO.

What's wrong with that? /Kobe

 

[thayman]

This whole thing makes no sense to me. Let's assume you are being a proud father, nothing wrong with this, for a moment. If your kid is half as good as you portray him then the coaches are either completely incompetent or your kid is a chucker. Either way, sounds like you need to find another team for your kid to play on to ensure he continues to develop. You made a comment above that "Almost every team he has been on has tried to limit what he does". There is something wrong here. You also mention that he has other teams begging him to play for them (assuming his style where he will apparently dominate). Why not do that if you think he has a shot to progress?

That's really odd. I was thinking that perhaps the team practiced with him not in mind so the coach was maybe trying to be fair to the other kids who worked so hard practicing a certain way. That doesn't sound like the case.

How is your son? Is he a smart mouth, or has he gotten into it with the coach at all?

 

[bigbottom]

Any place but our hometown he has people begging to play for them. But in our our hometown, he doesn't get that (and as mentioned earlier that is the only place he can play during basketball season).

So your kid is super talented. All of the other teams he plays against desperately want him on their team. But all of the teams he has actually played on are less than enthusiastic and want to limit him. Do you have a theory as to why that is the case?

 

[Boston]

This does not add up at all...honest question (and I don't mean to be a jerk)...do you get along with the other parents and coaches on these teams?

 

[Judge Smails]

I have posted before about our now teenage son who plays basketball. He's played with the same kids for years and led his league in scoring (like 40 teams across multiple divisions) three times. He plays for his school and town teams, and unfortunately he got hurt in the first practice of the season. He broke his knee and was slated to be out the entire season with a minimal chance of being back for the playoffs.

He worked his butt off trying to get back. His rehab included months of physical therapy, work at the gym, individual private training with a cross fit trainer every other day, and training with his AAU basketball coach. He went to all his team practices, games, and team events even though he couldn't play (5-6 days a week). Basically, he invested 10-15 hours a week to his team and another 10+ hours a week rehabbing.

Throughout the recovery process, his coaches kept asking how he was doing, expressed that they couldn't wait for him to get back, and promised him a big role like in the past. Unexpectedly, his recovery went way quicker than expected and he got cleared way earlier than anticipated. He worked out all winter break and is now pretty much as good as ever. So far, so good.

After all the hoopla and talk from the coach about wanting him back and playing a big part on his school team, tonight was his debut with the season already 75% completed (only two weeks left). Obviously he was all excited to finally get back to playing. He had been practicing the past couple of weeks and was back to shooting lights out.

Except tonight he was the last kid off the bench (the 15th player to get into the game) in garbage time. He made all 4 of his jump shots in his two minutes of playing time and then got scolded for scoring too much.

It certainly seems there is no plan to give him a big role with the team, nor is there any inclination that he will see many meaningful minutes. A very similar outcome happened with his town travel team, as he was told directly by the coach that he has no plan to use him much at all.

Our son is really not thrilled with the outcome, and I can't say that I blame him. After months of hard work, it appears these teams were happy to have him NOT playing. All their encouragement looks like total BS and pillow talk. I told him he did a great job getting back to playing shape and things will be different next year, but he pretty much was angry he killed himself for nothing.

What does this have to do with returning from an injury? Kid didn't get the playing time that he or you wanted, period. Common occurrence. I voiced the same thing when my son was a senior and lost his position mid year to a freshman - who ended up getting drafted in the first round, signing for 1.7M, and is in the Majors now. It happens. All he can do is keep working hard and performing. If getting the shaft - switch teams.

 

[Short Corner]

In my 20th of year of coaching hoops. OPs claims sound a little subjective to say the least. If I had a nickel for every parent who thought I had it out for their kid or was undermining the team with my 'personal vendetta'. Luckily the good apples usually offset the bad ones. Move your kid to a team with a bunch of scraps so he can play and chuck as he pleases.

 

[Chemical X]

I think you need to be much more involved. inject yourself into everything and become an overbearing sports parent. your son is special and more important than others, why can't others see this? I mean, he's gonna go pro, right? so this is very important.