Hey guys: I don't have a private jet in fact, here I wont drive a car here there are no rules for the road. As far as coming, are you kidding I have just purchased a new three bedroom house for my wife and me and I would be honored to welcome you all to it. In fact, Im considering running a clinic in mainland this summer, would love to have the help..Coach Mac..

I agree with the coaches who have had supportive statements here, regarding rim height and other youth basketball issues.

Show me a basketball coach, parent or program administrator who believes that youngsters under the age of 11 should use a regulation ball or regulation rim height, or who advocates pressing defenses and zone defense at a young age and I'll show you adults out of touch with reality. They do not understand anything about child psychology and are in a program like this for their own selfish motives. These adults are ego-driven, more concerned with winning than with child/player development.

One of the big problems in youth programs is that qualified teachers are rare. Often, youth team coaches try very hard to do the best they can with limited knowledge. They may have little or no playing or teaching experience. Our most skilled coaches, who could possibly be the most effective teachers, come into the picture later on in a player's career. By then, many incorrect habits have been set and coaches don't have the time, personnel or perhaps the desire to back up and re-teach skills.

Too often, youth coaches are not thinking beyond the current season while trying to make winners of the players he/she has now. No thought is given to the players' development for the future. When a coach thinks like this, it is selfish and coming from pure ego. The child is not important - only the coach's vision of success. This kind of thinking hurts the children in the program and continues to give youth sports a black eye.

In my many years of coaching and directing youth sports, I was witness to these kinds of coaches. For this reason, I joined with many other coaches, parents, youth sport administrators and understanding individuals around the world to advocate that youth sports be for the youth - not for the adults.

Kids need to develop basketball skills, have fun and grow in the game, at the same time developing life skills that will serve them throughout their lives. They need role models who model good judgment, good behavior and are responsible adults.

Coach Ronn, www.Top-Basketball-Coaching.com

Coaches - I just watched a video from Bob Bigelow (http://www.bobbigelow.com). I don't know anyone that has spent more time studying youth sports, youth basketball, and child development. He's a former NBA player, wrote the book "Just Let the Kids Play", and has done over 2500 talks and clinics regarding youth sports. His job for the last 20 years has been to study youth sports and youth basketball. So he probably knows what he's talking about!

He goes one step further than I did and suggests:

• USE 6 FT. RIMS FOR KIDS THAT ARE 5 TO 7 YEARS OLD.
• USE 8 FT. RIMS FOR 8 AND 9 YEARS OLD.
• USE 9 FT. RIMS FOR 10 AND 11 YEAR OLDS.
• USE REGULATION FOR 12 YEAR OLDS AND UP.

I didn't mention anything about 6 foot rims and my age levels were just a little different before. I adjusted my original post to follow his suggestions. It was really close to what I had before but I think his guidelines are a little better.

Coach Ronn,

You should travel around the world with that message!



And you are right on when it comes to qualified teachers / coaches of the game. I do believe that a lot of them are doing the best they can... with their limited knowledge it is tough. Isn't it amazing that in order to coach at the high school level we need a college degree or a certified coaching course and yet at the most important level... YOUNG KIDS... all they have to do is breathe.

Many of the coaches that imploy zone defenses do that because they either do not know HOW to teach or are not comfortable doing it. They need the help of the qualified coaches in their area.

I might suggest that they should go to a coaches seminar and a clinic held by the local high schools BEFORE they can coach at they youth level. Those administrators could invite the local high cshool coaches to come in and hold a clinic for them - with some set guidelines as to what defense they can play etc. .... along with some offensive skills to teach... with a natural progression starting with the 1st - 2nd graders on up.

This is something that a X player sent me regarding youth sports / pressing and zones.

Reagrding financial reasons --- "If that is the case they need to grow a pair. As a parent, I will have little respect (or no repect) for a program that implements a bad policy for financial reasons. You don't build the 3rd floor balcony of a building before you dig the basement. You MUST establish your rules and policies FIRST, and for a youth program they MUST be based on what is best for the kids. as well as the program. Once you make those decisions, those core values should not be wavered from. You cannot abandon why you're in this because of profitability, or lack there of. And if you are in this for financial reasons, you are not the kind of program I want to send my kid to.

AND he didn't even address the issues about zones / pressing etc.... but if you look at what he is saying... "building the program from the bottom up" THAT is what needs to be done for this age group... REMEMBERING that the MAIN GOAL should be TO HAVE FUN while teaching them HOW to play the game.

