Here is a question I recently received on Twitter...

Hi Joe. I just wanted to ask. I have a 9 year old currently playing OBA level basketball. He is good, and his team is really good. The team is stacked with talent and I can see his team dominating tournaments for years to come. I would say he is probably the 8th or 9th option on this team. Would it be more advantageous for his growth to leave him in this team where he doesn't get as many opportunities or take him to a team where he can be at least 2nd, 3rd or maybe even the 1st option? I hope you can help me with this dilemma. Thanks!

Since there really isn't a one-size-fits-all answer, I sent this to our team at Breakthrough to get different thoughts and perspectives.

Co-Founder Jeff Haefner's Priorities After Going Through This With His 13 Year Old Son and 15 Year Old Daughter

First, this is what Jeff Haefner said...

It's tough to say because every situation is different and every kid is different. Unique personalities, likes, interests, skill sets, confidence level, etc.

I would make the following priority:


• develop a passion for the game (have fun)
• develop a passion for staying active, exercise and healthy lifestyle
• learn character and life lessons from sports
Then after those priorities are met, my next priority would be to get touches on the ball and develop.

And try to keep the child in that sweet spot of development. You want them to get lots of touches but also getting challenged (succeeding around 60-70% of the time). Over 80% is too much because they're not getting challenged enough. Below 50% can be too little because eventually confidence can get down and become discouraged on the sport. It's NEVER going to be perfect because that is a difficult balance to maintain. But you try to stay in that range.

If your child is on the cusp of cracking the top 2-5, just needing some confidence and/or some strategic training to get the skills polished.... then staying on this team might be perfect.

If that will never happen, I probably would try to find a way to give him an opportunity to be a primary ball handler and/or player on the team. Get more opportunities to drive, shoot, score and make plays.

However, if all his buddies are on the team and he loves it. Being the #8 guy might be perfect and finding some 3v3 (tournaments or pick up games), a trainer when he's older, camps, or other opportunities might be perfect for him.

This is rare, few coaches do this, but when I coached I made sure all players (1 through 10), got to be point guard, post, primary ball handler, opportunities to shoot, etc. I had to get creative at times to make this happen.

But to develop skills, YOU NEED THE BALL IN YOUR HANDS making decisions, shooting, driving, etc. So for this reason, sometimes being the top 1-3 players on your team can be best for development. In other cases, being the best can be a bad thing because you become lazy, pick up bad habits, etc. It all depends on the exact situation and the personality of the player.

But again, that sweet spot of succeeding 60-70% of the time is ideal.

30-Year High School and Coaching Veteran...

Here is what 30-year high school and college coaching veteran Mark Brase said...

I think having both experiences would be the best. It doesn't even have to be an entire season of being the #1 or #2 option on a team, but to have that experience definitely builds confidence so when/if the time comes in the future, they are prepared and know how it feels.

Obviously knowing how to play a role on a team is valuable as well, teaching you how to contribute when you are one of the top options on the team.

Being able to have both experiences probably helps create the most well-rounded player and mentally tough player as well... that's my opinion off the top of my head.

State Tourney Coach Whose Son Under 6 Feet Tall Played College Basketball

Here is what another coach I respect and his son developed into a college basketball player...

If the team is well coached and has good teammates, I would leave him be.

No doubt in my mind, my son (although he was a little older at 14 years old) benefited from being on an "elite" team. He started out as the tenth best player on a ten man team 😁. Not sure where he ended up in the team rankings, but he got better and that confidence carried over to his high school team.--

Note: His son became a 1st team all-state player as a junior and senior in high school and went on to have a good career as a college basketball player. All the while, he was under 6 feet tall and lacked the athleticism you see at the college level.

My Thoughts - What to Look For and When to Say NO!

Hey, it's Joe again here...

Everything mentioned above was great! And here are a few additional thoughts for your situation...

Like Jeff said, these are my first priorities...

• develop a passion for the game (have fun)
• develop a passion for staying active, exercise and healthy lifestyle
• learn character and life lessons from sports

And of course, the coach should be a role model. They need to set a good example for behavior on and off the court.

