Some of our girls (just finished 4th grade) will be participating in a couple 3 on 3 tournaments this summer. It's been a long time since I've been around the 3 on 3 circuit.

What specific things can we expect?

We are going to be getting together for some shootarounds and fun games over the next couple weeks as preparation. I don't want to give them too much instruction, rather just let them play. I was thinking that the only little reminders/tips we'll use are pass and cut, mix in some ballscreens, and communicate and be alert on defense.

1) One ref who will stand under the basket, so be prepared for them to play a little bit. The refs in 3 on 3 can't catch every call since there's only one and they have one vantage point. From my experience, 3 on 3 tourneys are usually held in bigger gyms where they lower the side baskets, so you have tons of games going on simultaneously. They invite a lot of teams to play and keep it moving, so with one ref and the pressure to keep the games moving, your girls will need to get used to "playing through" the hacks/whacks. If you're playing outside, bring plenty of water and find that shade in between games, it can get hot.

2) I'd keep the strategy simple. When you pass the ball you either set a) off ball screen, b) on ball screen, or c) cut to the basket.

3) Teams that can spread out the defense, usually have an easier time of scoring. Spacing is a key on offense, getting bunched up just like any bball offense makes it easier on the defense.

4) Back-cuts, especially if a team plays too tight on defense. Setup the back-cut by popping out first and showing a fist to their teammate which means "I'm back-cutting".

5) The last thing you can expect? Championship t-shirts.

Have fun!

Around here the rules usually require you to check the ball on made baskets and dead ball situations. When there are missed shots or turnovers, you just have to take the ball behind the 3pt line via dribble or pass, then it's live. That takes a little getting used to.

Other than that, 5on5 is just a series of mini 3on3 games. So not much to adjust.... keep good spacing, drive when you have openings, screen, post, basket cut, protect the ball, etc. All the same as 5on5.

3on3 is a great way to get more touches and teach situations that will apply to 5on5.

Good luck.

We got together last night and did some shooting around and played knockout a few times to get them warmed up, then we played 3 on 3 for about 30 minutes.

I was really impressed with how much the girls have retained. It's been almost 3 months since our last game and they were talking on defense, calling out screens, rotating properly on help defense. They were maintaining spacing, they were passing and cutting, setting ball screens. They were patient, they didn't force shots, they shared the ball. It was fun to watch. It made me want next season to start now! LOL

One issue that has come up that I'm struggling with is that in one of these tournaments, they aren't going to have enough girls teams for their own bracket. So the director wants to put them against boys. He has offered me the choice of playing against 7-8 year old boys or 9-10 year old boys. Our girls are all 9-10 years old. I'm a bit torn on what to do. Thoughts?

Tough call. What does your team need more? Confidence or a challenge?

A year ago I'd say my daughters youth team needed confidence! Today I'd be ok with giving them a challenge.

Only you know what your team needs more.... like Jeff said, confidence or a challenge??

Are your kids strong enough to play vs the older kids? Forget the W or L..... what is going to do them the most good?? Playing vs a tougher group of kids or an easy game?

Lets say you play against the older boys... and you get beat.... will your girls learn more and come away feeling good aboutt the game, win or lose. Why don't you ask them how they feel about this... talk about the challenge ahead of them. JMO

We ended up playing in a boys division against a mix of boys our same age and a grade younger. There was also one team that might have been 2 years younger. The boys were pretty small on that team.

Our Team A defeated the smaller team 12-3. Then lost a close one 12-11 (games were played to 12). They then lost in the semifinals 12-3 against the eventual champs. Our Team A also managed to win a hot shot shooting competition in our division.

Our Team B defeated the small team 12-1. They lost a pool game to the eventual champs 12-7. At one point we were down 6-5 but the boys hit a couple two pointers that made a huge difference. Team B won their semifinal matchup 12-6 and then lost in the finals 15-7 to the same team that beat them earlier.

What an outstanding day of basketball for our girls. They played tougher than anybody would have thought. They didn't back down at all. Our girls were driving to the hoop, finishing strong, getting hacked and playing through it. There were 1-2 games where the entire park seemed to be surrounding our court watching these girls battle the boys. One of the event workers seemed quite taken with our team. He even asked at one point "how many times are these girls gonna make it to state once they get to high school!?"

7 of our 8 girls from last season participated. One girl couldn't commit because of softball. We recruited another girl to join us as we've been trying to get her to tryout next season. She has fit right in with our team and is well liked and having fun. Her mother told me yesterday she will definitely be coming to tryouts in the fall. Best part of the conversation was when the mom commented on how nice our girls were, what great teammates they seem to be and that they seem like a really close knot group. What more does a coach want to hear about his team!?

Sounds like a positive experience for you and your team. Congrats on a good tourney! Appreciate the update.