Oh, I have no illusions we'll beat that one team. I just hope the girls don't get down on themselves. Well try to show them how to defend them, maybe we can get within 40 this year. They only do two plays. They line up 4 in a row then backdoor cut. Most of their points come off the fast break. We don't have the speed or experience to keep up.

It's just a city rec league. The city assembles the teams mostly by school. You don't get to pick your own team. Get what you get. My team has 9 girls all from the same school and one from a private.

I think one team has all 10 from the same school, then the other two are 3 from this one, 2 from that one, etc... So it's a fairly big school district. I think there are 12 to 15 grade schools.

Last year they were able to put together 6 teams. I guess 20 less girls signed up this year. Then we have 4th and 5th grade together. Just not many girls want to play. The boys have one league per grade and at least 6 teams in each grade. Some have 7 or 8 teams. I really think they should go to 3v3 leagues for the girls. Basically what Jeff talks about on this website.

Next year it gets worse for the girls.

They have to put 6th, 7th, and 8th grades together. The boys still have a league for each grade all the way thru 8th grade.

I think that's crazy. Might as well just have 2 teams in each grade, or again, go to the 3v3 league.

I think they would end up with much better players to choose from when they get to high school.

But what do I know, I'm just a Dad trying to teach his daughter and her friends how to play the right way.

Agree with Coach Mac, set small goals for the girls and celebrate when they accomplish those goals. I've been in those situations where a league doesn't have enough players so they combine age levels. If they allow teams to form without filters (one team is stacked with all the good players) that adds even more funk to the situation. Putting 6th - 8th together is way too much of an age gap.

On the flipside, It's tough for the leagues as they're trying to provide a way for kids to play with limited resources. Honestly, it sounds like you're handling this the best you can.

I too agree with Coach Rob, you seem to be handling your situation very well, however, getting into the politics of why leagues do this or do that is not your function. You are a Coach...so...coach. This website has given you a ton of great advice and information You need to read the suggestions and use whatever you think your team requires. We all feel your pain, we have all at one or many times had teams thrown at us that are inexperienced, non-athletic and in your case in a league that you cannot win. However, coach you can make an impact on your players. your daughter is on that team, you have an automatic in to what the other girls are thinking. Perhaps you should tap into that to come up with the best possible way to handle your situation. Many coaches advise you to have fun, its not fun to get hammered by 50 points I know I have been there. I was a coach with the Hong Kong National Team during the Asian games in Thailand when we got obliterated by Yao Ming and China 137-41, was that fun? absolutely not but I did take one thing away from that game, in order to eventually close the gap in Asia, we needed better instruction and a better plan for Hong Kong. Coach, for the good of the kids...hang in there and dont get iscouraged...Yours in Basketball Coach Mac

No I'm not going to make any waves with the league.

The sad thing is, this isn't a city with limited resources. It's an upper middle class and higher suburb. Plenty of resources. That's the part I don't understand. Later on I'll tell you about how they set up the gym for our games.

Been a busy week. A quick recap of our game last Saturday.

Oh, so close!! Good game all the way thru. Both evenly skilled teams. A handful of average players and a handful of first year players. Good starting point for both teams.

Close game. We're up by one with 1.7 seconds left. They have the ball. Unfortunately they inbound the ball and she hits the shot. We lose by 1.

In looking back at the video, the high school kid who was running the clock, didn't start it in time as we had tipped the inbound pass. But whatever, it's just a rec league.

Still can't get them to run the 5-out offense. But we worked on spacing a lot in our Tuesday practice. Will they remember it after about 10 days off now for Christmas? No of course not, so we'll probably have the same type of practice when we get back together in the new year.

Our next game is against the team that beat us and the other two teams in the league by 40 or 50 points. I'm debating what to tell them in the two practices we'll have before that game. I want to tell them the truth, as I'm not one of these parents who constantly tells their kid how special they are. I just don't believe in that. I don't think we are preparing our kids for the real world by doing that to them. I have always told my daughter, mommy and grandpa and grandma are going to tell you, you did a good job no matter what. But daddy's not going to do that to you, I'm going to tell you the truth. I'm going to tell you when you played bad or messed up in school. So when I tell you, you did a good job, you will know you really did.

