Practice Help For 2 Teams

OK, I have a 2 teams. A 9th-10th grade boys and 11th-12th boys. We get 2 practices a week and they cant be over 1 hr 10 mins. Should I focus 1 practice on Defense and 1 on Offense? Or split Offense and Defense up and have both in each practice? Also On both teams I don't have height but alot of speed and shooters, so I was wondering if focusing on my Defense more or close to completely and letting it turn into my offense as in fast breaks, turnovers, steals? Thanks for this website it has been and is a great deal of help. Would love to hear back if possible.
Thx Cody

Codyhelg..1: A few years ago, in Hong Kong I was confronted with exactly the same problem. I was coaching Varsity Girls and Junior Varsity girls. It can be a logistical nightmare. Do you have two practices with each team or one practice each? If you have four hours per week for both teams, I would have both teams together in the beginning of the season to teach your drills, philosophies and fundamentals. However, once you begin your seasons, and depending on who you are playing I would then split them up to teach offense and different defensive situations. Every once in awhile, bring both teams together for scrimmages or to re-emphasize something that you consider important. As far as being limited with height but blessed with speed, then of course, fast break, aggressive man 2 man defense, and my favorite full, 3/4 and half court pressure basketball is made for a small quick team. Let me know your thoughts, and good luck Coach Mac. P.S. what is your situation, where are you located and why is there no one there to help you?

Yes I have 2 practices for each team a week. Each team has a practice on Wensday nights, and then another 1 on whichever day is open at the gym. I try to get both teams split up becuz of the body counts and I being the only coach for both. We are coming to the end of our seasons. We have our league Tourny end of this month and beginning of April. Next season I will use your suggestion of having both teams in first part of season together. Also like the idea of scrimmmaging each team against one another. Good challange for my younger boys and even better one for older boys. Dont wanna lose to younger boys.
Yes I love Defense and my older boys are and becoming a great press team and man to man, alot of work to be done, but sense ive found this website, we have made HUGE steps to progress. Love watching em learn what im teaching them. The one thing we do have troubles with, cuz of no height, is 2nd chances opps for the opposing team. Ive put in the Reaction Rebounding drill, Corner Close Out Drill, OverLoad Drill, were still having a hard time securing rebounds, cuz other teams can jump over us... I love being in the gym with the boys but next year im only gonna take on the one team, and focus on the older boys. Right now we are 8-1 goin into our Tourny, and I get them all back next year.
My situation is im currently living in Eureka Ca (Nor Cal) and theres no one to help cuz no 1 here wants to take the challenge on, or they would rather coach from the stands and complain when things dont go right for our team. But if thats how the parents and people are around here then ive made up my mind I dont want them around the boys cuz they arent gonna put the effort in. I live for this, right now i have nothing goin on but these boys, they are what i have to wake up for, so im puttin everything into this. Thank you for gettin back to me, love your guys site, plz stay in touch, thanks for everything... Coach Cody

Coach Cody: I am reading that you are totally committed to this game and the kids you are working with and that is commendable. However, a word of advice, I don't know how old you are but that type of dedication, although remarkable, can cause problems. I too was like you many years ago and it cost me two wives. I spent my every waking hour with the kids teaching them this great game to the detriment of my own family. Please insure that you find other endeavors to occupy your time as well as coaching. A good first step is the decision you made already to only coach one team, that will give you time to pursue other interests. Hopefully this doesn't sound like a lecture from your father, its just that I've been there. please stay in contact Coach Mac

Cody, Coach Mac has given you some great advice..... I've been there too..... so listen to some "seasoned" coaches..... we both admire your dedication....but remember to balance the rest of your life with basketball.

Coach Mac & Coach Sar:
Thank you for the advice, no it didnt seem like a lecture from my father. IT actually is what my father has been tellin me, but I havent really paid attention, but now that ive had 3 people tell me this I feel its probley in my best interest to listen... Yes I love being outta my house and in the gym with the boys. I feel at home in the gym, the smells, the sounds of the shoes on floor, the sweat everything... Right now I dont really have a family per Say, of my own. I have a girlfriend and a Dog. Which my GF works at the local Hospital 12 hr shifts and my dog goes everywhere with me. The great thing is my GF has my back complelty sometimes, lol, she tells me to go to the gym, call up the boys get outta the house, lol... But I do understand where you guys are coming from and I do very much appreciate, even not knowing me as a person you guys still take the time to care.
By the way I am 25 years old, its kind of become an addiction for me. Im on this site for hrs, looking thru drills and testimonies, watching videos jus tryin to learn and become the best that I can, Im very competitive and love watching the boys grow and learn and sometimes to a fault I guess. Its jus I dont know what else Id rather be doin with my life. Thank you again for the advice. We have our League Tournys 1st Rd that starts tomro, Cant wait... Thanks for gettin back to me and hope to keep hearing from you all...

