To Win More Basketball Games, You Need to be Great at 3 Things!

Thank you! You have a way of putting my thoughts into words. I so believe your views on youth sports and particularly 'winning'. I returned to coaching youth sports (7 -9 year olds) this winter and I have been loving every minute of it! Please keep motivating us, so we can continue to positively influence young, life-long, athletes.

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Good stuff mentioned, something that I can take and study for next AAU season when I should have my own team versus being an Assistant Coach right now. Winning isn't everything as we've taught our kids, it's the effort that they put in.

Having the tools to win doesn't hurt though.

Thanks again for the great info.

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John says: 3/6/2017 at 7:44:06 PM I like how you put AAU and not assistant. You have a lot to learn still. 10 years come back. Like     login   register

great article.

i just focused on shooting... i introduced foot works. and im going to show them half court offense and a good m2m defense..i guess this will be my focus... i will include rebounding on my defense philosophy...

im so happy i found this website...

i have a question, my opponents are focused on trapping, fastbreak and zone defense because this league is 12-15yrs old. i also want to win but we always end up 2nd place for a long time.its my 2nd year to handle this team... how am i gona break or win against a team that focuses on trapping, fast break and zone defense, considering they have a dominant player that can score low post and can shoot at the perimter?

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James says: 1/24/2016 at 12:01:43 PM As far as trapping goes you'll need to make sure your team uses proper spacing and plays under control. Also make certain that they understand court awareness and where most teams like to trap and try not to put themselves in those situations. For teams that like to play fast the best option is to slow the game down. Make it a half court game and make sure your team understands that to slow the game down they will have to play disciplined on the offensive end by not forcing anything. They'll have to move the ball effectively and patiently wait for the defense to break down which for teams that like to pressure the ball will happen. Also proper spacing and ball movement is the key against zone defenses. Your team needs to be able to read what the defense is doing and see where best to attack. Make sure your players move the ball quickly and don't just settle for jump shots that partially open. Also having some good ballhandlers that can drive and kick out will force the defense to move which will open the door for wide open shots but make certain that your guys understand not to just take the 1st open jumper and have them use the clock to their advantage. To beat a team that has a "MJ" or "Lebron" type of player you'll need focus on not allowing the others to beat you. You might not can totally stop a great player but you can slow him/her down. Try denying that person the ball as much as possible making sure your players HELP each other out by communicating and jumping to the ball. Good luck Like     login   register

What are some of the basics of your motion offense? Do you have specific rules? Do you limit them to any types of cuts, screens, etc. I am hoping to teach a real basic pass-and-cut-or-screen type motion and am looking for any help out there. Thanks!

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Brad Mac says: 7/14/2017 at 11:15:06 AM Don Kelbick's Motion Offense eBook is a great resource for someone new to coaching a Motion Offense. Chris Oliver, Brian McCormick Jeff Hefner, and other contributors to these we articles we read, provide everything coaches need to teach our players the game of basketball. They use common sense as they introduce and apply creative methods of teaching and practicing.But if you do venture out into the World Wide Web, be careful of where and what information you use to develop your philosophies, practice plans and methods of teaching. I've see it too often where a young youth coach will spend money on resource at the NCAA or NBA level. I'm not saying you can't or won't learn form these coaches. It's just appples and oranges. If just learned how to swim you would try to swim the English Channell, would you? These are not the resource young coaches should be using. Find coaching contributors that coach at a similar Level as you. Good Luck! Like     login   register

Good article

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Great artikel Jeff,

Wish I had you coaching my team...back then.

CB

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How old are your players Brad? If they are under 12 then make sure they understand ball handling and passing first. The first rule I teach in motion offense is pass and screen away. This concept will keep a constant balance on the court. Once they learn to balance the court properly introduce a simple cut. The key to the whole thing is court balance. Teach your players to take a deep breath and pull it out to restart if things go awry.

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Excelent article.

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Brad,

Yes, we have specific rules for the motion offense The rules change from year to year based on personell, age level, player skills, strengths, and so on.

If you teach your players how to play the game, emphasize the right elements (spacing, roles, etc.) they will figure a lot of it out for you. As they play, if you see an action that you think would be productive, make it a rule.

You could start with the rules from this simple offense:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/offense/cutters.html

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I agree to incapie only in some aspects of the game, but these must be changed throughout the years to develop players and not half full player.

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This was a very good article.I wish i would of new that when i was first starting out.

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It's a good artical it will help me. thank you

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Basic rules for motion offense:

1. 3 Out - 2 In or 4 Out - 1 In set up (depending on the amount of post players you will use on the floor at one time.

