Coaching Youth Basketball - Chapter 33 to End

CHAPTER 33 - All Presents should be neatly wrapped with a bow.

Basketball Encarta, that's what I call Alaska Coach's and Coach Larry Dean Jackson's websites. Only problem is that Coach Jackson's site on tripod went down. After listening to them tell him he never had a site on tripod, he switched servers. His new address is:

www.geocities.com/ljacksonesc5/acoach.html

When I go there I don't use capitalized letters, but it probably doesn't matter. LD's site has more plays than any site I've seen. He's my X's and O's library. When he lost his site on tripod, he lost his audience but now you know how to get there. Try it, you'll like it.

It's early in the morning on Dec. 24th, 2000. My wife and daughter are a sleep and it's almost X-mas. This is my quiet time when I can look back over the year and think, "Man am I glad this one is over!" I've done a lot of things wrong this year. I haven't gone home to Lexington, Kentucky to see my mom, sisters, nieces, and their kids enough. Between working 60 hours a week and basketball the rest of my waking hours, I haven't spent enough quality time with my own family. Ok, sometimes I can be a true s**t. Yes, I'm allowed to swear because it's my book!

The biggest event this year was my father dying in Feb. Talk about a wake up call. This made me think a lot about those idiotic cliches like "Why am I here?" and "If I were to die right now, what difference would my life have made?"

Now you are saying to yourself, "This guy has lost it. He is even further out in left field, than he was when he did the Super Coach chapter." No, I'm still with you.

My point is that 16 years ago I met Jennifer and got married. My getting married to my best friend doesn't change the world. But this was a part of something that made a difference, my wife and I had Crash, our daughter. In some way, this changes the world. She will be something that I helped make a difference with.

Next, there's my extended family, the girls who play for me. I have tried very hard to let sports teach them teamwork and the value of good sportsmanship. I believe this can make a difference in the world.

And last, there's my Christmas present to you folks, and that is this book. If this book helps you, to believe in your heart and soul that COACH = TEACHER AND ROLE MODEL, then I will have made a difference. Riley's Kudo = we are only vertical for so long, then we are horizontal forever. We should have as much fun as the law allows, and still be able to make a positive difference in another's life.

IF YOU CAN'T HAVE FUN, YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE! Basketball can be a state of mind where you can have fun and bring others into your playland with you. If you teach and have fun, so will everyone else. Ok, I'm rambling, so here's a silly X-mas present for you. Read this in the same rythme as you would "The Night Before Christmas."

ODE OF A X-MAS KID

TWAS THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP DAY
MY TEAM HAD PREPARED
AND WERE READY TO PLAY
MY 4TH GRADE KIDS
HAD PRACTICED SO HARD
THEY'D RUN THEIR LEGS OFF
THESE FORWARDS AND GUARDS

THEY'D PRACTICED AND LEARNED
THE GIVE AND THE GO
THE PASS AND CUT
AND EVEN FREETHROWS
THEY'D STOOP AND THEY'D CROUCH
TO LEARN TRIPLE THREATS
MY KIDS WORKED HARDER
THAN A MAN WITH HUGE DEBTS

MY TEAM WAS PREPARED
AND READY TO PLAY
THIS WAS THEIR MOMENT
THIS WAS THEIR DAY
WE GOT TO THE GYM
A LITTLE BIT EARLY
BECAUSE THE WEATHER FORECAST
WAS CALLING FOR FLURRIES

WITH 5 MINUTES TO GO
BEFORE THE GAME STARTED
THE SKIES OPENED UP
WITH SNOWFLAKES THAT DARTED
THE GYM WAS BRAND NEW
WITH REAL BIG GLASS DOORS
WITH PLENTY OF WINDOWS
YOU COULD SEE FROM THE FLOOR

THE REF TOSSED THE BALL
AND WE GOT THE TIP
I FELT COZY AND WARM
LIKE A FLORIDA TRIP
THE GAME WAS FAST PACED
BACK AND FORTH THE SCORE WENT
AT HALF YOU COULD SEE
THAT BOTH TEAMS WERE SPENT

THE REF STARED AT THE DOORS
WHILE WEARING A FROWN
HE WINCED AS HE STARED
AT THE SNOW COMING DOWN
SECOND HALF STARTED
AS FAST AS THE FIRST
EACH TEAM WAS SCORING
IN OPPOSITE BURSTS

