Video Games and Backwards Youth Leagues

I am 100% on-board with this and would go further - no zones, no pressing until college. And you should push your local team, coaches and league to adopt these standards.

I coach an HS team, an AAU team, and am heavily involved in development for 5-12 year olds. We will not allow kids to play on rims too tall or with balls too heavy. I've never allowed my HS teams to press or play zone.

When I took my accreditation courses, some coaches objected to the same ideas put forth by our instructor, whereupon he asked, "Are you paid to win?" After delaying, they admitted they weren't. The instructor concluded, "Alright, then you're a development coach. Develop."

Explain it with science, facts and examples to parents and coaches, you'll see them get on board.

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Hi,

As a big sports fan and a former basketball weekend warrior, I''''d just like to share a tip for shooting and scoring 2- and 3-pointers with ease and confidence.

Whether you are a weekend warrior or a parent who wants their kid to become a stellar 3-point scorer, I suggest that you make a small ball out of 2-3 paper sheets (A4 format) and then simply wrap it all up with some scotch tape.

And next...

You just make a small basket out of either a rougher piece of paper or a softer type of carton, and stick it somewhere on the wall in your bedroom.

Now, just have fun practicing your shooting and scoring skills as much as you want. To give you a clue....

You might find it as addictive and fun as playing your favorite video game.

Point is...

When you come to practice your shooting skills on that real-life playground or basketball court, you will very quickly gain such an amazing feel for both the basketball and distance shooting.

One reason for this is that our human fingertips have the largest number of nerve endings in the whole body.

So, it almost feels as if your fingers have the brain of its own that calculates everything for you when it comes to shooting and scoring from your favorite positions.

Greetings from Croatia!
Bruno

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Totally agree with these recommendations. I have coached jr. high basketball for fourteen years. Very few of my players have arrived knowing how to play man to man. They also played in a Rec league where pressing is allowed for the entire game in 6th grade and the last 2 minutes of each half in 3rd, 4th, and 5th. As a coach at their next level of play, this was useless to me. They are often discouraged immediately if they have been pressed in the past, and that does not help our press break at all. These things are definitely why so many kids quit today. It is also why they have such a lack of confidence if they do keep playing. For some, it doesn't get much better in jr. high. I coach at a small school, and I've always had issues with getting enough kids to play. I have had some really good teams, but I've also had teams that struggled a lot. I've coached against some folks who think its fun to win 85-5. Nobody learns anything good from that. I also agree with the lower hoops and smaller basketballs. When my son was first learning to shoot at home, that's how we did it. It ensured that his form was pretty good from the start.

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Do you have the references?

I agree with the article and my practices always have some sort of small sided games (continuous 3v3, 3v2v1, etc) but it's nice being able to quote research.

"...research has shown that 3v3 is one of the best mediums..."

and

"...USA Basketball and Junior NBA have the same recommendations..."

Thanks!

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Joe Haefner says: 1/22/2021 at 2:05:05 PM Great point, Steven. Here you go: https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2018/03/youth-rules-and-standards.aspx https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265283761_Comparison_of_Physical_Activity_in_Small-Sided_Basketball_Games_Versus_Full-Sided_Games Like     login   register

Totally agree with everything. I coach soccer at the high school level and basketball at the junior high level. I have always wondered why we are watching these kids try to chuck up a women's ball when they are in 3rd grade yet play smaller sided games with a smaller ball in soccer? The ability to be successful while playing is so important. Taking defenders off can certainly help kids understand that.

In addition, having these 3rd or 4th grade kids shoot with a women's ball leads to such poor shooting forms. These poor shooting forms continue because they have had "success" shooting a ball this way. As we all know, old habits are tough to break.

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Love this article. My practices (3/4 grade girls) I play 3v3 when scrimmaging. Each kid gets more involved and has a chance for their skills to be tested. No one can hide in the background. Then on game day we go back to the 5v5 chaos. I wish more leagues would embrace the 3v3 league setup. I really believe more players would develop earlier if this were the case. AND more players will stick with the game because they are having fun.

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