Youth team building - basketball (1 Viewer)

[Brunell4MVP]

I have coached 4th-8th grade basketball teams, including AAU, select, regional travel, and basic rec league. I've done it for about 20 years. 4-6th are very tough to coach.

Defensively I only teach man to man and M2M press at that age. They need to learn to play on ball and help defense if they are going to succeed in the long run. I've seen time and time again teams that win with 1-3-1 press defenses, then in 2 years the other kids are strong enough to beat it and the kids have not improved their footwork enough to play in HS. In mid 6th grade introduce 3-2 and 1-3-1 half court Ds, along with a diamond and 1 press. Stay away from the 2-3. Kids get lazy in it. I find the kids at all ages generally understand D.

On offense, it's much more difficult up to 7th grade. Like you say, in practice it looks beautiful. Motion is good. Passing is good. Then they get in a game and they rush, don't set up good, don't set picks. So the default is to fast break as much as possible, which we do. But when you do end up in half court offense, it is rough at times. My teams run a 3-2 motion, 2-1-2 stationary, and 1-3-1 motion, each to counter certain defenses. I do not teach plays until 7th grade. Just sets and motions. The hard thing about offense is if only 4 kids get it, the 5th kid on the court ruins everything. They need to learn how to play patient, and that takes time to learn, especially when being pressed.

Here's how it counter it at this age. ....

I do a 5 in-5 out rotation for about 75% of each half. Now, immediately you think you'll be worse because the starters are out. But time and time I can show that's not the case. What happens is 1) the good players don't get as tired at the end of the game, 2) each unit develops chemistry on both ends of the court, and 3) your worst players get comfortable with the kids around them and play much better than you'd expect. Then for the last 25% I put in whomever is playing best so far. So the kids have a real motivator to play great when they are on that first part of the half. We've won about 60% of the leagues we've played over the years with this, and I can guarantee you I've had minimal talent. Yet most play HS basketball and a couple even made college despite being 6' tall white kids.

Anyway, that my 2 cents, along with be sure to enjoy it. Coaching is a great passion and I've found it very rewarding despite never making a dime from it.

 

[Abraham]

Very cool.

 

[BigJim®]

What's ridiculous?

1. Caring so much about 4th grade wins/losses that you put other 4th graders at risk of significant injury.

2. Expecting 4th graders to comprehend the foul directive/limits on the fly.

3. Saying a parent should have waited for this coach to use his teachable moment "Oh no Johnny, I didn't mean to assault that player when I was screaming at you to foul him... see here's how this situation works...."

1. How is asking a kid to foul putting a kid at risk of significant injury? I asked him to go for a steal and if he doesn't get it, make sure that he hits him across the arm enough so that the ref calls it. This is not about wins and losses. It is about teaching the kid the right way to play the game. Same as setting a screen. If the kid moves on the screen and throws his shoulder into the other kid, is that a matter of the coach caring too much about wins and losses?

2. How do you know that he did not tell his kids EXACTLY what he wanted them to do in the last time out, last practice or in a prior game?

3. While I know that you love your boy, when things like this happen, you want to blame someone. Here's a tip. If your kid plays sports, they might catch an elbow or be fouled hard on a play. Don't think that you can protect them from those things. If the coach had been clear in his instructions and it happened anyway, what exactly are you expecting to gain by yelling at the coach?

FWIW- A different parent at church just told me he'd heard the kid fractured a wrist on the play, and will be out the rest of the season. I totally agree with much of what you wrote here. If this guy had called a timeout and advised his kids in this way I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it. Had he done that in a prior game? I don't know. But if he did, it just is proof kids this age don't get it. That doesn't surprise me because they actually try to coach fouling out at this age, and stress defensive techniques- real whistle happy vs. 3rd grade. My impression was his kids had no understanding because it basically became WWF, involving players who didn't even have the ball. And for the record, I'm the last guy to contribute to the wussification of kids... my wife would attest to that. My kids play hard, and I'm the last guy to fawn over bumps and bruises. But if this kid is in fact out the rest of the year because some bobo coach gave orders to unfamiliar 9 year olds in hopes of a miracle comeback, it seems senseless to me. My own kid had no idea what was going on, and I did explain the foul nuance to him when we were driving home, explaining how that should be done.