2. When you pass you have the option to (a) Basket Cut or (b) screen away...as they become better you can add an Inside cut, Ball screen, or Replace yourself. But start only with the first two to keep it simple.

3. Spacing - Except during cuts/screens, there should always be 15-18 ft. spacing.

4. Floor balance - teach the players how to recognize floor balance 3/2 or 1/2/2 - Never 4 or 5 players on one side of the midline.

5. Post entry passing and relocation. Have them work on entering the ball to the post and relocating away from the defender. There are rules as far as where to go depending on which way the defender turned, but as long as they enter and relocate to a shooting area they should be fine.

If you use those 5 rules you will have a very basic and efficient motion offense.

Work with the post players on positioning and screening. To begin I would not have the posts screen for the perimeter unless it is a set play. Once they all get the basics, you can teach the posts to set back screens for perimeter players and then turn around and set a down screen (re-screen) for the perimeter player. This will lead to open shots and will also set up great post seals on the low block.

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I use five basic rules.I tell the players if we do these five things better each day it puts us in a good position to be successful,

1.communicate
2. rebound
3. make easy opportunities ( free throws & layups)
4. play good defense
5. take care of ball (value each possession)

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You are spot on with this philosophy. It really is the key to success. Further to your comment about not focusing on winning, we have replaced the word winning with excellence. The idea is to focus on the journey not the destination.

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It's good to see. The genuiness on this site and have similar views. As a former football coach & now a basketball coach I felt overwhelmed. In football we were good in 3 areas. When I started coachong basketball I thought we had so much to be good at. I simply decided to be good defensively, on the boards, and take care of the ball. Thanks for th reinforcement. :-)

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Thanks for the great advice. Can you recommend any footwork drills for Big Men, wing players and guards. What are some of the most effective ways to develope great footwork in youg players?

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good article...my u14 team is the only team in our conference that plays tough halfcourt man defense, and other teams have a devil of a time adapting, but we get lots of practice all year breaking 2/3 zones. thanks coach!

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Hi Montoyo,

I would take a look at this article: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/individual_offense.html

Also, this ebook is a great start to developing great footwork in all players, not just post players:

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/pr/post-play.html

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Good articles they are helping me to establish a new youth team thank you.

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Like Jeff sait, i work also on a few points where we are verry strong in , like motion--m 2 m deffence and fast break

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thank u for the advice really appreciate it

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Good artical. I have been coaching that way for years but never really thought about it until I read this. I do maintain however that the best thing you can teach youngsters/beginers are basic skills as without these you cant expect players to run set offenses, play M2M defence, rebound etc. Any player, no matter what age, can always improve their basic skills somewhere.

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Thank you very much. This is VERY helpful!

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Great article. My first years as head varsity coach of the girl's team is in motion. These articles supplements all of my current knowledge. I do have a question or two: which would be more effective versus a 2-3 zone; flex or motion plays?

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This is a tough question to answer because it all depends on your personnel, player strengths, depth, primary offense, your system, coaching style, etc. I have found it's how what you do, it's how you do it. So one guy running the same plays might do a terrible job, and another guy might run the same plays with great success. Personally I like motion offense and/or a good continuity offense versus the zone. But that's just me and there are lots of ways to skin a cat.

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I really like what I have read. I am about to coach my son's 3rd grade bb team. I have been working with him on fundamentals for a year or so before he was able to play for his school this year. But this winter I plan on using the same concept with the team. Fundamentals, I am looking into purchasing, Mr. Bigelow's coaching youth bb the right way. Has anyone used these dvd's yet? If so what did you think? I look forward to learning more and being prepared for this coming season. Thanks alot breakthrough bb. Great job! I can hardly wait, good luck to all on this page.

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I would like thank you for all of the excellent basketball tips, coaching techniques, plays, drills etc.

indeed, it helps a lot though we are not able to buy some of your offers nowadays but expect us through later. As of now it would be great if allow us to continue our subscription to your free offers.

thank you.

coach bobby

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This helps me to focus on areas that I lack as a coach. I will employ these techniques to improve the quality of my team - my 3 from now will be
1. Man defense
2. Better half-court offense
3. Rebounding

Thanks

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Dear Coach,

My name is Chen Hsin, I'm working as (AGENT) with the Chinese Jiangsu Nangang Dragons basketball club,

The management Of Jiangsu Nangang Dragons basketball club, has announced for head coach replacement in the club.This Head coaching contract with the Club is scheduled to start in the Third week of Jenuary 2012.

We are very interested to welcome any experience basketball coach who can satisfactorily create a great impact in the development of basketball with the Jiangsu Nangang Dragons basketball club.