If your coach doesn't check these boxes, find another coach.

I think your number one goal is to find a really good YOUTH coach.

If you have a great coach, I think you should stay. I've seen kids be the 7th, 8th, or 9th option on teams and develop just fine over time.

And I can't count the number of positive situations where I see a kid who is the #1, #2, or #3 options for their team all of the way through middle school. Then when they get to high school, they seek more challenges. This might be the more common road.

One of the last players I trained was his team's best player through 9th grade. Then he tried out for an "elite" regional team after his 9th grade basketball season. He became the player of the year in his state and had a great college career.

He also had a really good youth coach!

You can still send them to basketball camps and tournaments to get challenged by different players. They could even practice with some really good teams in the area. They could practice with older kids.

Winning Doesn't Equal Good Youth Coaching

This might sound contradictory, but winning at the youth level doesn't equate to good coaching. In fact, it can mean the complete opposite.

That's why it can be so hard for parents at times!

So you need to figure these things out...

You might want to find another coach if they are using strategies such as...

• Zone defenses or traps
• Constantly double-teaming the ball and trapping
• Always full court pressing
• Constantly running continuity offense or plays
• Spend most of their practice time teaching plays instead of teaching shooting, ball handling, other skills, and decision making
• Always doing a high pick and roll
• Having the same point guard all of the time
• Keeping certain players in the post all of the time
• Keeping the ball in the hands of the best players most of the time
• Not playing all kids for at least 1/3 of the game (This could be an average across the season...I aimed for 50/50 across the season)

Now if they're using just one or two of these strategies, the situation might need to be evaluated a little more thoroughly.

I could take any group of athletic kids and win games using the strategies above... any knucklehead can. However, it doesn't mean they are developing the kids properly and doing what's best for them in the future.

Nobody remembers or cares how many 5th grade trophies you won!

I always believed in this saying at the youth level, "Coaches coach to develop players. Players play to win."

Youth coaching is your classic "slow-cooking" situation. You might not see the rewards until the players are 15, 16, or 17 years old.

And the opposite holds true. These kids might do really well during youth and middle school years. Then they hit a wall in high school and everybody catches them or even passes them.

I've seen both situations happen multiple times.

Here are some articles that describe strategies and approaches that youth coaches should take:

Youth Coaches: Destroy Your Playbook and Do This Instead

Gravity and Teaching Youth Basketball Skills

What Defense Should You Teach Youth Players (Zone, Man, Press)??

My brother Jeff also wrote about his experience coaching his children from 3rd grade to 8th grade here:

Jeff Haefner Coaching Blog

Here are some posts that cover offense, defense, drills, plays, etc. that he used each year.

I would highly recommend you find a coach that uses a similar approach to the strategies used below...

