I am coaching a 5th grade girls team, one of our players is my 10 year old daughter. Guesss how I ended up doing this? None of them have played competetive ball before, although they did have some basic skills. 2 of the girls are really good ball handlers, 3 are pretty good shooters, one is really good defensively, and then there's my daughter. She is new to basketball, not a good ball handler and were it not for a lot of extra work with Daddy during the season, she wouldn't be much of a shooter either. She can shoot pretty well from anywhere inside the lane, and is very tall for her age, more like a 13 year old. I have had her playing one of 2 low post positions. She is discouraged and doesn't think she is much a part of the game from there. I have tried getting her to use her height and body size to be a rebounder, and this is getting better. When she doesn't panic, she is a good shooter under the basket. I tried telling her that Shaqeal O'Neal can't dribble a ball to save his life, that most of his points are scored right under the basket. If I could find a way to sell her on playing the low post, she could get really good at it, but she has to want it. The other girls have mostly accepted where I placed them, and I will not move her to a position that she cannot excel at. help!?

Glenn:
This sounds like the exact same problem i had many many years ago with my daughter. She too was tall for her age and because of that height, I tried to force her to play in the post. However, a coaching colleague of mine advised me to play all kids in all positions. Some girls seem to have a growth spurt at a young age and in my daughters case she stopped growing and ended up being 5'8"". I took my friends advice and practiced al the kids in all positions on the floor and never regretted it. My daughter ended playing on the Provincial Team that went to the Canada Games and was selected to the all-star team as a small forward. These days with the advent of of the motion offense, its advisable to teach kids to play all positions it will make them a much more well rounded player..hope this helps

Glenn,
I agree with Coach Mac. For girls at the 5th grade level, expose them to all positions instead of boxing them into one sole position or purpose. Your daughter may be tall and a post player now, in a couple years she may slow down in her growing and may be more of a wing/guard type player.
My daughter is tall and runs the point.
I am currently coaching 8th grade girls in both travel and AAU. I started coaching some of them (including my daughter) in the 3rd grade. My post players back then are now my guards. One thing that is imperative, teach dribbling and ball-handling drills to ALL players. Regardless of their position they need to know how to dribble under control, with confidence, while under pressure. Guard/wing or bigs...all my players can handle the ball.

Here is a hand-out that I give all my players to "sell" how important each position is. This flyer gives their position definition and purpose and they better understand their role. I will cut and paste so I hope it comes out OK.
Cut and paste this for your own flyer to hand-out to your kids.
Just replace my player names with your players, remember some players may have the skill set to play multiple positions so you'll have same player capable of playing the 1, 2 and 3 positions.

My flyer starts below:


*It is important this year that each player understands and accepts their role on this Rage team. This goes for both minutes played and position played.
We all know the three basic positions in basketball are Guard, Forward and Center. These positions are also numbered.

This is a quick breakdown of typical qualities that are required for each position. Rage players may be asked to play different positions.

1) The Point Guard (Boo, Emily, Brooke, Jill ) “THE ONE”
The point guard runs the offense and watches the backcourt. Her role is so important to the team that she is really an extension of the coach on the floor. She must have these qualities:
1. She must have an instinctive knowledge of the game.
2. She must be a great ball handler.
3. She must be a great passer.
4. She must possess great court vision.
5. She must possess speed and quickness of foot.
6. She must be a great dribbler with either hand.
7. She must be able to play good hard-nosed defense.
8. She must be able to hit the outside shot when left open.
9. She must be able to penetrate the defense and pass to an open teammate.
10. She must be able to read defenses.

2) The Shooting Guard also called 2-Guard or Off-Guard (Boo, Emily, Christy, Brooke, Jill) “THE TWO”

The off-guard is also referred to as the #2 guard or shooting guard. She is generally the better shooter of the two guards. The qualities that she needs to possess are:
1. She must have an instinctive knowledge of the game.
2. She must be a good ball handler.
3. She must be a good passer.
4. She must possess speed and quickness of foot.
5. She must be a good dribbler with either hand.
6. She must be able to play good hard-nosed defense.
7. She must be able to hit the 10 to 15 foot shot with consistency.
8. She must be able to penetrate and dish off.
9. She must be able to read defenses.
10. She must know how to move without the ball. (Getting Open)
11. She must be a student of the offense so that he can step in and run the offense if the point guard is being overplayed, or must leave the game.


3) The Small Forward or Wing Forward (Karen, Emily, Caitlyn, Jill) “THE THREE”
The small forward is the most gifted player on the team. She should possess the following characteristics:
1. She must be quick and fast.
2. She must be an adequate rebounder.
3. She must be a good passer.
4. She must be able to play defense anywhere on the floor.
5. She must have “good hands”.
6. Most of all she must be a good scorer, capable of shooting from anywhere from the wings, around the key, and under the boards.
7. She must run the length of the floor on fast breaks.

4) The Power Forward (Melissa, Hallie, Myah, Karen, Caitlyn) “THE FOUR”
Like the point guard, the power, or strong forward, does not receive much recognition. Usually, if she's doing her job well, her role as the player doing the "dirty work" is taken for granted. She is usually tall, tough and strong.
She must possess the following:
1. She must be a solid rebounder, both offensively and defensively. Along with the center, the power forward controls the area inside the key.
2. She must be an adequate passer.
3. She must be an adequate scorer.
4. She must be a "gutsy" dribbler and a hard driver.
5. She must be a good runner and able to go the entire length of the floor on a fast break.
6. She must be a solid defender and good shot-blocker.
7. She must stand up to the opposition at both ends of the court and play very tough.
8. She can’t be afraid of physical contact.
5) The Center (Hallie, Myah, Melissa,) “THE FIVE”

The center, along with the point guard, is easily the most important player on the team. Normally, she is the tallest player on the floor. The qualities she must possess are:
1. She must have quickness.
2. She must be an aggressive rebounder and lead the way in blocked shots. He needs to be a little arrogant with a streak of meanness. She is king of the paint.
3. She must be a dependable scorer at short and mid range. She must be good at the power lay-ups, with and without shot fakes, from both sides of the basket. She needs to develop a short hook and jump shot.
4. She must have defensive leadership, always talking to her teammates.
5. She must be a good passer and be able to see the floor and hit the open man if her shot is not there.
6. She must be able to read how she is being defended and to take advantage of this when she is posting-up.
7. She must have strong hands, good upper body strength, and good jumping ability.
8. She can’t be afraid of physical contact.

Good advice CoachMac and Coach A!

Young players should learn all positions and skills. You just never know where they will end up down the road. Not to mention, tall players that learn guard skills at a young age tend to do well when they get older (Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, etc).