This is a 24months Head Coach contract with the Jiangsu Nangang Dragons basketball club.

Salary $29,000 per month, contract agreement One year. On the receipt of your resume, We shall outline the procedures in completing this vacancy.If you are interested forward your CV for assessment. And contact me directly for further negotiation:my email is chenhsin.cn163@yahoo.cn

http://sports.sina.com.cn/cba/team/jiangsu/index.shtml

We await your response in this regard.
Regards
Mr Chen Hsin

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I teach 5 out motion - pass cut and replace, forget screens until they understand spacing - youth players need to develop inside and outside game.

We play 1/2 court man to man - on the line up the line my rule is less is more!! Happy to discuss!!

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Steve,
That is a great rule... you have to know your personnel before you start adding things.

We ran a 5 out Open Post Offense also... m2m on/up the line and a 1-3-1 Match Up Zone.
( Varsity boys team )

The things that I felt we needed to be good at to give us a chance for the W were -

1- Control the tempo
2- Play GREAT defense FINISH by rebounding
3- Get a good shot every time down the floor
4- Protect the ball
5- Take a charge EVERY time someone drove the lane and get every loose ball.
6- Hold our own on the boards ( we were usually smaller than most of our opponents)

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nice

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great advice

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Nice job.I think it could even lead to winning , with this rule.

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I've never thought of it that way before and it doe's make sence I'll put that into play thank you

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Jeff, I really appreciate all the great tips and invaluable advice you provide here on this site. However, I have to disagree that teaching young players how to fast break, press and play zone defense will ruin their future as basketball players. IMO, the game of basketball is in constant evolution as players develop and mature. The fast break, for instance, when taught properly, teaches the kids to think quickly, and that effective passing is more efficient than dribbling. Those valuable lessons carry over into other game situations, like in a half court offense, where it is effective passing that breaks down the defense.

Also, teaching them real zone defense is actually more difficult than telling them to stay on one player, because they have to be pro-active and anticipate when to switch from defending a zone to covering someone who has just stepped into that zone, especially in the post.

Young players' do continue to change as the level play evolves and that, I think is a good thing. For most kids up through high school, any time they can pass down court in a fast break, they are playing the game with the highest amount of quick thinking and decision making in a sport that thrives on spontenaity and improvization.

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Steve -

I think that in order to play a good zone your kids need to be fundamentally sound in m2m defense. JMO A good m2m defense is not just staying on one player, you are playing good on the ball D..... one pass away and more importantly HELP D. This is important in any D that you might play. And, if you are down several points late in the game, somewhere along the line you are going to have to play m2m defense... or you are toast JMO again.

Jeff is trying to make the point that you have to be GOOD in a few areas IF you are going to be successful as a team. Whats that old saying...
" Jack of all trades - master of none. "

If you look back a few posts you will see what I felt was important, each coach has his own ideas and philosophies... thats what makes the game great.

I can tell you that as a varsity coach (now rettired) that I was very happy if the kids came in as freshman and they knew how to play solid m2m defense and could shoot the ball well. We could teach them the rest.

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Hey Steven,

Thanks for the comment. I went back to find the part of the article that I assume you are referencing. You make some excellent points but I do want to clarify one thing.

I want to point out that when done properly, done in the right progression, and when the kids are fully ready it can sometimes can be ok to "TEACH" fast break, full court press, and zone defense.

The key word here is "teach". The article didn't use the word teach. Here's the exact quote from the article:

"Youth teams can have identities too, but if your "3 things" are pressing, zone defense, and fast break offense - then you are RUINING your players' futures!

A youth coaches TOP priorities should be player development and having fun."

I think the key here is that I said if your TOP 3 THINGS (aka: top 3 priorities that you focus on) are full court press defense, zone defense, and fast break offense... then there is a problem.

The point of the article is for you to focus on a few key things and get really good at those key things.

So if you are spending the majority of your youth practice working on full court press, zone defense, and a fast break... then I'm sorry to be blunt but your priorities as a youth coach are out of whack.

With that said, I probably could have clarified a little better. You bring in some good points! I do agree and think the fast break has a place in youth basketball (like you said, when done properly). It can be an important part of the game and once kids are ready should be included. Just like when learning math, kids need to learn how to add and subtract and many other concepts before taking calculus. There is a progression to learning which takes years. Each year you learn a little more.

As a youth coach you want to try and teach in the right progressions. Kids need to learn how to execute in the half court. And sometimes it's easy for youth coaches to skip that part because you can win games just by pressing, running fast breaks, and getting points in transition. I have seen a number of teams rely on that too heavily and then really have trouble in high school because that's all they could do.

