Don,

I bought the attack and counter system last March and was able to use it over the summer with some of our guys. It was amazing to see the light switch turn on for a few of them as the summer went on. The guys I worked with were 7th & 8th grade aged players. I know I'm going to use this with them this winter in every practice. I'm also coaching the 5th/6th grade level guys and at that age we just don't have nearly the time to get into as much of it as I do with Junior High. Last year I had 32 JH practices and 13 Elementary practices. JH practices were typically 1.5-2 hours, while Elementary were 1.5 hours at the longest.

My question for the younger ones. Would it make more sense to really emphasize the three main pivots and counters for this age, and by the time they're in 7th/8th grade it'll then be easier to add to it? I'd rather get them comfortable with the terminology, the movements, and your "shot, shot, shot" mentality so when we have time to really dive into stuff they have a great foundation. What else, in your opinion, would be something to focus on with the limited practice time at this age?

*Million Dollar Question*

What's the best strategy to convince players that skill development in the off-season is more important that signing up for every tournament and summer league? The 4 kids I had that showed up all summer long and worked on your system got so much better at basic movements it was almost comical. I want to find a way to show that to the rest of the JH guys when we get it going this winter. Should I lean on those guys to demonstrate some of these skills so their peers can see that they're already a little behind?

Give me a couple of days and I'll get back to you.

Getting the younger ones really comfortable with the pivots, terminology and mentality is a really good idea. I don't think it will take that long. However, if they can't relate them to the game, if they can't discover where they are going to use them, they will lose interest, get confused and won't progress.

Don't let their age deter you from teaching them the game. I think the earlier you get them to application the better and quicker they will progress. It really is just all playing the game. If they are going to play, they should learn to play correctly and see where things fit it.

In regard to your "Million Dollar Question," it is a question that has been plaguing coaches since there have been coaches. You might be able to force them to work as a condition for making the team. However, through repeated experimentation, I have learned that is not a good way to go.

The first "Law of Learning," is you have to have a willing student. If they don't want to do it and you try to force them to work, you'll be wasting everyone's time. If it is not their idea not only will they not improve but, you'll build in resentment and they'll go backwards instead of forward. Success is the greatest motivator. I would definitely use the 4 players who have improved so much as examples of what the positive rewards are to practice. Use them as demonstrators, motivators, etc.

More importantly, I have learned that getting better is a long and never ending process. If you have players that enjoy playing, they will also have a desire to get better. Your job as a coach, it to provide them with a path to walk on. Once you take them to the path, you can't really make them walk it. But, if you can put them in a situation where they can make their own decision to take the path, then they will really progress. It is not possible to really enjoy the game without enjoying the process of getting better. Just stay positive with them, point out their successes and how they got there. The rest is really up to them.

Thank you for the response. I really enjoyed the progressions of each skill. My first watch through the DVDs, I loved seeing it broken down 3 feet from the basket and then extending out to a one-dribble lay-up from close to half-court. When I introduced that concept of pushing the ball out and covering ground to a few 7th graders, they thought I was crazy. After a few of them saw they could do it from the 3-point line we had one of those light bulb moments. I definitely agree that I need to have higher expectations of them than they do for themselves regardless of age. When I got to the JH level two years ago, I had some players that didn't know the proper footwork for a weak-hand lay-up. They'd never been actually taught the proper footwork.

This is probably the most "Well, duh!" advice ever but I think it's important for any coach to realize. It's what I've realized after these first two years in the JH and Elementary level. Applies to all levels, but especially at the youth level. If you haven't taught the kid how to do it, no matter how "easy" you think it is, you can't expect them to do it. Compelling stuff, I know.So, I caught myself in a huddle telling a player, who I hadn't worked on any individual post moves with yet, "Hey, next time you get the ball in the post, have a move in mind and go-to it." About 10 seconds later I realized we hadn't covered anything even close to that, so how am I expecting an 11-year-old to execute a front pivot into step through if he doesn't know what that means.? And then I realized that applies to everything and my philosophy on in-game coaching changed. The more I think of it, it applies to any level just at varying degrees of what they're doing. Now I like to ask a player if they have a go-to move or if they even know what that means, start a conversation that way, and then get into showing them these pivots and counters.

I think highlighting my summer gym rats is a good way to introduce it. Now I just need to adjust to keeping a gym with 20-30 players engaged compared to 4-5 we had this summer. That's what I'm trying to piece together before we get rolling with the season. Thank you for all of your insight and knowledge.

Going to 20-30 kids in a gym really isn't hard, if you know how to look at it.

I use the chairs for a lot of reasons. First, having one player do continuous repetitions is much better than having them stand in line and wait for their chance to get 1 repetition. Then, not worrying about passing and catching goes a long way to eliminating the things that slow down a workout. There are also more traditional reasons, such as reference points and using them as defenders, etc. But, one of the biggest reasons is keeping a higher number of players involved goes a long way to having a good workout. Using players as ball placers and rebounders as the shooter gets his reps keeps everyone doing something and involved.

You just have to do the math to figure out how many players work at each basket abd how many chairs you need.