Are there any online resources/articles/websites that give good advice for in game coaching for youth basketball? I'm coaching a 3rd grade travel team and don't really have an assistant so I want to be as prepared as possible. Thanks.

I can't think of any articles off the top of my head. We do have these but it's meant for high school level.
https://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/coaching/game_strategy_and_situations.html

Here are a few pointers...

- Relax. Smile, Have fun. Give high fives and fist bumps. It's just youth basketball. Let them have fun and celebrate when they do something well.. even if it's just grabbing the ball and you're down 100 points.

- Do these two things when subbing.
http://jeffhaefner.com/coach/youth-defense-how-to-make-sure-young-players-know-who-they-are-guarding/

- I send out a letter telling parents not to give instructions during the game... cheering only. I'll post the specific email I send to parents on my blog in a couple days. If you have a bunch of parents hollering instruction, the kids probably won't hear a thing you say and they'll be looking at their parents during the game instead of you.

- Praise effort more than talent. If a kid is talented and makes incredible moves, you don't need to praise that very much, if ever. But if he or someone else grabs a rebound, dives on the floor, sprints in transition.... praise that (effort).

- Avoid saying things like "hang on to the ball" and "make the shot". Well duh... it's not like the kid wasn't trying to make the lay up or purposely turned the ball over. Not to mention, that just makes them more nervous about making mistakes. They're gonna make tons of makes. Fear of failure is very detrimental to improvement and effective play. What's more is there is no instruction to what you're saying. Your not giving them any solution to the problem. This leads to next point...

- Use the sandwich technique when teaching. Let's say John turned the ball over and you have a teaching moment. Say, great job hustling down in transition. Next time you get in a tough spot along the sideline with a defender there, try to retreat dribble and get to the middle. You got it now. Great job with your hustle!!

So you sandwich your critique between two positive comments.

- Use questions... how's our spacing? What did you see? How can we stop that from happening? Self discovery is effective and is more engaging that you just telling them exactly what to do all the time.

Thanks for your help, Jeff! That helps a lot.

In that article it mentioned subbing more frequently, like every 2 minutes. I see that being good for keeping track of who they are guarding, but does that mess with the flow of the game a bit?

My 3rd grade travel team plays 18 minutes halves. I have 8 guys total. The league doesn't require equal playing time so i don't think I'll make it equal, but I would like to keep it relatively close in time on the floor. Any suggestions?

Excellent tips from Jeff! I'd emphasize there will be great temptation to tell the kids what to do constantly on the court. Obvious things like, "Shoot!", "Get the ball!", "Dribble", "Pass", "Run", Get the rebound" and on and on. If I'm yelling on the court, it is either praise or a pre defined code word. The code word is something we've practiced and it means something to the kids. For example "box" could mean remember to box out. Code words are shorter and sound better than yelling instructions.

I wouldn't sub every 2 min. If you have 18 min halves, I'd sub every 5-6 min. I would suggest getting a person to help track playing time. Sounds goofy, but parents love to see their kid on the court. I know parents that tracked the playing time of their kid. I'm not suggesting you make sure every kid has down to the min equal playing time every game, however, we're talking 3rd grade here.

Last thought. Your coaching philosophy and goals play a huge part in playing time. To be honest, at 3rd grade, regardless of being a travel team or not, I would be on the developmental side of things vs. winning. That doesn't mean I wouldn't keep my better kids in at crucial points in games, but not at the expense of another player getting minimal playing time. It can be a slippery slope at the younger levels if your eyes are focused on the scoreboard and standings.

Best of luck this season!