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PostPosted: 27 Nov 2019, 06:51 

Posts: 2
Coaching a 3rd/4th (mostly 3rd) grade basketball team. A few things I am struggling with. Offense, what to run? 5 out, 4 out? I know I will be playing against zone most of time. Second, I do all the 1 v1, 3v3 drills and the kids run them well. As soon as we start playing 5v5 it turns into a circus and they forget everything (over dribbling, not pivoting, moving further away from the basket, etc.) Defense, I will probably be the only coach to play man. However, they tend to be over aggressive. Thinking maybe teaching a packline style instead. Thoughts and thanks for your help.


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PostPosted: 27 Nov 2019, 09:03 

Posts: 214
Not that it matters much, but is this a recreation league or a travel/competitive league? Regardless, playing zone at this age is so backwards and shortsighted that it drives me insane. Don't give in to the pressure of trying to win games at this age. DON'T! Teach them how to play the game.

I would teach 5 out at this age and teach them how to pass, cut and fill open spots. I would also teach them how to attack on the catch. There is a series on this site and on YouTube called Wichita State guard series or something like that. Very simple stuff that will help your kids get open looks on drives and jumpstops against man or zone defense.

To help them with the movements and cutting of a 5out motion offense, I would play a lot of 3v3 or 4v4 in practice with this progression: 1) Pass and cut, offense can't dribble. This will teach them how to get open and create scoring opportunities without relying on over dribbling. 2) Pass and cut, offense only gets 2 dribble to a) improve their passing angle or b) get to the basket immediately after catching the ball on a cut. 3) Pass and cut, offense gets 4 dribbles so now they can start implementing the above mentioned Wichita State guard series stuff on the catch.

All the while these drills are getting your defense to play pretty aggressive because they feel like the offense is at a disadvantage and they can gamble for steals. The first couple times your offense learns how to backcut that pressure, the light will click for your kids on O and D.

Just some thoughts. I coached my daughter's grade from 4th to 8th grade and this was the initial progression we took, in addition to just working basic fundamentals like ballhandling, shooting, screening and getting more advanced as they got older. In those 5 years we only started to really play zone towards the end as a change up against good teams. Something must have worked out well, because 2 of those girls just started together as Sophomores in their varsity game while 3 others were the first 3 off the bench and all contributed pretty strongly.


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PostPosted: 27 Nov 2019, 14:14 

Posts: 2
Thanks for the insight. This is a rec league.


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