Have you ever wanted to be your son or daughter "Y" or "Rec. League" basketball coach but were concerned that you did not know enough about coaching to tackle the job?  Well you are not alone.  Most adults probably feel inadequate when it comes to coaching.  You are certainly not alone.  Coaching a youth sport really is a fun and exciting challange.

Young people, be it girl or boy, want to have fun.  They all want to play and they all want to be the star of the game.  Depending upon the specific age group you are working with you may have children who were signed up for the sport by a parent or gaurdian without the child requesting to play.  Some children may have requested to participate.  Either way they are most likely beginners in basketball other than a few of the basic beginning skills  they have learned at home or at school. 

 A coach once told me that basketball is an easy game to play but a difficult game to master.  Young children can play "real" basketball with just a few hours of instruction on your part.  Mastering the game will take them years of hard practice, going to camps, working with a variety of coaches, watching the game, and studying the game.  So what is your job as a youth basketball coach? 

Teach and laugh.   Teach them as much about the game in the few hours you are given to work with them.  Treat them all the same. Do not favor any children and do not slight any children.  Allow the worst skilled player and the best skilled player you have to participate equally.  You need to make them all feel equally important.  Divide up the practice and game playing time equally.  Do not let any parent encourage you to try to win a youth game over equal participation.  

: The first couple of practices you will need to teach them the proper way to shoot using the backboard; dribbling with either hand, chest pass, bounce pass, defensive stance, how to move away from a defender, how to move to receive a pass, and very basic game rules.  Do not be overly concerned about the game rules.  They just need the basics:  out of bounds rule,  contact with another player,  and moving their feet with the ball.   You can always go into more detail about a specific rule as the season goes along.

 Your practices should be organized to allow for

1.  warm up and stretching (many will argue that young athletes don't really need the stretching, but it is a good habit to get them into)  

 2.   conditoning with a ball, if possible - it does not have to be a fancy drill - use full court dribbling, full court passing with a partner, full court with a jump stop and a shot at the basket from all angles - keep it simple, but try to have enough balls available to keep the lines moving and eveyone active (ask the players to bring their own basketball if the league you are coaching for does not have enough balls)

3.   Basic defensive drills -  1 vs 1, man to man,  player to player  - they need to know where they should stand on defensive when the player they are gaurding has the ball and when they don't.   You can practice defensive by having the players try to keep a proper position while you slowly move the ball around the half-court.  Do not even attempt to teach a zone defense.

4.  Do not attempt to teach any offensive plays to the younger children.  Your time is better spend working on their skills and having them practice how to move with and without the ball on offense and how to defend their basket when on defense.

5.  Try to make the last part  of your practices fun.  PLay a short half or full court game or do a fun shooting competition between team mates. Do a little huddle chant or pep talk with everyone included.  Talk about the positive things they did at practice and what skills they could practice on their own if they have the time.    The last thing you do or say at practice will be the thing they remember most.

Remember you can buy a book on basketball to teach yourself drills and skills but coaching is about getting the best out of your players and hoping that when the season is over they will remember all the fun they had and look forward to next year.

I hope this encourages you to volunteer to coach.  I coached for 33 years, all levels except college and loved it all.   I am now retired and running a sporting goods business on EBAY and in my local community.  Please feel free to visit my store.

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