WE SCORED OUR TWO
THEN THEY GOT THEIR FOUR
THEN THEY GOT TWO
WHILE WE GOT FOUR MORE
BOTH TEAMS PLAYED WELL
BACK AND FORTH THE LEAD WENT
FREETHROWS AND LAYUPS
WERE LIKE MONEY SPENT

NOW WE HAD THE LEAD
NOW THEY TOOK IT BACK
LIKE A SEESAW THAT HELD
TWO EQUAL SACKS
MEANWHILE THE SNOW FELL
WITH NO RHYTHM OR STYLE
EXCEPT TO CREATE
SOME HUMONGOUS PILES

THE REFS MISSED SOME CALLS
THEY'D NORMALLY HAVE MADE
AS THEY STARED AT THE DOORS
INSTEAD OF WHO PLAYED
ONE QUARTER TO GO
JUST SEVEN MINUTES MORE
NO ONE WAS AHEAD
TWAS A DEAD EVEN SCORE

THE OPPOSING COACH AND I PACED
IN OUR OWN SEPERATE BOX
I COULD FEEL MYSELF SWEAT
EVEN DOWN TO MY SOCKS
THIS WAS TOURNAMENT DAY
THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
EVERYTHING ELSE
SEEMED FAIRLY LAME

THE REF LOOKED AT ME
AND OLE WHAT'S HIS NAME
THEN - HE BLEW HIS WHISTLE
AND CALLED IT A GAME
I FELL TO THE FLOOR
NOT BELIEVING MY EARS
WE'D PRACTICED SO HARD
FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE A YEAR

20 TO 20
THAT'S HOW THE SCORE READ
20 TO 20
BEAT IN MY HEAD
BOTH TEAMS HAD PRACTICED
SO HARD AND SO LONG
TO END IN A TIE
SURELY SEEMED WRONG

BOTH TEAMS HAD BATTLED
AS IF THEY WERE CHAMPS
TO END IT LIKE THIS
WAS LIKE TIGHTENING THE CLAMPS
THE KIDS WERE ALL SMILING
INSTEAD OF DOWNCAST
CAUSE THEY KNEW THE GAME
WAS A THING OF THE PAST

THEY KEPT LAUGHING AND POINTING
AS THE SNOW HIT THE GROUND
BIG HEAVY SNOWFLAKES
THAT FORMED INTO MOUNDS
VISIONS OF SLEDDING AND SNOWFIGHTS
IS ALL THAT THEY SAW
SNOWFORTS AND SNOWMEN
AND MAKING SNOWBALLS

WHO CARED ABOUT BASKETBALL
AND WHO WON THE GAME
SNOW WAS THE BUZZWORD
ALL ELSE SEEMED SO TAME
THE SCORE WAS TIED UP
THE REF CALLED IT QUITS
BOTH TEAMS WERE WINNERS
AND MAYBE THAT FITS

IF I WERE A KID
CHOOSING FREETHROWS OR SNOW
THERE'S CERTAINLY NO DOUBT
WHICH WAY I'D GO
GIVE ME A FORT
A SNOWBALL IN MY HAND
THE SNOW COMING DOWN
I'M KING OF THE LAND

IT'S COACHES WHO LOOK
FOR THEIR PLACE IN THE SUN
BUT KIDS ARE JUST KIDS
THEY'RE JUST LOOKING FOR FUN
I TURNED TO THE REF
BUT HE WASN'T THERE
SOMEONE SAID
HE'S CHANGING DOWNSTAIRS

I WENT DOWN THE STAIRS
TO SAY THANKS FOR IT ALL
WHEN I FOUND HIM I NOTICED
HE WASN'T VERY TALL
A CUTE LITTLE GUY
WITH A BIG BULBOUS NOSE
WORE WIRE-RIMMED GLASSES
AND WORE ALL RED CLOTHES

SHINY BLACK BOOTS
AND A REAL BIG WIDE BELT
A TINY WHITE BEARD
A RED COAT MADE OF FELT
I TURNED BEFORE HE SAW ME
AND GOT OUT OF SIGHT
I JUST COULDN'T BOTHER HIM
ON HIS GRANDEST OF NIGHTS

I FOUND SOMETHING THAT NIGHT
ABOUT THE ALMIGHT WIN
HOW YOU GET IT
JUST MIGHT BE A SIN
IF YOUR KIDS RAN THEIR HEARTS OUT
AND GAVE IT THEIR ALL
THEY ALL COME UP WINNERS
IN THE GAME OF ROUND BALL

AS A COACH YOU CAN STAND
IN THE DARK OR THE LIGHT,
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT !!!

