First time youth coach here. 9 and 10 year olds. At this age the kids don't have very good skills with the ball. In our half court offense, our opponents are putting a lot of pressure on our guards and we're turning the ball over a lot. Against a high pressure defense, our guards are not able to look for the good passes inside. They're just trying to get rid of the ball and they're not really comfortable using the dribble. We won our first game, but I see that the pressure the defense puts on our guards is going to be an issue. It's something that I need to address in practice. What can I do?

Welcome to the coaching ranks!!

These are young kids so be patient.... drill a lot of fundamentals here... passing and dribbling.

2 0n 1 passing drill - Monkey in the Middle

You can play 2 on 2 - 3 on 3 - 4 on 4 and have one extra defender to simulate more pressure. Make practice a little harder than what they might see in games - that way they won't panic.

Look at the thread - "Pressure passing drills"

If you allow time for a scrimmage during practice, try using 5-10 minutes of no dribbling allowed. It forces players to help out, get open, and pass quickly. Plus, it adds that ability to deal with pressure you're looking for. At our 10-11 age level, we'll allow the defense to full court press to kick up the heat.

We try and make part of our practice more difficult for the kids so when they get in the game, it's easier for them. Things like 3 on 2, hands behind back on defense, dribbling with weak hand only, no dribbling allowed for part of scrimmage. I'd rather not have to put that kind of pressure on kids this age, but in our league they allow full court presses, so if you don't prepare for it, you get killed.

Having said all that, make sure the kids have fun things to do in practice. Tough balancing act, but an entire practice of pressure situations isn't going to be that enjoyable for 9/10 yr olds.

CRob

Your guards probably need to keep their eyes up when dribbling under pressure. This is typical for this age.
Make sure you spend 50% of your practice doing ballhandling, dribbling and passing skills and drills. Soon they will dribble with control and confidence, seeing the floor while under pressure.

Try this drill:

2 on 1

2 defenders guard 1 dribbler, dribbler must start at baseline and dribble to other baseline. Defenders must move and defend with both arms behind their back. The dribbler must keep his head up and see the floor so this is where you come in. You will be standing down the court holding large flash cards or holding up fingers. The dribbler must continously read off what's on your flash cards or count the number of fingers you are holding up while maintaining ball control under pressure.

Step this drill up with defenders using their hands but not stealing, just harassing. Same as above. Flash cards or fingers.

Eventually step up to full pressure.

another thing you could do is have them play 3 on 3 half court. NO DRIBBLING!! Only passing, cutting, moving w/o ball to get open, pressure M2M.

Good Luck Coach!!

Coach A