I feel that I want to tell them, "look, we don't have a chance at beating that team. Yes, almost all of them are taller than we are, and have played together longer, but that doesn't mean you have to back down to them. Stand your ground and push back when they push you." (You know what I mean there. I'm not saying start a fight or anything.) Then set small goals for the game. Like getting 20 shots up, stopping their backdoor cut play 5 times, stopping their fast break 5 times, things like that. I did show them that team's backdoor cut play. Then asked them "Knowing what I just showed you. Knowing where they will move. Where do you think you want to set up on defense?" A few of them did get it and moved themselves into proper position.

There has been a lot of great advice on this thread and your being so forthcoming I am sure has helped a lot of folks out there. I think you are on the right track with setting some goals rather than focusing solely on winning and losing.

I coach a 4th grade boys school based team and there are games we should absolutely win, games we should absolutely lose and there are games that should be competitive. When winning is on the table, I definitely discuss it and I make sure they know that their performance is going to directly correlate with the scoreboard. At the same time, when we play a team who knowingly uses 5th and 6th graders or masquerades as a school based team when they are a traveling select team and then plays a full court swarming press to overwhelm kids until they are up forty points (I'm really not that bitter) it's not that I discount winning. I am a big believer in winning. It's more that I focus on what we can control. I also feel like that helps the kids not be discouraged. I feel very strongly that the scoreboard is only one of many metrics to keep an eye on when you are developing players

I think your idea of "keeping it real/honest" with the kids is the most constructive way to go. Can we improve on certain metrics versus last time we played or can we get something out of the experience that will help us get better as a team?

Best of luck in the upcoming games.

Coach: Honesty is a great policy, however, in this case, I would avoid telling your kids that you are NOT GOING to Beat this Team....Personally, i wouldn't even mention the last overwhelming loss. I would use the stat sheet from that last game to help your girls set up goals. Also, allow the girls to write or state their own goals and that way they own them and will become more responsible for them. Focus on the positives .....your last game was of course a heart breaker for your kids, but again dwell on the good things they did. I use a technique called the sandwich method, learned from Morgan Wooten, use a positive then sandwich the criticism with another positive Example: Jane that was a great drive to the basket, but had you had your head up Mary was wide open near the basket however, I loved your aggressiveness. This way the player hears the positive and is open to the criticism then leaves hearing the positive. Let us know how you make out against this good team...Good luck Coach Mac. . . .

Well after two weeks off because of the holiday's, we started up again this weekend. Played the team that is beating us other three teams in the league by 40 or 50 points.

Didn't score again, but we were able to keep them under 50. We considered that a big improvement. And the girls fought hard out there right to the end.

I feel like saying something to the league. This other team, while they do have 5 or 6 girls who are just better than any other player in the league, they constantly reach in. Every play. You can't tell me 9 and 10 year old girls, who reach in as much as they do, are not committing at least one foul. Not one foul on them all game long.

I hadn't noticed this either but the other coach mentioned to me, "what are the double team rules". You are only supposed to double team once it gets into the paint. They were double teaming our big girl outside the paint.

Do I think either one of those things lost us the game? No of course not. But maybe we actually can score a couple buckets and keep them under 40. It's just not a level playing field at all. I'm teaching my girls proper stance and don't reach on defense. While they are getting bumped and hacked when on offense all game long.

Our next two games will be more competitive. We go back to playing the teams we almost beat.

Well coaches, I thank you for the support. Especially Jeff of course with his great blog and website here. But it seems my coaching time has come to an end tonight.

One of the other Dad's didn't like what I've been trying to do. Accused me of several things.
- Only running "one play". I've been trying to teach the 5-out motion offense.
- Playing favorites with my girl. My daughter actually told her mother, "why doesn't Daddy tell me I did good anymore. He tells the other girls but not me."
- Not getting them ready to try out for the select team next year. I didn't really know that was my job, or that is was the goal of a 9-game "season" rec league, with 2 hours of practice time a week, when the gym isn't closed, and mandatory playing time rules, but whatever.
- Basically not having much of a plan. Which is insane. I mean you should see all the materials and practice schedules I put together from ideas on this website.
- Said we should be doing the other drills that the other coach has. When they are the SAME damn drills!!
- Then a few other things that would take too long to put into context for you.

So I told him. Fine, you can have the team now. He said okay. And that was it.

I'm going to finish off the week only because the other assistant can't be there on Friday. Then I'm done.