 

[BigJim®]

I think this is a tough age to coach but you might consider whether you are causing your players to freeze up due to fear of being benched. I've seen a lot of coaching styles in my son's league (also 4th grade) and I think some coaches who yell a lot from the bench get less from their players. Maybe you should try using a normal rotation where all players have routine bench time, and coach them up while they are sitting on the bench on things you saw that they can improve upon, or make sure they notice good things you are seeing from on court players. I really like the coach on my son's team. First practice he said 'we're not running set plays, we're going to use fundementals and have fun.' My son's team played the animated coach type yesterday and it turned my stomach seeing him yell "what are you doing?!?" across the floor and similar remarks. You could just see the dejection and fear of screwing up written all over their faces.

One aside on that coach. I gave the coach a piece of my mind during the game (I was next to him running the scoreboard) and curious if anyone thinks I was out of line. My son's team was up by 8 points with 30 seconds to go and he yells onto the court for his players to "foul him! foul him!" thinking in his mind his team is way over on fouls and his team will get the ball back on a missed free throw. Clearly a decent strategy, but these kids are way too young to understand this nuance of the game, or how to follow a directive like that. As the best player on son's team is dribbling down the court as a fast pace, he gets pushed hard from behind and his momentum caused a head first spill out. Very lucky he wasn't hurt. I just thought that was a crazy risk to take seeking an impossible come back with 4th graders.

Curious as to the score at that point. Usually 4th grade is low scoring. The example a few posts back the final score was 14-13. My point is if a team is only scoring 15-20 pts a game, they will not score 8 in 30 seconds. I don't know why coaches insist on fouling then. Maybe it's a never give up attitude but not sure how many 4th graders know why they are fouling.

30-22. Personally I'd tell my own kid to D up in that situation and go balls out for a steal. I'd never tell him to give up.

 

[Patriotsfatboy1]

What's ridiculous?

1. Caring so much about 4th grade wins/losses that you put other 4th graders at risk of significant injury. 2. Expecting 4th graders to comprehend the foul directive/limits on the fly.

3. Saying a parent should have waited for this coach to use his teachable moment "Oh no Johnny, I didn't mean to assault that player when I was screaming at you to foul him... see here's how this situation works...."

1. How is asking a kid to foul putting a kid at risk of significant injury? I asked him to go for a steal and if he doesn't get it, make sure that he hits him across the arm enough so that the ref calls it. This is not about wins and losses. It is about teaching the kid the right way to play the game. Same as setting a screen. If the kid moves on the screen and throws his shoulder into the other kid, is that a matter of the coach caring too much about wins and losses?

2. How do you know that he did not tell his kids EXACTLY what he wanted them to do in the last time out, last practice or in a prior game?

3. While I know that you love your boy, when things like this happen, you want to blame someone. Here's a tip. If your kid plays sports, they might catch an elbow or be fouled hard on a play. Don't think that you can protect them from those things. If the coach had been clear in his instructions and it happened anyway, what exactly are you expecting to gain by yelling at the coach?

FWIW- A different parent at church just told me he'd heard the kid fractured a wrist on the play, and will be out the rest of the season. I totally agree with much of what you wrote here. If this guy had called a timeout and advised his kids in this way I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it. Had he done that in a prior game? I don't know. But if he did, it just is proof kids this age don't get it. That doesn't surprise me because they actually try to coach fouling out at this age, and stress defensive techniques- real whistle happy vs. 3rd grade. My impression was his kids had no understanding because it basically became WWF, involving players who didn't even have the ball. And for the record, I'm the last guy to contribute to the wussification of kids... my wife would attest to that. My kids play hard, and I'm the last guy to fawn over bumps and bruises. But if this kid is in fact out the rest of the year because some bobo coach gave orders to unfamiliar 9 year olds in hopes of a miracle comeback, it seems senseless to me. My own kid had no idea what was going on, and I did explain the foul nuance to him when we were driving home, explaining how that should be done.

Even though hindsight is 20-20, this sounds pretty senseless. If the coach gave no instruction, then he is playing with fire.

You don't want any kid to get hurt regardless of circumstance, but on a play where it could have been avoided makes it dumber. What was the coach's response to what you said?