Check out this article about youth defense and let us know what you think:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/defense/age.html

Thanks for bring a little clarity to the article.

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Good article, this may have just saved my season before it started. I was trying to do too much.

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Good stuff. The tempation is to overestimate what I can do in one practice and underestimate what I can do in a season!

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I couldn't disagree more. Buy choosing three things you are artificially quantifying a sport that defies quantifying. Coaching should be about constant evaluation and changing our coaching strategies on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. It should be about lifetime learning and adapting coaching techniques to fit individual situations. I have a list of "Universals" for coaching basketball that are too large to put here. Where would I send them for your perusal?

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Skinny -

I think what Jeff is trying to say is that you cant be GREAT at everything. That doesn't mean that you aren't good at everything else ( or a lot more things )

I couldn't narrow my list down to three - here is what I came up with.

Control the Tempo

Play great defense

Take care of the ball and get a good shot every time down the floor (notice I didn't say make it haha)

Hold our own on the boards ( we were usually smaller than other teams )

Take a charge everytime they drove the lane and every loose ball is ours,
( I called these two game changers )

JMO

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I coach youth ball. Half my team are great AAU players and travel team. We are in first place in a very competitive league in NC. We run only one offensive play, dribble drive, half court defense. Not because I am smart, but because I really didn't know what to do so I figured lets just do a few things great. lol. Very confirming and I love the advice and the site. Thanks a lot from a 52 year old man who was scared to death to take on these boys. I absolutely love it!

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We all started somewhere.... all you have to do is to stay one step ahead of your players.

There were several years that we used the KISS method too.... Keep it Simple Stupid.

You are right about doing a few things well rather than a few things half baked. Its not about what you do, its ALL ABOUT how you do it.

Keep up the good work.

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This is a great article this help me a lot especially that I'm teaching in a bb clinic and sometime coaching U12 bbteam, I agree to coach Jeff's 3 things to focus in order to be successful in every bb game. thanks coach joe and jeff and also ken, I'm very thankful that I subscribe here. God Bless

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Thanks a lot for this courageous concepts.
Sir / Maam, can you sent me a copy of half court offense strategy?
God bless.

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I have a question regarding coaching and the importance of coaching as well as practicing together as a team. I have a 13yr old son who currently plays AAU basketball and they're team doesn't practice together as a team, in addition to this factor they do not have a consistent permanent coach. I have expressed concern with both of these matters and I have been told that all players learn te same plays and that it doesn't matter if they practice as a team.

I would just like to know the importance of practicing as a team and having a permanent coach. I understand that all players learn the same plays but what does that matter if the team is unable to gain chemistry amongst each other, learning the strength and weaknesses of each team mate. This is really important to a team isn't it?

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Renee -

I think ideally you play with the same team and have the same coach. But depending on the situation, they may not matter and I personally might not be concerned with having different coaches.

It somewhat depends on the players goals. If long term development is priority, then it may or may not matter depends on the situation.

Now if winning championships is more important and the priority, then having a permanent coach might be better.

Some programs focus on PRACTICE and the skill development in practice. This is when most of the true development occurs. This allows some clubs focus on practice / skill development and then recruit other various coaches to help at the games. I have seen some clubs do this to save money and do an absolute excellent job with developing players.

To me this is not ideal. But it's also not a deal breaker. You have to look at the entire picture when evaluating the team your son plays on.

In addition to player development, there are life lessons and character development to consider. If a club does an incredible job with character development and skill development, that to me is more important than some of the game chemistry my son might have missed out on with a certain group of players.

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A very useful article,will prove very helpful to coaches.

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thanks, i learn a lot from these articles and comments, I am a wheel chair basketball coach for a team that is inclusive, however i can take some of the ideas and make them work for my players

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Thak'''''''' for the tips.. actualy i am a lecturer from Indonesia. Indonesia peoples are shorter then other ciuntries like Amerika, Uerop and many country from Asia like China and Filipine with naturalization players, that way we always create zone defense for helping each other . And for last two months we create big man infront and small man in back side (zone 1 3 1 and for wing man we do extreem defense) . So we stop the point guard ti pass inside and wing .. the point guard option is dribling. That time aur little man steealing the ball . We win againt Asie and Chine last month in Singapure invitation for 18 years old ... what do yo think coach ..tq

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Solid points. As a middle school girls' coach, I have grandiose ideas that I end up scaling back to:

1) fundamentals
2) fundamentals
3) fundamentals

Most young players can't 'run' plays, because they simply need TRADE - teaching, repetition, accountability, discipline, and enthusiasm.