Coach: Its our pleasure, actually I began my coaching at your age and I am now coaching Professionally in Hong Kong. I too enjoy the smells and the squeaking of the shoes on the floor and the sound a ball makes when its dribbled and that's after over 1200 games coached and nearly 40 years of coaching. Are you college educated if not its very difficult to break into coaching. I was a prison guard for 15 years with no degree and coached club ball but could not break into the high school system until i returned to get my degree at 43 I now have a Doctorate. These are just some things to ponder and reflect on. Coaching is a great profession I have made so many friends from it including Coach Sars on this site. Although we have never met personally, I would just love to sit down with him over a beer and trade war stories he's a very dedicated and interesting man. Good luck with your tourney, keep me posted Coach Mac

I started coaching at 21 right after I got out of the Army... a friend of mine (who I still see today) got me invovled with coaching grammar school age kids (6-8th graders) I knew pretty quickly that I wanted to do this as a career... but it took me till I was 32 to get up enough courage to go to college - graduated at 36, moved on to the high school level - continued my education, I have67 hours past my Masters.... too much work for a PHD but I made the same amount of money.
I coached for 42 years and loved every minute of it.... so, IF You are serious about coaching... get a degree and teaching certificate and go afer it. I have also met a lot of nice guys and good coaches... some I have met personally from my contacts in another site. I have also met some interesting young people on this site who are like sponges, I love giving back to the game that gave me so much.
Coach Mac has a ton of experiences.... I would love to talk Xs 0s with him.

Let us know how things are going for you.

Well I am some what College educated. Ive gone to 2 different colleges, @ 1 for 1 yr and @ the other for only a semester. I could no longer pay for the outta state tuition and books outta pocket. Too many variables to get into, but I am strongly considering gettin back into school. The last 4 years not only have I been coaching 3-6 grade boys n girls thru the YMCA in a different town (Redding Ca) I was also working there in a Pre-School as a Instruc. Assit. and thru the YMCA in a AfterSchool Program leader working with the kids. The thing is I really dont want to be a Teacher per say in a classroom. I dont know what to go back to school for? I know without a doubt that what I want to do is coach boys basketball High School if not higher.
SO are you saying I must become a Teacher to be a Lucrative, Professional coach? I mean what is college going to teach me about coaching? What classes are there to be a High School/College Basketball Coach? Thank you for the Luck and I will absolutly keep you posted on the results, thanks guys, Coach C...

Cody,

Its not about learning how to coach, its about getting a BA and teaching certificate. You cant teach at the high school level without it.... you need that to coach also. IF you don't want to teach I think you are going to have a difficult time finding a coaching career - same thing IF You don't go to college.

You have to make a decision.... do you really want to do this? IF you do, then go back to school. Read how Coach Mac and I got to those levels. You have tp work your way up the ladder. Good luck and I hope that you will make the right decision for YOU.

IF you are not willing to do this... then you need to look into another career that will allow you to coach, but its not going to be at the level you want. You can coach at the high school level SOMETIMES with a accredidated coaching course, but that will only get you lower level jobs.

Coach Sar,
Ok I understand. I mean I was kind of already teaching at the preschool(which isnt hard, but I at times had control of the kids in the class) and while I worked in the AfterSchool program and the 3rd-6th grade kids and theyre homework when I could. I didnt have to have teaching creds, but i did have to pass a ParaProfessioanl Exam..
Anyone and everyone that ive every talked to have all said the same thing as you are. I must make up my mind and go all in and stop be lazy on it. Thanks for the push and advice....

