I have been thinking about the idea of having weekly goals set for each individual player on my team. There is alreasy a coach in my league that does this and it seems to work for him. My only concern is, what do I do if the player does not complete the goal? I dont think its fair to say well you didnt make the four points this week so go run. Is there a way to handle it if they dont complete the goal, or is it a good idea to have weekly goals at all?

And secondly, Some people have asked why I dont have a player of the game or something like an MVP every week. I really dont have an answer besides " I have just never done that." Is this something that should be done? It seems to me it would get the other players down......

What age level are we talking here?

What does having an MVP accomplish? What is the purpose of setting goals for each players?

Setting goals is an excellent idea.... If they don't achieve the goal - re evaluate it and start all over again. Pretty much what we do in the classroom when we are having a hard time achieving something. Figure out a new way of going after the goal?

Set the goals at a spot they can achieve at first, nothing breeds success like success itself. Start low and let them work their way up the ladder. Ask t he coach in your league how he goes about doing that and follow his lead - you can make your own adjustments to fit your needs.

At our school we had a "Player of the Week" for every level and sport. There was a big board in front of the cafeteria where it could be seen by everyone in the school. Not everyone can be the MVP of the team ( we had ONE at the seasons end ) but you certainly can make sure that every player on your team can achieve the "Player of the Week" status.... whether it be by playing great defense in games or at practice etc. We found that it was a great way to make sure that every kid in the program got the 15 seconds of fame. This was very successful for us.

the age group is 9 to 12 year old boys.

Mr. Haefner, the reason for setting weekly goals is I have a group of kids that seem to do better if i have a challenge for them to face and beat. They do better if their not just there to play the game. For instance I have one kid that has a very good shot and can make them but in a game he does not want to shoot, nerves i guess? But when i tell him at practice to go make five shots from the three point line and dont miss more than two he accomplishes that goal. So why not put that in the game?

Coach Sar, When I was talking to the other coach he makes his players run for not completing the goal, and as I said before I didnt agree with that so I was looking for other ways to go about that deal. And secondly I dont coach a school team Its a county league where I only get to see the boys twice a week one practice and a game on Saturday. So i really dont have a board for them to look at and get that. What would you suggest for that?

Try it out. If it works as a motivation technique for you and gets the results you want, go for it. Coach Sar had some good ideas. I didn't like the MVP concept, but like Coch Sar said, player of the week could work. Personally I don't do that, I use statistics to motivate them and compete with each other. For example we use the Value Point System and players get very competitive with each other.

I would also agree that making them run if they don't reach a goal doesn't seem like a good idea. To be honest, it seems like a pretty bad idea. But I do think setting goals are a very good thing.

Lots of ways to go about motivating players and getting the results you want. More ideas are here. What works for me might not be what's right for you. That's why we came up with this list of ideas.
https://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/mental/motivate-players.html

Hope this helps.

BTW, thanks for humoring my questions. Just trying to make sure we knew what you were looking for and also sometimes asking questions helps you answer your own question. :)

thank you very much for your advice. it has been very helpful.

How does the value point system work? Is it on the website somewhere?

Here's more info about the value point system:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/pr/value-point-system.html

I agree with Jeff - running when you don't achieve a goal is a BAD idea...... You need to try some positive reinforcement with that age group.... bribery always works :-) You might offer them one of those popsicle sticks for achieving their goal. I did that in some of my summer camps for younger kids... while this is a team it might work for you... just an idea.

You could still use a "Player of the Week" award by printing out awards from the internet and handing one out every week/game/? Making sure that everyone wins one at one time during the season. You could hand one out for any reason you come up with... anything to help promote some spirit with your team. Rebounding, loose balls, best defender, shooting % etc.