Chapter 34 - Parsley May Make It Look Better, But Who Would Eat It?

Jennifer and I take Crash to a restaurant on The Hill, here in St. Louis. For those of you who aren't from here, The Hill is a district that has some of the finest restaurants in the state. My wife and I order veal oscar. The presentation is excellent. (Notice, I'm using 50 cent words that apply to the restaurant business, just simply amazing!) It's a thin slice of veal with crab on top, topped with a sauce. Asparagus adorns the plate. It looks great! Crash orders a hamburger, medium rare, with american cheese.

What does this have to do with basketball, you ask. As adults, my wife and I have more "cultivated" tastes and enjoy the appearance of the food. My 13 year old daughter's tastes are simple and uncomplicated = gimme a burger and fries and 86 the rest of the garden stuff. As coaches we can learn a lot from this analogy.

Coaches want their teams to appear well trained with sophisticated and complicated plays. Kids just want to play a game. The secret to coaching is to be able to teach the kids the game, while still keeping it a game. And remember, games are supposed to be fun.

Even as we speak, I am hosting my own tournament, both 5-on-5 and full court 3-on-3 for 8th grade girls. There are 16 teams who are playing. When a coach is waiting for their next game, they will huddle together with the other coaches, and compare notes. I sat in while some of the coaches compared notes about their flex offense, and their motion offense, and their 1-3-1 offense, and the ole what's it's name offense. This is like the veal oscar and it's presentation. To listen to these folks, you would thing it was a convention of college coaches. They were totally impressive with how they talked about the various offenses.

Now in reality, I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy. My coaching is the same way. As I've told you before, my team does not have any set offense. We don't run patterns, we don't have specific plays that we learn. So you can imagine that I was somewhat impressed by the coach's conversation. There was one coach who was extremely vocal about the fact that his team had three different offenses that they used to keep the other teams off balance. My next game was against this coach. Let's call this coach Bob.

I did not change my gameplan for this game at all. I told my girls to play a hard physical game, play man-2-man defense, and I'd like to see a little more passing than the last game. Bob had 3 different offenses alright. When the first one failed, he went to the second offense, and when that one failed he went to his third one. His girls knew their offenses, but when they went up against a hard m-2-m defense, it took them out of their rhythm. His girls ended up in the wrong spot, or were 2 seconds too late in getting to their spot. You've heard of common sense? Well, his girls had no basketball sense. They didn't know what to do if their offense was out of sync. They couldn't think on their feet.

At half time the score was 27 -2, we were winning. Three different complicated offenses and yet they couldn't score. That team's problem was that his kids knew a lot about those offenses, and very little about the fundamentals of the game. I don't believe in running up a score, so I held my girls back the second half and we won 45 to 20.

Here's the funny part. After the game, Bob came up to me and asked me what the name of our offense was. He had no clue ! He should have asked us what our defense was because I'm sure he thought that it was some new hi-folluting laboratory designed defense with a 50 cent word for a name. I told him not to tell anyone, but we had just learned the new P-C offense, mixed with the P-R offense. He nodded his head up and down judicitiously as if he had heard of it. By the way P-C stands for pass and cut, and P-R stands for pick and roll.

Bob is the veal oscar. He tried to introduce adult tastes and appearances before his kid's taste buds were ready for it. My kids were the burger and fries, uncomplicated and knew the game.

So that brings me to the next point, YOU FOLKS! I have tried to teach you how to make your LS's fun. I have given you enough simple drills for younger kids to learn. Don't be the veal oscar. If you can teach your kids to handle a basketball, how to pass to a target, how to make layups, the correct shooting form, m-2-m defense, proper footwork, how to communicate on the floor, how to keep their head up when they dribble, how to set a good screen that seals, how to block out and rebound, and if you can teach them this all in the first year, you are a better teacher than I am Charlie Brown.

You have enough info to drown an elephant, you just don't know it. Don't keep looking for that magic wand, you are the magic wand. It's not the neat offenses and defenses that win games at this age, it's man-2-man defense and teaching the basics of the game. Don't be the veal oscar. It may look good with that sprig of parsley on top, but who eats parsley?