 

[Short Corner]

a) any coach/league that allows a zone defense at that age shouldn't be allowed near youth basketball

b) motion offense or anything that involves setting a screen is optimistic at that age group. Play pass-cut fill and maybe how to back door.

c) I think you are fooling yourself about the level of your team. 14 points? My 04-05s suck and we put up 50+ this morning.

 

[Short Corner]

I have coached 4th-8th grade basketball teams, including AAU, select, regional travel, and basic rec league. I've done it for about 20 years. 4-6th are very tough to coach.

Defensively I only teach man to man and M2M press at that age. They need to learn to play on ball and help defense if they are going to succeed in the long run. I've seen time and time again teams that win with 1-3-1 press defenses, then in 2 years the other kids are strong enough to beat it and the kids have not improved their footwork enough to play in HS. In mid 6th grade introduce 3-2 and 1-3-1 half court Ds, along with a diamond and 1 press. Stay away from the 2-3. Kids get lazy in it. I find the kids at all ages generally understand D.

On offense, it's much more difficult up to 7th grade. Like you say, in practice it looks beautiful. Motion is good. Passing is good. Then they get in a game and they rush, don't set up good, don't set picks. So the default is to fast break as much as possible, which we do. But when you do end up in half court offense, it is rough at times. My teams run a 3-2 motion, 2-1-2 stationary, and 1-3-1 motion, each to counter certain defenses. I do not teach plays until 7th grade. Just sets and motions. The hard thing about offense is if only 4 kids get it, the 5th kid on the court ruins everything. They need to learn how to play patient, and that takes time to learn, especially when being pressed.

Here's how it counter it at this age. ....

I do a 5 in-5 out rotation for about 75% of each half. Now, immediately you think you'll be worse because the starters are out. But time and time I can show that's not the case. What happens is 1) the good players don't get as tired at the end of the game, 2) each unit develops chemistry on both ends of the court, and 3) your worst players get comfortable with the kids around them and play much better than you'd expect. Then for the last 25% I put in whomever is playing best so far. So the kids have a real motivator to play great when they are on that first part of the half. We've won about 60% of the leagues we've played over the years with this, and I can guarantee you I've had minimal talent. Yet most play HS basketball and a couple even made college despite being 6' tall white kids.

Anyway, that my 2 cents, along with be sure to enjoy it. Coaching is a great passion and I've found it very rewarding despite never making a dime from it.

Agree with most of this except the generalization of the 2-3. A zone is only as lazy as the coach teaches it/allows it to be.

 

[BigJim®]

What was the coach's response to what you said?

Righteousness. Basically the 2 refs came over and said that was not how they do things at this age group, and he sheepishly said ok. After the refs walked away he muttered to me about how he coaches to the buzzer. I just told him I don't think his players understand that circumstance based on what I saw, and I'd have been angered if that was my kid sprawled out on the floor. Basically just shook his head and walked back to his bench.

 

[Patriotsfatboy1]

What was the coach's response to what you said?

Righteousness. Basically the 2 refs came over and said that was not how they do things at this age group, and he sheepishly said ok. After the refs walked away he muttered to me about how he coaches to the buzzer. I just told him I don't think his players understand that circumstance based on what I saw, and I'd have been angered if that was my kid sprawled out on the floor. Basically just shook his head and walked back to his bench.

Sounds like a putz. If one of my kids caused something like that, I would feel like #### for at least a month. Refs should have been a little more forceful, but my guess is that they are inexperienced as well.

Coaching to the buzzer is fine, but not if the kids are going to hurt someone.

 

[Doubtingthomas]

Good to know others are having the same problem. The best thing to do is to try and find fresh approaches to teaching the same thing, that you know to be correct. My assistant coach uses his own stat sheet and gives out dairy Queen gift cards when certain levels are reached. One of his categories is turnovers, the more turnovers you have the more points you get to a gift card. This lets the kids know it is okay to make a mistake and loosens them up to make some passes. A little thing that goes a long way.

 

[Short Corner]

Good to know others are having the same problem. The best thing to do is to try and find fresh approaches to teaching the same thing, that you know to be correct. My assistant coach uses his own stat sheet and gives out dairy Queen gift cards when certain levels are reached. One of his categories is turnovers, the more turnovers you have the more points you get to a gift card. This lets the kids know it is okay to make a mistake and loosens them up to make some passes. A little thing that goes a long way.