Coaching 3rd Grade Girls

Coaching 3rd Grade Boys

Coaching 4th Grade

Coaching 5th Grade

Coaching 7th Grade

Coaching 8th Grade

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First Teresa Kile says: 7/14/2020 at 10:00:24 AM I believe it comes down to good teaching in practice and coaching on the court. It also involves having the coach explain to the parents what the goals are for the season so the coach, players and parents are all on the same pathway. Like   1 reply   login   register Coach Shaine says: 7/14/2020 at 5:19:47 PM Clear communication is critical for sure. Great coaches and sports parents do their best to communicate clearly and often with one another. But, it doesn’t always work when dealing with either a trophy coach or trophy parent. These folks just want to win trophies every tournament so they can brag on social media. If one party’s mission doesn’t align with trophy chasing, the trophy parent will move their kid from team to team until they find one that wins 90% of the time, regardless of whether it helps their child improve or not. On the flip side, I’ve seen parents try to communicate with a “trophy” coach but he/she doesn’t want to discuss anything. It’s their way or the highway, which never works. If your kid can’t help the team win a trophy, the coach gets rid of them and doesn’t care how it affects the kid. Youth sports is a tough environment to navigate for everyone involved. Like     login   register Kwam Dowdell says: 7/14/2020 at 11:08:13 AM Played Jermaine O’Neal’s # 1 ranked 2025 team out of Texas in championship and he ran a zone all game. He has great athletes to work with and he straight ran a zone on us kids from Kansas. We lost by 9. I was flabbergasted to see an ex nba player running zone! Weak!!! Like     login   register Kwam Dowdell says: 7/14/2020 at 11:33:22 AM Played Jermaine O’Neal’s #1 ranked 2025 team and dude straight played zone all game. We from Kansas and we man up all day. I was flabbergasted to see an ex nba player running zone with the athletes he had. We lost by 9. Weak!! Like   1 reply   login   register Coach Shaine says: 7/14/2020 at 4:49:15 PM Hilarious! Not that you were annoyed by O’Neal’s strategy, but it’s just that middle school rankings crack me up. Sounds like Jermaine probably realized you had great offensive players, and knowing his guys wouldn’t be able to defend your team in a man situation and win... he opted for a zone to conserve energy and force your guys to shoot them out of the zone? Just a thought. I’ve seen coaches do that to protect their little “ranking”. In the long run your guys may end up being more well rounded because you make them man up on defense? Like     login   register Coach Shaine says: 7/14/2020 at 3:54:18 PM Bear with me, cuz this is a long one. As a coach of an “elite” shoe sponsored team (9th graders this fall) I have been saying all of this stuff since my guys were in 5th grade. I had a solid high school and college career, and have 6 NBA first-rounders on my resume as a trainer so, I understand firsthand the importance of “trusting the process.” The biggest issue I’ve seen with youth sports today is that many parents & coaches alike don’t understand how youth player development (and puberty) works. Each year I hold several meetings with team parents to go over team goals and to answer questions. But I know full well that I will have 4 or 5 parents (Every year) who will nod their heads like they understand and then as the season wears on, no matter how many meetings I do with them, they will act like I never explained the plans/goals with them for their kids - giving them ample opportunities to ask questions. As for player development, all kids are different and some need more time than others. I have seen so many kids who peaked early and end up struggling to keep up with the late bloomers. Reason being, in most cases (not all) they were so use to dominating their peers that their parents didn’t feel the need to keep them training on fundamentals. So when the late bloomers who were developing critical fundamental skills come of age, they gain confidence in their abilities and oftentimes outplay the former middle school stars in their high school years. Overall, coaches have to have a strong understanding of player development, team goal setting, and proper communication skills. I have 5 kids on my team who have been with me since 5th grade (training and coaching) and now, entering high school this fall are among the top players in their class. Mind you, above a lot of kids who use to dominate them in 5th - 7th grades. Like     login   register Coach Shaine says: 7/14/2020 at 4:34:09 PM Kudos to the parent who posed the initial question. Like     login   register Coach Edwards says: 7/17/2020 at 1:00:05 PM I am a former college player that never played one game of high school or AAU ball. I am now a coach of a middle school team that was just a couple of games shy of the state championship. I had kids on the team that played on "elite" teams and truth be told it was the ones that had not played AAU that were the most solid not the "elite" players. I have 2 sons who have played high school and college ball and two that are 9th grade and 11th and are pretty darn good too. They have had opportunities to play with so called elite programs. I explained to them my position is I would rather compete against them than to join them. I agree totally that if the players aren''t getting the proper training and basic skills down to a science everything else is a waste. I have friends that have their children on "elite" teams and think its a good thing just because they win tournaments and are ranked in the state that do not get much PT. Building confidence in their ability is the primary factor in becoming elite as you work and develop and hone in on your skill set. You are on point with the fact that nobody gives a crap about 5th grade basketball awards. I have one daughter who was a very good player in 5th grade that decided that she didn''t want to play anymore after that year, and she loved playing and working to get better. I''d say play him/her where they are going to be thoroughly instructed so they are solidly constructed. Being on an "elite" team doesn''t necessarily mean the players are elite. Anybody should be able to win when they have stacked talent until they meet teams with what they have and more. Like     login   register

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