Hello again coaches. A more senior coach than myself kind of took over practice a bit and ran drills. Now a set of these drills was about 30 minutes of dribbling. I found it frustrating to simply watch because to me it was too long and not particularly "realistic". By that I mean it seemed to have very little to do with anything that would take place in a game. Sure ball handling is an important skill and should be practiced but I prefer to do it in the context of game-like conditions like fast break with a defender on you, press break stuff, layup drills while negotiating cones (got that one from you guys, awesome drill!). Anyway what I noticed is that the two players that are the best ball handlers on my team (meaning they can break a press almost every time and minimize turnovers, they're more strong willed types) were probably the worst at all these dribbling drills which begs the question to me, "what is the real value"? I'd prefer to teach them to dribble under pressure in a game like situation. I do not want to make any waves as I've been newly entrusted to be the team but it's frustrating. My philosophy and what I want to teach these kids is centered around "seeing the game" the right way. That for me is:

-spacing
- looking for the cutters
- screening
- sharing the ball (I mean REALLY sharing and wanting to share it)
- how to effectively pass to cutters and trusting the passes (ie leading them by throwing to a spot not directly to the player)
-communication, especially helping each other on defense by switching when need be and switching back at the first opportunity
-and most importantly for me, teaching them to control their "panic" urges and regain control

Now obviously I do skill drills however I believe in the context of game-like drills and have begun to incorporate many of the drills that have been recommended by the fine coaches on this site. I beginning feel a pressure for winning and for me that's just not the most important thing, I want to teach them to become basketball players, to be able to play with anyone and that winning will come from the concepts I mentioned above...am I off base here? Perhaps I'm just venting, I dunno, but I just feel a disconnect with other's philosophies and maybe I need to reevaluate my own...thanks for indulging me.

If the 30 minute dribbling drills were a consistent part of practice and just dribbling without pushing the kids, that would probably get me talking with the senior coach if I were in your shoes. Sounds like this only happened once, so I wouldn't sweat it too much. Most youth coaches all face the reality of minimal practice time each week so it is important to maximize your practice time.

Dribbling and shooting are two important components that need to be worked on by each individual player outside of practice. I'm with you, the more you can incorporate dribbling in game-like situations the better. However, I'm also okay with working on certain aspects that might improve their coordination or dexterity. I like to push them to increase their ball handling abilities. One thing I'm big on is working on the weak hand in every practice. Even if it's for 5-7 minutes.

We have a full court drill using two balls, dribbling through cones and making a lay-up at the end, coming back through another set of cones the other way and making the lay-up. They can't lose the other ball when making the lay-up. We switch the dribble from same time to alternate. I also run the 55 second garden glove drill (look it up sometime) which give the kids some competition to see who can do it the fastest, but also works some dexterity and coordination into the drill. I'm okay throwing stuff like this into a practice once in a while.

I think you have well thought out coaching philosophies, you're in a situation with another coach who may not share those exact same philosophies. Do you feel comfortable grabbing a beer with this guy and talking about your coaching philosophies?

Thanks for your reply Coach Rob. Yes I do feel I can do that (tho I don't drink lol!). I suppose part of my reluctance is that I kind of feel like perhaps I may be a little out of touch. By that I mean "is this the lay of the land" now in youth basketball and I'm living in the stone ages? I mean it seems a though so many teams (us included to an extent) are simply trying to get the tallest most talented kids so they can win...like it's the only thing that matters. They say all the right things but to me there's shenanigans going on all over the place. I don't know why winning isn't the all important thing to me and if it isn't than maybe I shouldn't be doing this....kind of doubting myself I guess. This will be my first time head coaching in an AAU tournament and there are kids that have been here practicing since day one and other kids who have not (they have been in other leagues but the fact remain that they haven't been with us for the most part of the last few months). To win the players rejoining us will have to play big roles and I'm definitely not going to punish them because they have playing elsewhere (not other AAU teams) but...do you get what I'm saying? I am really enjoying having the opportunity to coach kids that don't require the absolute fundamentals (total beginners) tho I do get enjoyment from that too. Also I'm the first to say that I will not know exactly what I'll be doing but I've played basketball for 45 years against a lot of good competition and I intend to use my knowledge of playing to help these kids play intelligently and effectively and think "what would I do in a game if this situation or that came up"...that's really what I have to go on and I'm asking myself, is that enough? And what about the almighty win? I'm rambling but the whole thing at times just doesn't smell right if yo know what I mean..

I get where you're coming from and can relate more than you know. Heck, I used to run into rec level coaches that took this whole basketball scene a tad too serious.

