My Basketball Coaching Philosophy as a Coach of Young Athletes
Let me preface this by saying that I like to win and I coach to win – always have; always will. When the whistle blows and the ball goes up, it becomes mostly about the results for me. And I feel most coaches share my sentiment, whether they admit it or not. There is, however, one hard line I refuse to cross: I will never chase a win at the expense of player development. EVER. Too many coaches today teach systems and strategies that will help them win but are severely detrimental to their players. This needs to end. If you’re not teaching the game, you shouldn’t be coaching the game. Need examples? Read on. We’ll start at the offensive end.
We played a team last year whose entire offense was setting high screens for their best player. That’s it. It was the same play every single time down the court. Two players stood in the baseline corners, two players stood in the high post elbows, and their best player dribbled the ball until one of the high post girls set a pick for her so she could try and break down her defender. And when this girl subbed out, they just brought in another girl to run the same play over and over again. Did it work? Sometimes. Did they win? Occasionally. But the more important question is: Was it worth it? As coaches and parents, we have to ask ourselves: Are these kids getting better as a result of this system? If they’re not, the system has to change.
I’m not suggesting that coaches get rid of plays like the one mentioned above. They have a time and a place. Run them when you need a momentum hoop or in close game situations when time is winding down. But every time? Absolutely not. At this level, we should be teaching kids to play the game. If you’re going to run an offense, run one with that in mind. I’d suggest something like a Five Out Motion Offense. It’s the perfect offense for young kids AND it’s easy to teach. It doesn’t divide your team into guards and forwards. All players need to learn all facets of playing offense and every athlete contributes! It also teaches kids to read and react. There’s no “always run over here” or “set this screen every time” in the Five Out. You make decisions based on what your defender is doing. Kids are learning to play basketball, not learning basketball plays. Big difference. And learning to play basketball shouldn’t be restricted to the offensive end.
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Too many times at this level, we see teams solely using zone defense and it’s no surprise why. Coaches believe it will help them win. They can clog the lane to limit the drive while simultaneously forcing teams to beat them from the outside and it’s very effective, especially when you consider that most kids at this age aren’t consistently good outside shooters. Heck, many inexperienced players can’t even get the ball to the rim from outside the arc with anything remotely close to proper form so it’s easy to see why so many coaches at the youth level employ zone defenses but is it what’s best for our athletes? Wouldn’t kids be better served by teaching them the fundamentals of good man-to-man defense?
Solid man-to-man principles are the foundation of a good team defense. Teaching kids the concepts of on-ball defense, deny position, and help-side will provide them with the tools to develop into smarter and, subsequently, better players. Leave the zone defenses for high school coaches and don’t worry; you’re not stunting their growth by focusing solely on man-to-man. In fact, you’re doing your players a huge favour as most zone defenses are based on man-to-man principles. In other words, teach kids to play man and they’ll be ready to learn zones when the time comes.
These are only a couple of examples but, generally speaking, this is how I believe the game should be coached at the elementary level. It’s okay to play to win. My teams do. I believe learning to compete is an important part of the developmental process for kids but it’s not the only part and it definitely should not be your primary goal. The real focus at this level needs to be skill development. If you’re not developing basketball players, you’re not actually coaching them; you’re using them. You should want kids to leave your program as better players with an expanded understanding of how the game is played. Because if they’re not, no matter how many wins you amass, you’re still operating at a loss. And nobody wants that.
H.