Yeah Cody,

Get after it, don't make me come there and kick your butt...... you are like I was...anxious about it, maybe even lazy.. but once I made my mind up I got it done.... in 4 years too, not like some that want to be professional students. My problem was I hated school and wasn't very good at it. Cs at best until I got to college... then I was on the Deans list all the time.
Like they say in the Nike ads............... JUST DO IT!! :-)

Lol @ U Coach, Goodmorning...
yes it pretty much boils down to me being lazy, also as well as hating school and being horriable at it. Ive never liked school at all, always been about the social scene of school and have never been better then d's n c's, I struggle very much and I think thats half if not more of the reason why Ive kinda stirred away from college after high school, and why I have a hard time seeing myself as a Teacher. I always told myself as a student, that I would never be a Teacher or be back in school while I was in it, but now it seems as if God is kickin me in the butt with Irony...
Yea I think Nike said it best when they came up with that Slogan, So easy, but sayin so much in so little... Wasnt able to sleep anymore, have our 1st Rd games in a cple hrs, I think im more excited then my boys are...

OK, I got my point across.... hey, IF I can do it... anyone can. All you have to do is make up your mind that you are going to do it!
Calm down now, you don't want your kids to see you too wound up.... relax and stay focused.

GOOD LUCK!

*"We are more limited by our beliefs than our abilities. If you believe you are an average basketball player, you'll play like one. Believe you are a champion, and you'll eventually be one. Set your goals high and let them lift you up to where you really want to go."....Dr. Tom Amberry

Coach: I'm not going to beat this topic to death, however, It's amazing what that piece of paper can do for your confidence. I left high school before graduation to play Junior hockey so I never even had a high school diploma. That obvious lack of education was a deterrent to everything i wanted to do in sports. I used to coach club basketball and played many games against high school teams. Although I was quite successful, I never felt comfortable having a beer with these coaches following games or tournaments. I then found myself lying about my educational background in order to impress them. However, I still felt inferior. It was at that point that i decided to make all those lies the truth and thus returned to school as a mature student. Was it easy? not on your life, I was never a good student but its incredible what a little maturity can do for you in that educational environment. All of a sudden, I began to get it and now have an Honors Degree and two advanced degrees. Perhaps we should not allow many students to attend university until they are 25 or 30 or even 40. Good luck coach, heed my advice, heed Coach Sars advice or continue on that slippery slope. Coach Mac

Hey coachs,
So to update, last saturday was 1st rd of tourny for both teams. My older boys,11th-12th grader won and are goin to the championship. My younger boys was almost a massacure for ahwhile. We were down 37 at Half Time. It was a very hard game to stay positive in and upbeat, but somehow managed and the team came back but only to lose by 16, so they came back. WE out scored them in 3rd quarter and played amazing d in 4th, dont know where it all was in the first half, but its ok we go for 3rd this saturday...

Congratulations with both teams...... its very hard to stay positive when you are getting your butt handed to you... but thats what a coach is supposed to do.

This might be different with the younger kids, but when you see the game getting out of hand...CONTROL the TEMPO. Slow the game down and then start to chip away at the score. IF you get down 12 - I don't know about you, but I don't have any 12 point plays... so TWO at a time.

I was just watching one of our old game tapes... we were down 13 in the 1st quarter and I decided to slow the game down a lot....... we frustrated them and came back to win by 15..... tied the game by half time by the way. Teams that control the tempo usually win the game.

Stay positive and good luck.

Hey Coaches,
We ended up winning our Championship 64-47!!! It was absolutly our best game of the year. Everything came together so amazingly, it was 15-15 after 1, 34-35 halftime us, 47-41 us after 3 and then 64-47 final... Valley, Flat, Options,plays were open all day had one of my shooters go off for 28 pts. LOL our defense was amazing, great rotations(the 4 times we played zone) other then that we straight man and doubled ball, constant pressure. Seriously pissing off the other team, they did NOT expect us to come like that.
As we walked past the other team at half time, opposite coach and I pasted and he says, "So You guys have been practicing, huh"? HAHA, I didnt say anything back, I just smiled and keep walking with my team outta the gym. Used that as more motivation for my team at that point, we came out halftime and handled them. At one point in the 3rd we went on a 10-0 run in under 1min12secs, timeout was called at that point. My guys were hot, everything was open, man in the 4th quarter we ran with about 4 mins to go, we got into "FLAT BALL" and there was some pretty give n go's. Im only losing 2 guys to being Seniors and the other guys said they want to come back and do it again next year, so im excited already. Plus had parents come up and thank me for coaching there kids and against there kids cuz of my enthusiasim and how I "Coach" the kids not jus yell at them. Anyways jus wanted to share with you guys thanks for your advice so far, plz stay in touch. Thanks Coach Cody P.S. I have pics but dont know how to share them with you?