Do you play limited dribble games? We play two-dribble scrimmages at the end of every practice and it has really helped our off ball movement, vision, and throwing lead passes in transition. Much better flow than in our normal scrimmages.

 

[Doubtingthomas]

Good to know others are having the same problem. The best thing to do is to try and find fresh approaches to teaching the same thing, that you know to be correct. My assistant coach uses his own stat sheet and gives out dairy Queen gift cards when certain levels are reached. One of his categories is turnovers, the more turnovers you have the more points you get to a gift card. This lets the kids know it is okay to make a mistake and loosens them up to make some passes. A little thing that goes a long way.

Do you play limited dribble games? We play two-dribble scrimmages at the end of every practice and it has really helped our off ball movement, vision, and throwing lead passes in transition. Much better flow than in our normal scrimmages.

Yes we do or have done every combination of drills you can think of. The problem being they freeze up in games. In the end experience in games is the best remedy. We have made good progress as a team this year but still can't run an offense exactly.

 

[Doubtingthomas]

A good drill we use is three on two offense no dribbles lay ups only. Move to the basket and hit the open player.

 

[SpurrierisisGod]

I've thought about "prizes" for things like good passes but we don't keep stats and I don't really have anyone that could anyway. The gift cards for turnovers thing is interesting because it does seem at times the kids play like they are afraid to make a mistake. I guess it really is just a confidence thing.

I guess I was really just looking for something different as motivation heading into the tournament. Some decent responses in here, mixed in with the obvious "they're just kids" stuff.

 

[Doubtingthomas]

Make a sheet and have a parent do it.

 

[acarey50]

I haven't read through all of the replies, but I am coaching my son's 3rd grade team. First of all, kudos for teaching them man to man - I am also the only team in my league doing man to man, and while it was rough for the first few games, it has started clicking for the kids - just in time for our playoffs. I also did not teach any set plays for offense, in fact, I have spent literally about an hour total in practice the whole season on an "offense". What I;ve taught them is how to pass and cut, then move without the ball. I also preach that if you dribble, other than bringing it down the court, you better be attacking the basket. The last thing I did and it is starting to really payoff is that I balanced playing time for the season. Our league plays 5 8 minute periods. Every kid must play one of the first 2 periods and 1 of the 3rd/4th periods, and every kid must sit at least one full period. No subbing allowed in the first 4 periods, open sub in the 5th. As I am one of the few teams to have 9 players (most have only 8), I could only have 2 kids play 3 of those first 4 periods. I balanced it out so that every kid on the team had 2 games where they played 3 of those 4 periods, and I also tried to get every kid rotated in during the 5th period. Just about every other team played their best 2-3 players the extra time and their weaker players only played 2 quarters each game, the league minimum. While it likely cost me 2 games during the regular season (both 2 point losses), I can see a major improvement in my lesser experienced players and now feel I have by far the deepest team in the league. So, stay the course and rotate that playing time to get the lesser experienced kids comfortable in game situations.

The best drill that we do that has emphasized the passing/teamwork point is doing 3 on 3 half court scrimmages with one major rule - the offense can not dribble the ball. This forces the kids to pass, to move to get open and to find an open man. Again, it took us a few weeks to get it to click, but we ended up being the top offensive team for the regular season by over 2 PPG over the next team, and as I mentioned before, we were not leaving our main scorers out there for the majority of the game - they by far averaged the least minutes of any of hte top players in the league. Again, I spent maybe an hour on an "offense" and that has primarily been to show the kids the key areas I want them to go to to be open, as most teams in our league run a 2-3 zone, with a couple doing a 1-3-1. Basically the mantra of go where the defense isn't. I just spent some time showing them where to move if we had a player drive the lane, as at this age the defense will almost always collapse on the driver leaving at least 2 players wide open for a quick pass.

For defense, I spent a ton of time working on help side defense and how to position yourself when your man does not have the ball and when to jump over to help and when to stay put. I have my kids sag to the middle a lot. I will concede 15-18 foot jumpers at this age group if it means I am not giving up layups and I can have my kids in better rebound position. One drill that we ran was a 4-3 half court where the offense had an extra player. This made it easier for the offense to get open, but made the defense work extra hard to rotate and not concede easy shots. After working at this, it makes defense when you have even numbers seem easy for the kids.