David, Jeff and all,

I agree totally and hope some changes can be made. As I told Jeff, a great resource for this subject is Bob Bigelow (bob-bigelow.com). He's been studying youth sports and coaching for a very long time, basketball first (he played in the NBA for four years). His book, "Just Let the Kids Play" is wonderful. He's a public speaker for this stuff, too, a real dynamo, big booming voice. I met him in Massachusetts a few years ago. Go to his website and then contact him.

-- Tom Nordland

As I’ve told thousands of these (for the most part) well-meaning adults....

Just find a 22 ft high basket somewhere in your neighborhood and start shooting. This is what it's like for a youngster to shoot at a 10ft basket. By shooting at a 22ft basket you'll find that your shooting “mechanics” will be compromised in a nanosecond.

The #1 rule in youth sports is you "adapt the game to the kids, not the kids to the game".

Youth baseball has had 60 foot base paths and 45 ft pitching distances at 12 and under for 70 years. Youth soccer employs small-sided games on smaller fields, often-times up until 7th grade (for almost 30 years in this country). Ice hockey does "cross-ice" small-sided games. We could go on and on. Youth basketball’s clueless elementary grade level adults think that kids should play on a court with the same dimensions and basket heights as the local high school teams.

Let’s teach trigonometry and calculus to third graders! This is why having played high school basketball and watching our nation’s best 20-30 year olds on ESPN are the two WORST backgrounds to coach youth basketball. PE and Child Development are far more relevant qualifications.

Tom and Bob -

GREAT INFORMATION!

Why aren't these people getting the message? I love your idea of the 22 foot basket.... you can bet that those "coaches" wouldn't fare too well teaching shooting techniques.

I know I learned to coach this game the hard way and probably made a lot of mistakes along the way... but I would like to think that I learned how to correct them too.

What we need is a lot of eloquent speakers (I'm not one of those) to get this message across and the importance of it all.

Thanks to both of you for adding your expertise.

I have coached for a long time and at all levels, including high school, college and professional. I have coached thousands of players from 8 years old to NBA. One of the things that frustrates me about youth basketball is trying to solve development and physiological issues with basketball logic.

The two most important things for shooting is rhythm and form. How can anyone think that 3rd graders (which to me translates to 8-year olds) can develop either by shooting at a 10 foot rim with a full size ball. You may as well ask them to dunk the ball and that would solve all the issues.

Not possible, you say? Well, how is that any different than trying to shoot the ball?Physiologically, and physically, an 8 year old is not yet equipped to successfully complete the task. Strength levels have not yet been attained nor have the spacial relationships been developed enough to shoot at 10 foot baskets. It is NOT a basketball issue.

I see, above, that Joe has a formula for ages and rim heights. That may be a good formula but I am not sure it is practice, given the limitations of facilities, but it is worth a try.

More importantly, perhaps most importantly, is the staggering statistic that, 86% of kids that play youth sports no longer play those sports after the age of 13. One of the major reasons that well meaning adults put kids in positions of failure, such as forcing 8-year olds to shoot at 10 foot rims. Given the success rate of shooting at this level, it is amazing that kids last that long.

For kids to develop, not only as players but as successful people, at this age, more attention has to be paid to the things that develop positive self image and personal confidence. I am not saying that we should hold their hands all the time and not let them fail. that is just as bad. But, they do need to be protected and have to be given a chance to succeed. You cannot convince me that, after watching an 8-9 shoot a basketball at a 10 foot hoop, a logically thinking person believes that gives a kid a reasonable chance at success.

Brian McCormick suggests this -

Why do we argue about zone vs. man and press vs. no press in these youth leagues, but there is rarely a mention of eliminating 5v5-play and moving to 3v3 for the younger age groups? Baseball starts with t-ball; golf starts with par-3 courses; soccer starts with 5v5; etc. Why not start young children with a different game, one focused on skill development? a 3v3 league
(http://playmakersleague.com)
eliminates pressing, gets each player more touches, provides more space for each player to make moves and eliminates the peak by friday coaching mentality because coaches in a league coach multiple teams, not one team. a coach's job is to guide and assist the players, not to win games. All of the ills that are constantly mentioned can be rectified by going to a 3v3 league as opposed to playing the adult game with 7-year-olds.

Good thoughts for the 7-10 Year olds?

You ARE way ahead of me Don.... I coached 6-8th graders all the way up to Varsity High School boys. Each level has its on needs and problems. While I loved working with the younger kids, I wanted to become a better coach and IF that was going to happen I had to go to College, get a degree and move up to the high school level. I wasn't sorry for any time that I put at each level. I still see some of those guys I coached when they were 11-14 along with the high school guys.