Passing, passing and more passing

Something I did with our 1st/2nd graders and even into 3rd/4th teams was to emphasize passing in practice and games. I noticed in our 1st grade seasons that everyone celebrated shots, the cheers would erupt from the parents and coaches, but no one really cared about passes.

During our 1st grade season, I decided to reward the kids for X number of passes per game as a team. If they accomplished the goal (which we made sure they did), they all received a "goodie" after the game. It was amazing to hear the kids coming off the court asking how many passes they had as a team. We didn't care if they were good passes at that time, we just wanted them to pass.

As they progressed from season to season, we started to reward good passes, then extra points for finding the open man under the basket, etc. They began to understand the need to have spacing and what it meant to "get open". Bottom-line: As 5th graders now, these guys understand ball movement, it's cool to watch.

My advice to new coaches of younger players, reward passes early on. It will benefit you in the long run and all the kids will get more ball touches.

Great idea, Coach!

Frustrating practice last night trying to get 7,8,9 year olds to get into a set, and for each of them to simply do 1 move to set a pick and send a pass inside to a cutter.
Had my older kids scrimmage against the new kids, and they could only muster a tie.
I guess I need to remain patient, and have them learn the play through walk-throughs and ramp up the speed over a few plays.
I did realize the set needs to come up further from the basket in order to work against a disciplined zone defense. Back to work Saturday...

Eric, I feel your pain! Basketball at that age is very difficult. Try to keep it as simple as possible. I found that that best I could expect was a single screen and a single pass from my more interested players. After that, everything fell apart. Good luck.

Hi Eric,

You'll quickly find out as I did that offensive sets, plays, and zone defenses do nothing for 7, 8, & 9 year olds. In fact, they probably inhibit their development.

High school & college coaches have enough trouble getting their kids to remember plays. I have expanded on this issue in this article, you may want to take a look: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/b ... -offenses/

Basically, teach skills most of the time and incorporate concepts.

Zone defenses should not be allowed just like leading off to steal a base isn't allowed in Little League baseball. It's a tactic used to win games and not develop players. It takes advantage of players being slower, weaker, and not having the game experience to know how to react. You can read more on that at these links:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/defense/age.html

These articles might help as well:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/b ... h-players/

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/c ... eague.html

I actually was able to set up a basic set and run an easy play off of it Saturday, hopfeully it can lead to a team-wide (or at least partially team wide) idea that these plays have a reason. I realize from being around this level a while that the game will morph into a thing where 2, or a maximum of 3 players of the 5 will really be involved offensively; but I'll remain optimistic that if we keep working on sets and setting screens that at least next year, the returning players will already be thinking of it, and the concept is already in effect.
As for zone defense, it's a starting point, that at least they know something about D, and maybe before the season starts we can grapple with a one on one in practices.
I'll continue to work on fundamentals and dribble/pass/shoot basics, but my main underlying objective in this rebuilding year is to sow the seeds of thought on offense, and that sort of like in football, you need to execute plays, and know how to move without the ball in order to get some scoring.

Eric,
If you run plays thats what they learn.. how to run plays and not how to play the game.. use the KISS method... keep it very simple. I heard a college coach talk about attacking zone defenses.... PUT EM WHERE THEY AINT..... pass the ball and find the open man, this is a tough age group no doubt about it.
Now is the time to teach basic fundamentals... teach m2m defense, I know its harder to do but in the long run they will be better players for it.
Any sport is about execution certainly.. but football is about running plays... basketball is about learning the game and reacting to different situations. (not sure if I am explaining this correctly) JMO
AND, Kudos to you for taking the time to work with kids of this age.

Ken

Thanks Ken.
I've gotten some similar responses in different places, and still have time to incorporate some of that before games start.
I have had them pass around the perimeter as a form of just practicing passing to open players, and to work on pass/catch. This will loosen up defenses, as human nature tells me kids will chase the ball, and create openings. I need to have them realize the openings, and exploit them.
Of course having a full squad at practice (if it happens this flu season) will be of some help too. :)

While I agree the basic fundamental are primarily important at this age, I still think you need to give them some structure for offense and defense. At this age, they have no clue what to do after the drills are run. Giving them some set cuts, screens and passes helps them understand and begin the learning process.

And Eric, yes your more interested players will begin to understand offensive concepts. My son has really started to understand. He likes to screen in pickup games -- and runs "plays" with his friends which involve screens and cuts. He'll even draw up a play or two on paper. I have seen a huge difference in his pre season camp -- he'll cut and move while everyone else stands around with their head in the clouds.

I hear you, Golfman.
I know I have some kids who only really need to be told what NOT to do (by in large), while others need a branding iron to get moving.
My starting point guard is just getting over H1N1, so now that he'll be back there's a decent chance we'll be able to develop some flow on offense.
I'm modifying my approach to include a couple of modest sets, mainly so that they have some structure, especially for late game situations if we need to try to run one play from a set. But in general, I'm going to get them into a motion offense with emphasis on knowing how to create space and passing lanes without being mechanical. Wish me luck.

I do wish you luck Eric!

One other thing that comes to mind is the kids idea about being open and truly being open.... a passing lane.... that means there is NO defender between you and the ball. If you see one.. move to one side or the other so you can see the ball and the player with the ball can see you.

Good luck and let us know how this is going.

Ken

Will do!
I appreciate the feedback, and like having the open forum here. My assistant is a guy who doesn't know much about hoops, but is a trusty and helpful guy. Not having an assistant with much knowledge, and it being my first year actually coaching, I'll lean on this network for some direction; the advice is quite welcome.

What would be a good number to set your goal at for a game (7 min quarters)?