Why A Great Record Doesn't Always Equate To Great Coaching In Youth Basketball
- Can 5-15 Be Greater Than 20-0!?

Couldn’t agree more. But, how do you convince 12 year old kids that losing is ok when they, their friends, their parents and society at large is programmed to see “wins” as the yardstick for success?

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Rob says: 1/19/2023 at 12:42:07 PM Great article. Our grade 8 girls team is winless this season, and as a result many are losing interest in the sport and might quit after this season. For this reason we are starting to give our best players the ball about half the time so we have a chance to create a positive experience of playing in a close game and maybe even winning. I feel ok about this compromise for now - but we will continue to develop all the right skills for all the players! Like     login   register

Patrick says: 1/20/2023 at 10:54:05 AM All the outside noise can be hard to deal with and makes it tougher for the kids. I always try to compliment the positive things we do. Great shot even if they miss but had an open look, good job seeing the open player even if the pass was a little high. I always praise hustle and effort and encourage them to have fun no matter what. After a loss I point out what we did well and what we need to continue. and always let them know how proud I am. We've lost games at times and my team had more fun playing than the winning team that was yelled at the whole game from their coach. Like     login   register

Great article. This is just what I needed to hear. I coach a mid to lower level 4th grade team. I’m running the 5 out read and react offense and man to man defense. Every team we have played so far sets a double pick at the top of key for their best player. It is very effective for them. But only one or two people touch the ball. We are working on switching screens but getting better at it. I love when a player passes to the cutter for a layup or a perimeter players back cuts when they are covered. Doesn’t happen that much (yet) but really fun to see. I also try to give equal playing time. This past weekend another coach told me some of his players were asking why they don’t get play very much and he told them they weren’t good enough. Ouch, what a terrible message.

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Hey all...
I coach at the youth level in the Dominican Republic. 4th-to 6th grade league, and I am coaching the offensive and defensive principles. We are yet to see a team play man to man against us - it is all zone down here!
I get two hours a week to practice with this group, so I don''''t really have time to practice zone offenses, or anything other than basic offense, defense, and skill development since most of my kids have never played before. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to balance teaching the game the right way, versus giving these kids an opportunity to not have 40 turnovers a game because of what the other teams are doing?
Thanks

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Patrick says: 1/20/2023 at 10:38:48 AM I coached 6th grade girls last year and all the teams we played ran a zone defense. I didn't know what other teams would run so all we did was work on basic fundamentals. We probably worked on shooting and layups more than the high school girls team. I know that because my daughter is on the high school team and they hardly work on shooting. My offensive philosophy was if your open in your range shoot, if you can drive in than drive in. Our offense all we ran 5 out, 4&1, and 3&2. We mostly would just set up that way and the girls would just play ball. I had them do a lot of fun passing games that help them become better passers. We never learned a zone offense and averaged 36 points a game which was also me than the high schools team. We won our tournament because we worked hard on fundamentals and I let the girls play loose and have fun. I mention the high school team not to put them down, but to point out that all they do is run and and work on plays than when it comes to game time they have over 20 turnovers, score 20-30 points and get beat by 20. they never have fun and very few have the basic fundamentals of the game. Teach fundamentals and let the kids have fun. always encourage and build their confidence. Don't teach them plays, but rather teach them how to play. Best of luck! Like   1 reply   login   register Robert says: 1/22/2023 at 8:03:02 PM For me, this article comes at just the right time. It's been a long, losing season, but I do see improvements, though I don't think the kids believe it enough. Like most of the commenters, I'm the only team in the league playing M2M defense. Patrick, I'd love to know your favorite passing games that you use in practice. Like   1 reply   login   register Patrick says: 1/24/2023 at 11:10:20 AM One of my favorites is Ultimate Basketball. Divide into 2 teams, the goal can be whatever you make it. Examples are to make it to the opposite baseline or you have to make a pass inside the paint. You can have them make a certain number of passes as well. Drop pass is a turnover. Whatever you want to focus on add that to the game. You can work on a cutting to get open, teach off ball screens. I also tell whoever has the ball they have to face the basket they're going towards to help them see the court. Maybe allow only 5 seconds to hold the ball before passing to teach quick passes Sometimes I'll add 1 dribble for the person with the ball. Only add one thing at a time until they are successful then add something new. It's a great warm up to start practice. Another thing I will do is half court 3 on 3 with no dribbles. Offense is trying to score a basket. Paint shots are 2 points everything else is 1 point. Have to have a certain number of passes before they shoot. Again what is your focus, what are you wanting to improve then add that to the drill. Add 1 or 2 dribbles if needed. Like     login   register

You bring up a good point Rob. Most kids end up quitting their sports before high school because they weren''t having fun. There is a lot that factors into this but losing is a big contributor. Let''s face it, nobody likes to lose and if you do it repeatedly it can be very hard to overcome even with enthusiastic and positive coaching. I try to balance fundamentals with winning strategies.

