Hi I am coaching Motion offense to 5th grade girls. We teach the following rules:

1. Screen away when ball is near you.
2. No one stands longer then 2 seconds
3. If defender is out of the way attack the basket.

Basically the point dribbles up the middle of the floor gets near the 3 point line. The other 4 are lined up like a box and the top players screen down and the other two go out to the wing. Once the wing gets the ball the 2 players nearest the ball screen away.

The problem we had during a scrimmage is that when we ran the offense a few times the other team would just switch players and they would be right where the person coming off the screen should be.

I am looking for some help in running our offense against teams that switch defenders and make it hard for our girls to run the offense. I am not sure what to do because I don't want to overload them.

Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks

First of all, I really like your rules.

You have to realize that teaching a motion is teaching players to play basketball. When you are done with them, they will be able to handle any situation. As you teach them to play, you adapt to new situations and teach them how to handle them. You add or alter rules to steer them toward success.

There are a lot of things you can do. You can add a rules that say: If they switch, cutter curl the screen and go to the basket. Or, if they switch on a screen, the screener slips the screen and goes to the basket. Or, if they switch, the cutter turns down the screen and goes backdoor.

This will get you into new aspects of teaching the game. Watch your scrimmage, see where the openings are and show your kids how to handle them. Remember, basketball, well, good basketball anyway, is interpretive, not made up of pre-programmed plays and restrictions. It seems to me you are giving your kids the tools to interpret. Let them tinker with the situation, you tinker with them, and see what you build.

You have a delicate balance here. Adding more rules may just confuse the girls at the 5th grade level. It will also take some time to teach them to read the defense. On the other hand, you need to put something in to accomadate the switch. If it was me, I would use Don's suggestion to have the screener slip to the basket on the switch. That will probably be the easiest one to teach and remember. The other rule could be, if it doesn't work, try again. I would try to keep it simple and focus on execution. Good luck.

Thanks for the help. I have practice tonight and I am going to add another rule: Backdoor when they switch on defense. I will let you know if it works. having the same problem as others with subbing. I play all girls just about equally. So when other team keeps best players in it does cause problems for us.

At you level, the game is not about winning. Stick to your philosophy and you will be better in the long run

Well we had practice and we entered the rule for when a defense switches wings back door. Went well at first but then the kids got confused along with us LOL, about which wing should go back door. Also we had the posts when they screened down turn and pivot calling for the ball at first. But then the wings get in the way when they back door..Still working out the kinks but looking to get advise if we should do the post up first and then have wings back door if it does not work or anything out there that I am not thinking of.

Thanks

I think mostly, the issues lie within you. I don't say that to be demeaning or condescending, but look at it this way: you have no defense in your face, you are not learning how to dribble, shoot or pass, you don't worry about playing time or making mistakes and you are still looking for ways to learn a new offense. Your kids are trying to do the same as you, but they have all those concerns that you don't have. Be patient. Just because you sit a kid at the piano and show him the notes, doesn't mean he will play a Brahms concerto.

A motion offense is a dynamic, fluid entity. It is constantly changing and adapting to personnel and competition. Your kids have to pick up experience to learn how to adapt. Be patient, send them through as many situations as possible and overall, keep teaching. You concentrate on their skills and encourage them to explore their options.

When I teach a motion, I spent more time asking questions then giving directions. I am always asking, "What did they do on defense. Look around. What would be a good thing to do, now?" I really think the most important thing is to teach them not to stop. If a cut doesn't work, do something else, just keep going.

All good things take time. Put them through enough, they'll figure it out before you do.