Once you bump up to the AAU/Club levels and teams begin to have tryouts, things get a bit more dicey. It makes sense when you put it in perspective, club teams want to grow their business and photos of teams holding up 1st place trophies helps that cause.

There are AAU/Club coaches out there that aren't all about the win. I'm good friends with several that promote sportsmanship, respecting the game. respecting the officials and opponents, and are just class acts when it comes to coaching. It's not an easy gig to be competitive at the youth levels and keep teaching those life lessons.

That's where you come into the picture. Keep us updated.

How old are these kids again? IF you are working with very young kids I think its up to you to teach them fundamentals and let them have fun. BUT, AAU ball is a like an All Star Team... yes, they hand pick the best players they can find.

They think about the almighty W..... I have seen some very good AAU programs but you can bet those kids were the best in their areas. At the high school level I have seen kids move and end up at another high school so they can play with their "buddy" and end up on a good team, only to make it a heck of a lot better.

Now this is just me, but I wouldn't be spending 30 minutes on dribbling drills per practice.... time is to valuable.. but then again I haven't seen your players. I was a boys varsity coach, retired and the girls program needed another coach, so I took the job..... I figured I would beat people with my knowledge and 27 years at the high school level (16 varsity) ... wrong again.

We couldn't pass or catch the ball. So, we spent 15 -20 minutes every day passing and catching, starting with the basics and then adding while running the floor and shooting.

Rely on your knowledge, think about the drills you ran, pick out the good ones and get rid of the bad ones...... Keep things simple.... the more they have to think the slower their feet get. Do the best you can with these kids, everyone will make mistakes, including you... but a lot of your experiences will come back to you... and IF things don't smell right its probably because there IS something rotten in the land of Denmark! Remember, you cant control what they do, but you sure in the heck can control what you and your program does. By the way, make sure that you go into practice with a good plan so he cant take over again.

I hope this helps.

That whole transition into AAU/Club ball can be eye opening. Same when you go from 8th grade into high school.

The reality is, teams are there to win and that's why they try to get the best players. I have no problem with the competition, tryouts, and going all out to win each game. It irritates me when I see kids disrespect the officials or
other players or when I see blatant unsportsmanlike conduct. All of this done in the name of "competition" and "anything goes" to get the win. Fortunately, I've run across a lot of coaches who know how to win and do it in a classy way.

I'm with Sar on the age level though. I know the AAU/Club gigs are out there at 3rd-5th grade levels, but it makes me wonder how many will get burned out before they reach middle school.

I think that every coach should have to take classes and get certified,,, both as a coach and Red Cross or something along those lines... CPR for sure. And if you don'think it will happen to you... guess again. Its one of the worst things that I ever went through... 38 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday.... kid had a massive coronary. We ddid everything we could do, but it still isn't easy.

The very young levels can be the worse... coaches not ready to teach the game, doing the best they can, but don't have the knowledge to do so.

Rob is right.... the jump from 8th grade to high school is an eye opener.... I know it was for me when I did it a coach... I can only imagine how it was for the kids. Funny thing, I was more prepared to coach football at the high school level than basketball.... but I learned quickly.

I have seen 2 fights on TV from high school games... that is just too much, this is getting out of control. Time to have a little more crowd control to keep the kids in line. The problem is the younger kids are seeing this.... In the 40+ years I coached, we had a couple of onfrontations but NEVER a bench clearing brawl... my kids knew better and our fans knew how the school, our program and myself felt about it.

Sorry if I got off the subject a little bit.

I think that to be fair I should say something about the other side of the coin .... I have seen a few coaches and teams let a manager score in their last game, which I think is about as classy as you can get. Not only do the coaches get together to plan this... the kids make sure the player gets enough shots to score. That will warm your heart.

I can't thank you enough for your time and attention Coach Rob. The kids are 6th grade AAU. I believe perhaps I'm a little too concerned about "doing everything or I'll or I'll be out" syndrome going on for myself which certainly may be paranoia working against me. Like you said, I have to trust my knowledge of the game. The leader of the organization and myslef have been talking lately and it is becoming evident to me that we have the same interest and that is developing kids first and winning second. Your advice and sharing your experience has really helped me a lot.

How would I go about getting certified? I am very interested in doing that. I would really love take coaching courses and seminars but don't know where to do that.

Thanks so much again.

http://www.coachforthem.com/youth_basketball.cfm

http://www.fitour.com/coach_certifications.cfm


http://www.livestrong.com/article/363302-basketball-coaching-certification/

You don't have to be a teacher but it helps.... you do need to be certified and have a background check.

Here is another site with a lot of questions and answers -

http://zamayouthsports.org/FAQ.htm

Here are a rew sites.