Another drill that I know of but did not use this season is to run a scrimmage (see the them of simulating game action as much as possible), but the only way to "win" is for every player on the team to score a basket. So if you are running a 4 on 4 scrimmage (again, only having 9 on the roster, I did not get to run a lot of 5 on 5 in practice unless I brought my 1st grader or another kid along for practice), you could play to 5, but each of the 4 kids on the team must score 1 point before you could score your 5th and win. This forces the kids to pass, and to work a shot for everyone. Just another tool to help the kids get comfortable passing to each other in a game situation.

Those are just some of the drills that workd well for my 2nd/3rd graders. Our league changed it's setup this year to change from being a 10 game season where best record wins it (thus encouraging the play to win at all costs mentality) to an 8 game season that is used to determine seeding for a playoff tournament (ideally to encourage player development over win at all costs in the regular season).

 

[SpurrierisisGod]

I haven't read through all of the replies, but I am coaching my son's 3rd grade team. First of all, kudos for teaching them man to man - I am also the only team in my league doing man to man, and while it was rough for the first few games, it has started clicking for the kids - just in time for our playoffs. I also did not teach any set plays for offense, in fact, I have spent literally about an hour total in practice the whole season on an "offense". What I;ve taught them is how to pass and cut, then move without the ball. I also preach that if you dribble, other than bringing it down the court, you better be attacking the basket. The last thing I did and it is starting to really payoff is that I balanced playing time for the season. Our league plays 5 8 minute periods. Every kid must play one of the first 2 periods and 1 of the 3rd/4th periods, and every kid must sit at least one full period. No subbing allowed in the first 4 periods, open sub in the 5th. As I am one of the few teams to have 9 players (most have only 8), I could only have 2 kids play 3 of those first 4 periods. I balanced it out so that every kid on the team had 2 games where they played 3 of those 4 periods, and I also tried to get every kid rotated in during the 5th period. Just about every other team played their best 2-3 players the extra time and their weaker players only played 2 quarters each game, the league minimum. While it likely cost me 2 games during the regular season (both 2 point losses), I can see a major improvement in my lesser experienced players and now feel I have by far the deepest team in the league. So, stay the course and rotate that playing time to get the lesser experienced kids comfortable in game situations.

The best drill that we do that has emphasized the passing/teamwork point is doing 3 on 3 half court scrimmages with one major rule - the offense can not dribble the ball. This forces the kids to pass, to move to get open and to find an open man. Again, it took us a few weeks to get it to click, but we ended up being the top offensive team for the regular season by over 2 PPG over the next team, and as I mentioned before, we were not leaving our main scorers out there for the majority of the game - they by far averaged the least minutes of any of hte top players in the league. Again, I spent maybe an hour on an "offense" and that has primarily been to show the kids the key areas I want them to go to to be open, as most teams in our league run a 2-3 zone, with a couple doing a 1-3-1. Basically the mantra of go where the defense isn't. I just spent some time showing them where to move if we had a player drive the lane, as at this age the defense will almost always collapse on the driver leaving at least 2 players wide open for a quick pass.

For defense, I spent a ton of time working on help side defense and how to position yourself when your man does not have the ball and when to jump over to help and when to stay put. I have my kids sag to the middle a lot. I will concede 15-18 foot jumpers at this age group if it means I am not giving up layups and I can have my kids in better rebound position. One drill that we ran was a 4-3 half court where the offense had an extra player. This made it easier for the offense to get open, but made the defense work extra hard to rotate and not concede easy shots. After working at this, it makes defense when you have even numbers seem easy for the kids.

Another drill that I know of but did not use this season is to run a scrimmage (see the them of simulating game action as much as possible), but the only way to "win" is for every player on the team to score a basket. So if you are running a 4 on 4 scrimmage (again, only having 9 on the roster, I did not get to run a lot of 5 on 5 in practice unless I brought my 1st grader or another kid along for practice), you could play to 5, but each of the 4 kids on the team must score 1 point before you could score your 5th and win. This forces the kids to pass, and to work a shot for everyone. Just another tool to help the kids get comfortable passing to each other in a game situation.

