The ever so difficult bounce pass

I would like some help ! I have ran drill after drill, even had entire practices where we only used the bounce pass, however in a game we only seem to want to throw chest passes, or over our head passes which as you all know get picked off when thrown in traffic. Thanks

There are a lot of opinions regarding what type of pass to use.... bounce passes into the post are fine... many will say that a bounce pass on the perimeter is not a good idea, especially if it is a long distance... its the slowest pass so its easier to deflect or steal.

I'm not sure how old your kids are, but they will revert back to whatever is easiest for them in crunch time. (as you are finding out) Keep teaching them the fundamentals and try to get them to play to their strengths... then let them have FUN.

As for the over the head pass... great pass IF you are tall enough to see over the defender and you are strong enough to make a good skip pass...... my teams were pretty short so I dubbed that pass the "I T PASS" .. meaning INSTANT TURNOVER. We taught the pass but I tried to get the kids to use it sparingly depending on the situation. Above all BE PATIENT....

I coach 5th grade boys. Some of my guys who have played longest know when and how to execute a bounce pass and do a very nice job with it Others less experienced or with lower basketball IQ can execute it and we do all sorts of bounce pass drills and bounce pass only scrimmages, but it in real game they will not throw a bounce pass. I think it is a mental issue -- they do not make the connection of why a bounce pass is best in certain situations. To them they see an open teammate and the chest pass being the way to make the most direct connection will be what they try. Turnovers might make them more cautious but they will not deviate from a straight line chest pass. I've reached the conclusion that experience and age will eventually prevail and the bounce pass will become intuitive to them. But until then all the drills, admonitions, artificial mechanisms (i.e bounce pass only scrimmages) won't have much effect though when they finally get it intellectually they should be able to execute it physically.