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Same theme as many: losing record and low confidence from it. We work hard on fundamentals, etc as many commenting do. However, my team is losing their ability to rebound from it. They think they will lose before they even play 1 minute. I like the positive statements, but my question is what is a known way to create a growth minded team, that is resilient to the lows, so that proper fundamentals can be a focus, not necessarily winning all the time?

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I coached at the youth level for years...In the past few some of those kids are now high school players that have won sectional titles and a made state championship final four. Personally, I think the most important thing to do is run a 5 out or 4-1 motion offense so the learn to fill space and all the different cuts. Plus, you can run both vs. zone or man. On defense coaches that run zone defenses at that age tend to look at winning games instead of developing. You cannot play a strong zone defense if the players do not understand strong principles of man to man defense.
If your game or tournament schedule allows it try to find the right games in providing playing time. If you are playing a good team try to play your better players and mix in the lower level players. If playing a weaker team do the reverse so it helps grow confidence in each player with the hope they will continue to be motivated to work on growing their ability in practice and more importantly on their own. Some of the comments are correct that a lot kids quit playing in a few years. But down the road if you helped develop 3 players per grade good enough to start plus a bench that is more developed and bought in the kids have a better opportunity for more success and having more fun competing against each other day in practice to be ready for games.

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Love this so much, but it really all boils down to the parents.

If they are asking the kids whether their athlete won or lost the game, then all the best coaching in the world doesn’t matter.

Instead, asking ‘what did you learn’ and ‘how did you progress’ ensures that no matter the score on the board, players have a growth mindset and develop intangible skills that will serve them their entire lives.

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I am so glad you posted this article! I am coaching on a Pee Wee level (5-6 year olds) and I am hammering fundamentals into these kids. We play man to man and I am big on dribbling while they’re moving (most of the teams are running with the basketball like it’s a football and their coaches aren’t correcting them and of course the refs are lenient on them). My kids get frustrated because they’re playing great defense and stopping the ball and then the kid just starts running with the ball and shoots and scores. Also my kids are jump stopping and pivoting and trying to make good passes and it’s evident we’ve been working on fundamentals both offensively and defensively. I really think it will pay off for these kids athletically on down the road no matter which sport they decide to stick with. Coaching at any level is rough, but especially kindergarten and first grade because they struggle just grasping simple concepts like passing and moving to get open. It is very encouraging to read this and I hope that I’m helping future coaches have an easier job on down the road with these kiddos.

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Love the article and its premise. I started my own AAU team several years ago. It was an 8th grade team so not exactly youth. Nevertheless, I focused on those offensive and defensive fundamentals. 1st season 1-12. Ouch! Never had more than 8 players so they all played. Of original 8, 6 came back for yr 2 so I knew I had something but with players and parents. The parents trusted I had long term future in mind. 2nd year. We eon several AAU tournaments including prestigious Big Shots tournaments. Of the 6, 1 was walking at D1, 2 junior college ball, 1 d1 jv team at unc, and 1 current d1 player in SEC.
Even with losing 1st yr, we had fun. I reminded them if they would learn and focus on these offensive and defensive principles I guarantee they will be important contributors to their hs teams, if their coach had basketball sense. All 6 if them were minimal 2 yr starters on hs varsity.
I wa blessed with a great group of young men.

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Have recently (week 12) started a couple of junior basketball sessions in the uk. Love your articles and this one has come at just the right time, we were whooped by the biggest, strongest, oldest team who employ the winning tactics you mention above. I am coaching good basketball and team skills, many sessions inspired by your thoughts, so great tto read this. Thanks

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Great article! Well written and very encouraging for coaches focusing on fundamentals. Appreciate it!

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Agreed 100%. Amen.

Winning can be a byproduct of teaching players how to play the game the right way.

One of the unintended consequences of these narrow-minded approaches is hindering the development of bigger kids, who eventually level out in high school, as they don''t develop the necessary ball-handling and positionless basketball skills to be successful at higher levels.
Their coach mortgaged their future for some grade school victories and a banner in their gym.

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Coach 5th grade boys Rec. 3v3 with 3 dribble max is excellent way to reach the value of getting open , making good passes; with OK results cutting to the paint. Will use suggestion for 2 points if you scare in the paint and 1 point everywhere else to see if that improves their decision to cut to the paint

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Thanks for the great article. Goes over everything youth ball should be, learning & development and playing a true team game the right way. At an early age you want to form the best habits and instill good worth ethic and team principles. It''s better to really drill them on good fundamentals when players are young, otherwise it can be 3x as tough to break bad habits when older. Appreciate you guys sharing this!

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At What level does recruiting the biggest and most athletic players not work? At What level does Zone Defense become ineffective? Thanks

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