All times are UTC - 6 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 
  Print view Previous topic | Next topic 
Author Message
PostPosted: 12 Aug 2012, 15:30 

Posts: 2
My son played soccer one season. But mostly he has been playing basketball for the last 4 years. My son is entering the 7th grade. Everyone ask if he plays football. He has not played football before. He only plays catch with me. I am sort of a coach/dad. I taught him how to run routes. If he loves basketball should he only concentrated on basketball?. I consider him a good basketball player. He uses both hands well. He has good basketball instincts. He's a tough kid. Even though he has good ball handling skills, he plays the forward position in youth basketball and AAU. I am only 6 foot tall. My wife is short. Should we insisted on him playing the point guard position in AAU because most likely he won't grow to be 6'-4"?


 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 13 Aug 2012, 09:54 
Site Admin
User avatar

Posts: 1280
I would recommend playing multiple sports. This reduces the chance of muscle imbalances, overuse, and injury. It also develops a BETTER and more well rounded athlete. You look at what separates the DI college athletes from everyone else, it's athleticism. Athleticism is a huge advantage and should be developed.

With that said, football is a physical sport that can cause injuries. So technically speaking that might not prevent injuries. But as a father I would encourage my child to follow their passion.

Once a kids gets close to the varsity level. they might want to get sport specific and focus on a specific sport they truly love. But going sport specific to anything before that seems like a mistake to me.

BTW, the fact that he is running routes in the back yard is a great thing. Tag, free play, climbing trees, soccer, swimming, gymnastics, flag football, martial arts, etc are all great activities for developing balance, coordination, and athleticism.

_________________
Jeff Haefner
http://www.BreakthroughBasketball.com


 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 13 Aug 2012, 10:31 
User avatar

Posts: 3139
I agree with Jeff, the more a kid does, the better athlete he will become.... and he won't burn out with playing multiple sports. The only thing that bothers me about football ( mind you I coached it for many years also.... 13 years with 7/8th graders and 10 years at the high school level ) is the CONCUSSION factor. We hear a lot about that today, so, IF he plays the football, make sure that he has good coaches and they teach proper fundamentals. When it comes to injuries I hope they error on the safe side.

With that being said, kids get hurt ridining bikes, riding in cars and anything else that they do... probably more injuries in cars than anything.

I also agree with Jeff on this part... let your soin decide what he wants to do when it comes to sports. As for insisting on him playing point guard, I'm not so sure that would be a good thing to talk to the coach about. I know that IF I was the coach, I wouldn't take that too kindly. He plays the kids where he thinks it will be best for the team. Its all about TEAM and not the individual.

JMO on all this.


 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 13 Aug 2012, 10:42 
Site Admin
User avatar

Posts: 1280
That reminds me. He should learn skills for all positions (you never know what a kid will do when they grow up). Not to mention having PG skills makes you a better center and having post up skills makes you a better PG. Coaches can usually find a place for a versatile kid that can shoot, handle the ball, handle pressure, pass, rebound, defend, has good footwork, can score inside, and play multiple positions.

_________________
Jeff Haefner
http://www.BreakthroughBasketball.com


 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 13 Aug 2012, 10:49 
User avatar

Posts: 3139
Let me add this, the point guard of today might be the post player of tomorrow... and that goes both ways.

Looking at what Jeff just said.... think about this... what if his high school team runs an open post offense? And the coach sess that one of his guards has good skills in the post area... sees a mismatch... your son will be light years ahead since he will be able to post up his defender.


 Profile  
 
PostPosted: 13 Aug 2012, 19:24 

Posts: 2
Thanks for your reply Jeff and Coach Sar. Jeff I appreciate your website. It's loaded with solid information to help coaches and kids to success in basketball.

Kevin


 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 6 hours


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: