I have a meeting on May 18th with the AD/coaches from our basketball league. These are 5 very small schools that have 5-6 teams and 7-8 teams. To give you an idea of small, usually we need 4th graders to play just to have enough kids and often move 6th graders up for the same reason. Last year I convinced them to use 27in balls for the young girls and 28.5 for the young boys. It helped a bunch. Now this year I want to end the trapping zone defenses. We have very small gyms which make them very very effective, almost not even fair in my view, plus the fact that the kids learn nothing. Two of the gyms are not even close to wide enough to have the 3 pt line go all the way around. My question is, where can I get more information for my argument against zones/trapping, other than this site? Other coaches, other sites ect. I am worried that two of the AD\'s that do not want to change anything, are going to say that all of the info that I have is from the same source and dismiss it. I need more amo! Thanks for your time and I appreciate the site a ton!
Coach Fath

You should ask them what their goals are.... to WIN games or to teach the kids how to play the game, get them ready to play at the next level.... and have FUN!

Show them Bob Bigelow's DVD on coaching Youth Basketball.

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/pr/bigelow-youth-right-way.html

Who is Bob Bigelow?
Bob is a world-renown expert on youth sports and coaching youth basketball.
Former 1st Round NBA Draft Pick.
Played for the Kansas City Kings, Boston Celtics, and San Diego Clippers.
Played for three Top 20 teams at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn).
Played at Penn for Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Daly - the Coach of the 1992 Olympic Gold Medal "Dream Team".
Conducted over 2500 Talks and Clinics on Youth Sports and Basketball since 1990.
Bob has studied youth sports and youth basketball for the last 20 years and he's a world-leading authority on the subject. His focus is on coaching youth basketball the RIGHT WAY.

His approach is focused on what is best for the players and their future development. Unfortunately, few youth coaches know how to do this or have the expertise to properly handle the unique challenges of developing youth basketball players. In this new DVD, Bob shares his knowledge so we can all develop better players.



What's in the DVD - Volume I?
Introduction

What is a fundamental?
Why coaches should try using a 9 pound ball - it makes them think.
The challenges of young kids playing basketball and putting things in perspective.
The goal of this DVD is to teach better ways to coach youth basketball.
Chapter 1 - The Importance of Pivoting and Movement


Why you can't effectively play without this footwork!
How ball position affects center of gravity.
Teaching footwork and pivoting the right way.
4 drills to teach jump stops and pivots.
The proper progressions to teach footwork and a solid foundation for players.
Chapter 2 - Teaching Dribbling the Right Way

The proper way to build dribbling skills for young kids.
How gravity can impact the skills that you teach.
The 2 most important dribbling concepts for young kids to learn.
Unique progressions to effectively teach dribbling.
When and how to add a defense to improve dribbling and ball handling.
Learning to dribble the ball under defensive pressure (the proper progression).
9 youth dribbling drills with progressions.
Chapter 3 - Successful Passing for Kids


Why young kids are less inclined to "share" and what to do about it.
Challenges for young kids passing the ball and how to handle it.
Why the wall may be your best weapon for skill improvement.
Teaching balance and age appropriate skills.
Learning the 5 passing holes.
Learning how to pass around defenders.
Improving passing accuracy and teaching players to hit moving targets.
12 youth passing drills with progressions.
Chapter 4 - The Right Way to Teach Shooting

No more heaving the ball.
Matching kids' size and strength with the best shooting techniques.
How to teach and determine a player's shooting range.
The 13 spots to start shooting.
Why layups are different for kids than adults -- you have to teach them differently.
The real reason that youth players miss so many lay ups.
How to teach lay ups the right way.
Why you MAY not want to teach shooting to your kids YET.
Simple lay up drills.
Chapter 5 - Simple Offense for Youth Teams


A better way to teach offense.
Understanding the importance and concepts of triangles.
A super simple yet effective screening offense that you can teach in minutes.
Simple motion offense rules for youth teams.
How youth players can effectively move without the ball.
Cutting and simple drills to teach the concept.
Easy drill to teach ball screens.
Chapter 6 - 3 on 3 is the Best Way for Young players to Learn


Why all youth teams should play lots of small sided games (like 3 on 3).
Concepts for playing effective 3 on 3 basketball.
Playing 3 on 3 with a sideline passer.
Chapter 7 - Planning and Applying these Concepts in Practice

Bob's 3 iron clad rules for youth practices.
How to organize your practices effectively.
Practice planning - how to ensure that you and your players get the most out of practice.
Chapter 8 - Coaching Youth Games the Right Way

Coaching the process, not the outcome.
Giving out playing time appropriately.
Why most youth teams have too many players.
What to do on the sidelines.
Can kids really process or hear what you say on the court.
The best time to teach.
Playing the right type of defense for this age group.
Chapter 9 - Final Thoughts and Important Guidelines


Why basketball is a late developing sport and what that means to you.
Playing all year round - why it's a bad idea.
The development process of young players.
Very common mistakes in the game today and the right way to coach youth basketball!
Overall the DVD covers basic skills & has over 30 fun drill progressions for footwork, dribbling, ball handling, passing, shooting, and youth offense concepts.

The DVD is 85 minutes long.

Coach: First of all, let me clear something up for you, these coaches are from all over the US the reason they contribute to this site, is because its a great site and Joe and Jeff are wonderful site administrators.

Now to you question, and this is coming for a professional coach all the way from Hong Kong, tell those AD's to get their heads out of the sand. These guys are Athletic Directors and with some of them that title becomes a bit of an oxymoron. There is no place in youth basketball for zones and there is certainly no place in youth basketball for zone traps. We have hammered this topic to death on here and at clinics I have headed. When i first began coaching a hundred years or so ago, I coached in a gym you are describing, in fact, you had to go out into the parking lot to shoot a three. Now I began to use a zone because i realized how effective it was and I was very successful "in my own gym." But when we went to a regulation sized gym, I realized just how deficient my kids were and that I was doing them no favors. It was at that point I set out to learn just how to play m2m defense. Many coaches don't teach m2m because they just don't know how or wont take the time to learn and placing kids into a 2-3 is much simpler. Many years ago i began to use Dick Bennet's m2m concepts and I have never regretted it. Hope this helps Coach Mac

Let me include my website Coach Mac

www.laba.com.hk

Mac,

Well said! Those people don't have a clue about teaching young kids the game... its all about Ws and Ls..... trapping at a young age should be against the law..... 10-20 hours of community service at basketball schools, camps etc.

As I coached seventh grade boys this year I was playing to alot of zone defenses. I watched as the teams set up in two threes and three twos. It was so easy to score against those defenses that it was pathetic. The coaches had no idea how to coach those defenses correctly. Hence I totaly agree that at the younger level of ball, basics should be the number one thing that is focused on. My kids were hoping that the other teams would play zone that way they would be able to get some practice with outside shots in a game situaton. Also they could run their back door plays and score at will. I still say teach these younger kids to dribble, shoot, and play hard man to man defense is the way to go. Defense creates offense.

Retracted.

There is nothing easy about teaching any defense... but certainly - its more difficult to teach m2m...... but IF you ask the high school coaches what they would rather see you teach, I would say that the majority would say m2m.
Its not about Ws and Ls... its about teaching the fundamentals of the game.... I would bet that the other coach wasn't teaching it correctly and thats why it was a circus.... I wonder IF you put that much time into teaching m2m if you would have the same results? JMO

This is pointless... I'm out of here.