How to Be a Positive Youth Basketball Coach

For both coaches and players, there will always be room for growth in games. It’s possible that many teachers could use some refinement. Having an effect on players requires more than just an extensive knowledge of the sport. In addition to helping their athletes reach their full potential, the most talented coaches build relationships based on mutual trust, professionalism, and responsiveness.

In order to have a more successful season, coaches can use these tips to influence their athletes better. The guidelines apply to any game, even if we describe them in the context of basketball.

Remember to Have a Good Time!

Coaches of young athletes must remember this principle above all others. Sporting activities are still games. Children, in particular, play these games for the sheer joy of it. The sport should be enjoyable for your children.

Don’t take yourself too seriously as a coach. Inquire about the summer of the children or the parents of those children. Have a conversation with them about what they’d like to do more of and how they think things could be made more enjoyable. Asking for feedback is fine, but you shouldn’t have to act on every piece of it.

In the end, your job is to make things fun for the kids while they’re learning the game with a basketball training machine. As a youth basketball coach, you must remember that your players are too young to take the game too seriously. Your job is going pretty well if the kids are laughing and joking around.

To get started, begin with the fundamentals.

The internet is an excellent resource for learning new techniques for instructing your squad of players, but even if you believe your athletes are “advanced,” you should begin with the fundamentals.

In many cases, the best young basketball players are also those who have developed the worst behaviors. As long as you don’t mind him shooting the ball from his shoulder as it looks like a bad free throw, you’ve got an excellent three-pointer.

Teach them how to play rather than just teaching them how to watch.

We cannot emphasize this enough. There is nothing worse than sitting through a youth basketball match and seeing the players run the same play down the court time and time again. What you’re doing isn’t teaching your players anything about the game.

They’re still learning the basics, such as running to designated spots and doing as the coach instructs. In addition, instead of concentrating on the game at hand, they are preoccupied with the scripts they are supposed to be performing.

Running a set is appropriate at the right time and in the right place at the right time. To be clear, we are not advocating that you never stage a play. Teach your children the fundamentals of basketball. That’s what we’re advocating.

Strive to develop abilities rather than memorizing drills

As mentioned previously, it’s important to develop players who improve their abilities rather than just drill them more. We’re referring to the fact that there are a lot of silly drills that you can run with your team online—shooting free throws with only one foot on the line, for instance. Even if you had your athletes practice shooting free throws with a home basketball machine each day for ten minutes, will that be a technique they could use in an actual match? Doubtful.

Don’t choose something because it sounds cool; ensure the drills your kids do actually help them develop real-world skills they can put to use in league matches.

Consider whether the drill you’re preparing to run will help your players develop their skills when putting together your practice schedule.

Deploy a Man-to-Man Defense.

It’s a no-brainer that attempting to play zone defense instead of man defense against middle schoolers will produce positive outcomes. Because middle schoolers haven’t yet mastered the art of the knockdown jump shooting, suffocating them in the paint will help limit their ability to score.

Playing zone the entire match, on the other hand, is teaching your children something. Poor defensive posture and the tendency to hover in one spot are most likely to blame. It is possible to gain an advantage by employing zone defense, but it is detrimental to your players’ growth.

Teach them basic man-to-man guidelines (using a facility basketball machine) rather than playing zone. Denying while one is passing, playing help-side defense, and interacting all through the possession are all examples of defensive play.

In high school and college, man-to-man is the most common defense, and your players’ trainers will appreciate you if you start teaching them this early on.

Positionless Basketball

What are we trying to say here? Your older children will benefit from practicing their ball handling and shooting skills with you. Practicing post moves and screening with your little ones in a basketball shooting facility will help them improve. Every time you’re coaching kids in the youth basketball league, you never know who is going to hit a significant growth spurt. When a child is ten years old, they are significantly smaller than they will be when they are 18.

To sum up, engage in some positionless hoops. It’s essential to work on all of the game’s skills simultaneously. They’ll be better prepared for whatever position they end up playing in high school and beyond because of it.

You don’t want to limit the development of your players by only allowing your bigs to play on the block or only allowing your smaller players to bring up the ball on offense. When it comes to youth basketball, everyone should be working on their skills.

Do not overwork your children.

Give your children a break. Allow them to partake in other forms of physical activity such as swimming or tennis. You don’t have to participate in tournaments every weekend. Youth sports have a high burnout rate, primarily due to the lack of time away from the field. In order to improve, they are constantly playing and being pushed to do so. However, it’s not necessary to work on their games 24 hours a day, seven days a week as a child.

They are in desperate need of some downtime. It’s time for them to be kids again. This should be kept in mind when planning your practice, game, and tournament schedules, etc.

Encourage your children to participate in a variety of sports. Don’t force them to play basketball at a young age just because you think they should. This group needs to go on a world tour. You won’t exhaust them, and they’ll be eager to play more basketball as they get older if you do this.