Those are just some of the drills that workd well for my 2nd/3rd graders. Our league changed it's setup this year to change from being a 10 game season where best record wins it (thus encouraging the play to win at all costs mentality) to an 8 game season that is used to determine seeding for a playoff tournament (ideally to encourage player development over win at all costs in the regular season).

I really like the scrimmage idea where each person has to score. I may try that today.

one problem I've run into all year is a few kids just aren't getting the idea of moving without the ball. They still ask me where they are supposed to go, not realizing it doesn't matter as long as they are moving to open spots, setting screens etc. I may install a "set" where each kid has 2 moves to make then give the option. To move.

 

[SpurrierisisGod]

I installed a "set" tonight. Not really a play, just a starting point and re - emphasized movement, backcuts, cutting through the lane. Then did some 3v2 work for about 10 minutes. That was a little rough but me and my assistant realized the improper position on d so we went over that real quick.

the best part was we then moved to the "scrimmage" where each player has to score at least once. Holy cow, that was gold. Although we have been teaching movement all year, the kids really got it with that and had fun trying to set up the player that hadn't scored yet. All smiles after practice. Best practice of the year.

Thanks for all you're help guys. Hopefully we can reinforce it thursday and carry it over to the game saturday.

 

[DSP]

http://m.youtube.com/results?q=it's%20always%20sunny%20basketball%20&sm=1

 

[Mr. Know-It-All]

If you have 10 players - at the next practice, have them play 5 on 5, after a player scores he has to jog around the perimeter of the court while the game continues. The next player that scores has to jog around the perimeter, keep on going until you have only one player that hasn't scored. That players team loses. If they are smart they will figure out to let their less talented players score first - leaving the better scorers and defenders to win the game as it progresses. Don't always have the same teams, mix up the 5. Also incorporate some sort of competition into every practice. Again not the same teams every time in the competition. Free throw contest, knock out, 3 pt contest, etc. Be creative. get these guys playing together and competing in practice and it will carry over in to games.

 

[acarey50]

I haven't read through all of the replies, but I am coaching my son's 3rd grade team. First of all, kudos for teaching them man to man - I am also the only team in my league doing man to man, and while it was rough for the first few games, it has started clicking for the kids - just in time for our playoffs. I also did not teach any set plays for offense, in fact, I have spent literally about an hour total in practice the whole season on an "offense". What I;ve taught them is how to pass and cut, then move without the ball. I also preach that if you dribble, other than bringing it down the court, you better be attacking the basket. The last thing I did and it is starting to really payoff is that I balanced playing time for the season. Our league plays 5 8 minute periods. Every kid must play one of the first 2 periods and 1 of the 3rd/4th periods, and every kid must sit at least one full period. No subbing allowed in the first 4 periods, open sub in the 5th. As I am one of the few teams to have 9 players (most have only 8), I could only have 2 kids play 3 of those first 4 periods. I balanced it out so that every kid on the team had 2 games where they played 3 of those 4 periods, and I also tried to get every kid rotated in during the 5th period. Just about every other team played their best 2-3 players the extra time and their weaker players only played 2 quarters each game, the league minimum. While it likely cost me 2 games during the regular season (both 2 point losses), I can see a major improvement in my lesser experienced players and now feel I have by far the deepest team in the league. So, stay the course and rotate that playing time to get the lesser experienced kids comfortable in game situations.

The best drill that we do that has emphasized the passing/teamwork point is doing 3 on 3 half court scrimmages with one major rule - the offense can not dribble the ball. This forces the kids to pass, to move to get open and to find an open man. Again, it took us a few weeks to get it to click, but we ended up being the top offensive team for the regular season by over 2 PPG over the next team, and as I mentioned before, we were not leaving our main scorers out there for the majority of the game - they by far averaged the least minutes of any of hte top players in the league. Again, I spent maybe an hour on an "offense" and that has primarily been to show the kids the key areas I want them to go to to be open, as most teams in our league run a 2-3 zone, with a couple doing a 1-3-1. Basically the mantra of go where the defense isn't. I just spent some time showing them where to move if we had a player drive the lane, as at this age the defense will almost always collapse on the driver leaving at least 2 players wide open for a quick pass.