We play too many games and don't have enough practice time. Games reinforce applying and handling pressure (how you win in middle school). Higher level teams handle pressure, stop transition, and force halfcourt play. Just saying.

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thanks, i learn a lot from these articles and comments, I am a wheel chair basketball coach for a team that is inclusive, however i can take some of the ideas and make them work for my players

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I agree to incapie only in some aspects of the game, but these must be changed throughout the years to develop players and not half full player.
http://www.freemahj.com/free-mahjong/

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After about 10 years of coaching I have seen a pattern in girls AAU and HS basketball. First team.to get to 39 points will win 95% of the time.
Check it out.. you'll see its right.

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This was a great read something i definitely needed to hear..i currently just got placed as head coach for my middle..signed up for asst just to learn the rules and ect..well things kinda change fast and i was stressing out..i coach 5-6 & 7-8 yr old but this is gonna b a totally different task being there''''s no returning players or players that even played AAU or rec..but after reading this i think there in for a super surprise this yr..thanks alot

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Hello my name is Ayush!!!
I m very happy that I found this website...
First in my team there were no players who can play well but now they are playing awesome...
Because I have tell them to read this and they follow this and sew now they.....are players
But I have one question my opponents are focussing on traping and fast break?what should I do???

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Jeff says: 12/15/2017 at 3:09:51 PM To break the press keep spacing and give the passer good options. Here are a couple resources to help with beating a press and traps: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/offense/press-breaker.html http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/play.asp?id=7798 Like     login   register

What if you have a smaller team? Mostly a team of guards who shoot well.

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Jeff Haefner says: 4/30/2018 at 8:25:37 PM From an offensive standpoint... you could spread things out, shoot 3s, and open things up for drives to the basket. You could emphasize defensive pressure, uptempo basketball, disrupting the other team. You have to assess your teams strengths, your comfort and strengths as a coach, and come up with your emphasis points. I suggest you take advantage of each players strengths and put them in position to use their strengths as often as they can. Don Kelbick often tells players... "If you want to get better, do what you do well and do that more than anything else." Pretty simple concept but effective. Like     login   register

Thank you for all the great information. It really helped me to put our team identity together. I had some of the same areas you talked about focusing on been good at. Can’t wait to give our team our areas of focus this season. I will write the areas on the white board every pregame, and check postgame see how we did. Thank you!!

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When is it okay to start focusing on the "press, zone defense, and fast break offense".

What is the definition of a youth team?

Most kids will never play past High School, is a high school coach still supposed to be training their players for college ball (which most will never play).

Should college coaches be training them for the next level and not running "Press, Zone, and fast breaks?

Everyone always talks about RUINING their players futures so I'm just curious when that 'Future' finally comes.

Thanks.

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Jeff says: 7/24/2018 at 4:48:34 PM Right or wrong I always see varsity basketball in high school as the future you are preparing players for. That's when I think you really try to win and players learn lessons from that winning mindset... whether they get playing time or not... you learn from it. Players also learn what it really means to be part of a team -- the varsity high season is long enough and there are enough practices (every day after school) where it can really turn into something meaningful. Plus there is the state tournament you are preparing for... the is the true end goal... win state tournament. I just think varsity basketball is set up in a way to really learn a lot of lessons from the winning mindset, putting the team team first, and kids are old enough to learn life lessons from that type of structure. I guess that ideally kids are given a chance to develop and learn from youth basketball... and then they also get a change to learn it means to be on a team where the primary goals is to win games and win a state tournament. At younger ages, it's not you are trying to lose... but development is prioritized above winning. Winning is your secondary goal at the youth level. That is just my opinion. Like     login   register

My 5th grade travel team we're all in rec last year and played in town . This year all of the teams we play are bigger and taller than us.. I focus onM2M, half court offense, and rebounds. Since most of the team play a 2-3 zone we run a basic 1-3-1 offense but they still have a hard time shooting because of the uphill climb.. what should I do?

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Jeff says: 1/5/2019 at 8:35:14 AM Raymond - Be patient. It will get better. It sounds like you're focusing on the right things with young kids. I would just add "skill development" to that list. There isn't a lot you can do at this age... zones force outside shots and kids this age aren't strong enough to shoot with proper technique at this age. Keep teaching fundamental concepts to beat the zone: - pass fakes - ball reversals - cutting into gaps - etc To keep spirits up, focus on the process and celebrate small accomplishments... maybe regarding rebounds or defensive stats. If you keep hammering on the fundamentals, your players will take off in a couple years and leave these teams focusing on winning with zone defenses behind. Like   1 person liked this.   login   register

don't focus on defence more offence so your can space out quicker,

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