Coaching Beginners

[Elphinkiller]

Hey guys and girls hoping someone can answer these questions for me. I have taken a couple of years out of coaching. I was coaching Rep Ball at U16 level and before that had some time as an assistant at U18 and U14 level. Due to being time poor with my own family I had to stop coaching for a couple of years. During that time my kids have started doing Aussie Hoops, I have been helping run these sessions and I have found it to be very rewarding and frustrating all in one. Now it is almost time for my oldest to move into a domestic competition and I will be coaching the team. They are all around 8 years of age and maybe slightly younger. My first question is what is the best way to teach these kids the basic team based principles as for the most part they have just been learning the individual basics. I know that most of my training sessions will be about basics still at that age but I need to give them something to go into the season with and at least try and get their spacing right.

Thanks guys.

[Southern Joe]

...... I've seen from my exp. that you will see some kids that will catch on quicker than others, esp. if they've played before.

My boy is in his last season of u10s & he's basically the leader as he has been playing for 5 or so yrs now. The coach uses him as the way something needs to be done & hopes the teammates will follow.

Hopefully there will be an on court leader that you can shout instructions to as to where to be positioned when it comes to zones, free throws, etc.

Give them time.

[RedbackVenom]

Teach them the fundamentals and how to do them correctly. Bad habits are hard to break down as they get older...

...and make everything you do at training fun and competitive. Boys in particular at U8/U10 thrive on this, but you will lose them very quickly should boredom prevail.

[Homer]

Elphinkiller, encourage all your players equally to look to score.
Do not focus on scoring as a gauge of how a player has performed.
They will do plenty of that themselves without any input from you.
Reward team based achievements such as rebounding, assists and help defence.
At training, use the internet as a source of drills for the kids.
There is an endless supply online.
I like to use drills that don't include dribbling. This encourages the ball hogs to pass and cut.
There's just a few quick thoughts.

[Team DMD Basketball]

And just remember that most people only do the most basic with them or set easy standards, keep it simple and work on the important fundamentals. But they will surprise you with what they can do if you make sure you push them each session to show you exactly how good they are.

[Elphinkiller]

Thanks Guys much appreciated.

[Team DMD Basketball]

oh and one handed passing. Lots and lots of one hand passes. Catch with one hand also is handy stuff.