For defense, I spent a ton of time working on help side defense and how to position yourself when your man does not have the ball and when to jump over to help and when to stay put. I have my kids sag to the middle a lot. I will concede 15-18 foot jumpers at this age group if it means I am not giving up layups and I can have my kids in better rebound position. One drill that we ran was a 4-3 half court where the offense had an extra player. This made it easier for the offense to get open, but made the defense work extra hard to rotate and not concede easy shots. After working at this, it makes defense when you have even numbers seem easy for the kids.

Another drill that I know of but did not use this season is to run a scrimmage (see the them of simulating game action as much as possible), but the only way to "win" is for every player on the team to score a basket. So if you are running a 4 on 4 scrimmage (again, only having 9 on the roster, I did not get to run a lot of 5 on 5 in practice unless I brought my 1st grader or another kid along for practice), you could play to 5, but each of the 4 kids on the team must score 1 point before you could score your 5th and win. This forces the kids to pass, and to work a shot for everyone. Just another tool to help the kids get comfortable passing to each other in a game situation.

Those are just some of the drills that workd well for my 2nd/3rd graders. Our league changed it's setup this year to change from being a 10 game season where best record wins it (thus encouraging the play to win at all costs mentality) to an 8 game season that is used to determine seeding for a playoff tournament (ideally to encourage player development over win at all costs in the regular season).

I really like the scrimmage idea where each person has to score. I may try that today.

one problem I've run into all year is a few kids just aren't getting the idea of moving without the ball. They still ask me where they are supposed to go, not realizing it doesn't matter as long as they are moving to open spots, setting screens etc. I may install a "set" where each kid has 2 moves to make then give the option. To move.

For the not knowing where to move, some of that is youthfulness, but some can be sort of taught. As I mentioned before, most teams in our league run a 2-3 zone (some do a 2-1-2, but basically same gaps with that), so I taught them positioning based off of that. If your league mandates man to man, then a simple pass and cut or motion offense will work better, but against a zone, I found it much better to teach them to find the gaps.

So, what I did was set up 5 kids in the basic 2-3 zone, then ask the other kids to go to a spot that was open. I'd throw a cone down in those spots. That way, it was the kids figuring out where they should go. Then I'd adjust the kids that were in the zone to how it would look if we had passed the ball to the wing. And again had the kids figure out where the open spots were. Something about the kids finding the spots rather than me simply telling them where the spot were made it click a bit better.

At the end of the day, I ended up teaching them that there were 7 main spots on the floor to occupy. The point, the two wings, two short corners (about 5 feet outside the post), the high post and the low post. At first, the basic rule as that I did not care what area they went to as long as no one else was there. The second rule was that everytime we made a pass, we'd move to a different spot. This at least got them moving, but it didn't always get them moving to a good passing lane. But, now that I had them understanding the idea of moving on offense and looking for an open spot, I tried to put a little more structure to it by adding some of the basic principles from this page: http://www.coachesclipboard.net/Simple23ZoneBuster.html . It's a little more than I wanted to teach 2nd/3rd graders, but by teaching them the basic idea of being in a 1-3-1 formation and trying to be in a bit of a triangle on offense when we were moving so there are always multiple options, we've certainly improved.

It's basically adding layers. Start with basic pass and cuts like you have done, then start showing them the spots to go to and having them move freely to get used to moving without the ball, then start adding a little more structure to who goes where. It's worked for me this year. We have two 90 minute practices a week and have been going since the beginning of November. We do about 20 minutes of ballhandling at each practice, 15 minutes of shooting/layup/pass/cut drills, 30 minutes of defense, 20 minutes for scrimmages and 5 minutes for water breaks throughout. Now that we are towards the end of our season, I am doing a bit less of the individual drills and a bit more of the various types of scrimmages to try simulate game situations. I like doing the unbalanced scrimmages 3 on 2 or 4 on 3 to make it harder on the kids in practice than it will be in the game. I did not start showing them the 1-3-1 formation until the beginning of January as I didn't think they had they concept of moving without the ball and pass/cut down well enough to warrant it. A couple probably still don't, but I couldn't hold the others back any longer.

Sorry that ended up going so long - obviously your mileage may vary depending on how much time you have for practice, the skill level of the team, the leagues rules (ie if zones are allowed or not), etc.