Another Vote For Youth Fundamentals

Wanted to share a great post on why fundamentals are much more important than winning in youth basketball. This comes from the Yahoo Groups, "coaching basketball" group:

"I am going to have to disagree with him a lot. The ONLY thing that is important at that age is FUNDAMENTALS. .. no one cares if you win...... (maybe the coach and parents) but if they can't play at the next level because of the lack of proper fundamentals. .. what have you gained?

Corey has listed a lot of the things that need to be taught to these kids.... If you lose every game and when these kids go to high school and make the team... that is where you get your thanks. I have seen many "all stars" come into high school only to go into the tank because of poor fundamentals. ..... "

Date Announced for Next "Path to College Coaching" Teleseminar

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Why Pressing Hurts Progress of Youth Players

An issue that must be addressed is pressing full or half court at the youth level. There is no question, regardless of your opinion on the subject, that scrapping basic defensive principles for the sake of pressing is ridiculous!

Are we teaching kids HOW TO PLAY or just HOW TO WIN?

Unfortunately our youth game has become a "how do we win" mentality. This short-sided mindset is killing our game at the most vulnerable level. No wonder we can't beat the world's teams in foreign competitions!

To strengthen this view, I'd adding a comment below made recently in the Yahoo Groups "coachingbasketball" discussion group!

Way to go COREY!

"I'd press those teams too if I only cared about winning and not teaching basketball. The reason pressing works so well at that age is that kids don't have the fundamentals of dribbling or passing to break a press. The chances of those teams actually being any good at pressing is slim to none (just a guess). TO be honest...I'd spend tons of time with my team doing ball handling, dribbling and passing drills. You can teach them all the press breakers you want but none will work if your team can't pass or dribble. To be honest...my varsity girls team spends 10 minutes every day doing dribbling drills (min). But I know when we get in a game everyone of them could dribble or pass out of trouble. But if you want I could give you my press breaker...it works fine against full or half court pressing. For man...clear out and let your best dribbler go against their defender."

Corey

Follow Up Comment on Haluska's Pre-Draft Workouts

Hundreds of coaches are involved in the Yahoo Groups "coachingbasketball" discussion group. I would encourage any coach to become involved. There are topic from A to Z represented, and the feedback to questions or problems is very good. It is a positive, empowering community of basketball coaches.
I wanted to share a follow up comment made by a coach recently. After reading my previous entry on Adam Haluska's Pre-Draft workouts, one coach said:

This article tells it like it is! At the youth levels we need to be more concerned about the fundamentals than the Ws and Ls. Pretty simple philosophy.

Ken

That comment really hit it on the head! Thanks Ken.

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Insight on NBA Pre-Draft Workouts

Today I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Adam Haluska, the Big Ten's leading scorer from last season. Drafted in the second round by the New Orleans Hornets, Adam shared with me some insight into what the pre-draft workouts were like.

In hearing him describe the drills and focus of each workout, I reflected on the fundamentals of the game that 6, 8, and 10 years olds are missing out on. If it's good enough for the NBA and the best players in the world, it surely needs to be a staple in youth basketball in every gym in America.

Adam worked out in for clubs such as New Orleans, Phoenix, and Dallas.

The drills revolved around offense and included:

1. One-on-one competition. All positions and sizes competed together, playing from the wings and the top of the key.

2. Moves off the dribble. Moves such as the crossover, hesitation, double crossover, and the step back move were used.

3. 2-on-2. Can you imagine 2 highly prized draft picks joining together for a game of 2-on-2. This is what I would like to see in every school yard across the country. 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 are great ways to play and learn the game correctly. There must be something to it if NBA GM's and coaches stand around and watch four guys play two-on-two for a half hour, huh?

4. Shooting. Tons of shooting drills were part of each workout. Shooting open three's, shooting off the dribble, pull up jumpers, shooting off screens, and shooting with the aid of a dribble move such as the crossover or step back. These drills are competitive, so the pressure is on the player to make shots. That's one big focus for all clubs is to draft guys that can make shots, and make them consistently.

When asked if any of the drills or techniques taught were new or complicated to him, he said no. In fact each drill was very fundamental in nature. When he played in the Los Angeles NBA summer league, the Hornets staff put them through some rigorous drills and conditioning. The drill and teaching segments of practice during this two month period were very simple and fundmentally based.

It was refreshing to know that the basics of the game are being taught to the great players and draft picks in NBA camps. Somehow over the years we got it backwards! Youth basketball, especially those that coach youth basketball need to pay attention to the message in this post and re-examine their philosophy and emphasis or lack of emphasis on the key elements of the game that are still highly treasured at the game's highest level, the NBA.

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