I really need to clarify a point here. I am not advocating that you never need to learn a set offense, plays, X's and O's, or whatever. There is a time and place for patterned offenses, I just don't happen to believe that 3rd - 5th grade happens to be the time or the place. As you have probably learned by now, gym time is your most treasured resource. I believe that whatever little gym time you have, should be spent teaching your kids the basics, not wasted on learning set offenses that won't help them grow as an individual.

Let me change the timing here, slightly. You should start learning set offenses and zone defenses when:

Your team can make 7 out of ten layups, natural hand, at full speed

When they can make 5 out of 10 layups with their opposite hand

When they can play a full court pressing m-2-m defense, and not lose their player

When every member of your team can lead the fast break and make it 7 out of 10 times

When every member of your team can dribble with their head up

When your team can shoot with their shoulders squared to the basket, and use the correct shooting form

When your team uses the proper footwork and spacing on their m-2-m defense

When you have finally decided that the kids are not going to take this sport seriously and you have lost too many games by 30 points or more

You wanna know something, I just looked over this list and I missed one . How about when the cows come home???? My team plays about 80-100 games a year, and we have probably played over 150 different teams. Not one of these teams could meet the qualifiers I just gave you. So, ok, I'll revise it. When 70% of your team can do the above, then it's time for a set offense and defense. See, I can be a reasonable type of fellow.

Please understand that what I am about to say puts me in the minority. In fact, there's probably only 3 people in the whole world who will agree with this, and that's me, myself, and I. I really don't know of a single coach who would agree with what I am about to say, so here's from the "For what it's worth department!"

I honestly don't know that as long as teaching is your number one goal, you should ever use a set offense or defense more than 15% of the time. Once the kids hit 9th grade, then let their freshman coach teach them his offense and defense. Until then, I personally would not use them unless needed.

I know that LD and Alaska and some of my other buddies are shaking their heads about now. Why? Because every once in a while in a moment of weakness, I will ask them about what offenses and defenses I should teach my kids. We all have our moments where we wish we had that magic wand. I have to remind myself that when my team is off of their game, I need to go back to the basics. Basics wins games, and teaches the kids at the same time. It all goes back to what I talked about in the beginning, what are your priorities?

Let me tell you a little story. I told you in the beginning I don't have a long list of credentials. In fact I was honest about not even having a resume. But here's what teaching the basics can do. Plus there are a few other lessons to be learned from this sory.

Every summer, Nike has basketball camps at various places around the country. Crash and one her buddies went to the one in Chicago this past summer. They spent 5 days at a college campus doing b-ball from 9 am till 9 pm. They learn, they have individual contests, team contests, and get to eat that wonderful glop, known as college cafeteria food. (Doesn't that just tittilate your taste buds?)

Remember, these are 12 year olds getting ready to go into 8th grade. (Both kids are young for their grade.) Crash wins the 1-on-1 contest for the 12-14 year olds. This means that out of between 70 to 100 real basketball players of the same age, Crash was the best on that given day.

Emily, Crash's buddy and team mate, was good enough that they moved her up to play varsity with the 16-18 year olds. And she helped her team win the 3-on-3 championship against varsity girls. This was a 12 year old playing against 16 & 17 year old kids.

How were they able to achieve this? They knew and could execute the basics. Forget about fancy smancy, teach your kids the basics and you will never ever regret it.

I told you there were other lessons to be learned from this. Here's another one. A little background first. College coaches run these camps, with the help of some very good high school coaches. The kids who attend these camps are normally very good players. What parent would spend close to $800 to send their child to a camp, if the kid didn't have the desire and some ability?

Now for the lesson. They let the girls play the game. Basketball is a very physical sport, and these college coaches let the kids play. The camp started out with one trainer to look after the wounded. I believe they ended up with 3 before it was all over. When I got there to pick up Crash, the place looked like a mash unit. There were more girls with band-aids, knee wraps, taped fingers, ankle and knee braces, and more. One girl broke her ankle, another her wrist, and Crash broke 2 fingers. A kid would get hurt, run to the trainer and say "Tape me!" They didn't whine or complain, they just wanted to go back out onto to the court and play some more.

For those of you who are in leagues where the refs wear a sign that says, "If you touch, you foul," this is not basketball. Basketball is taking your butt and moving someone out of position. Basketball is a bunch of bodies battling for the rebound. Basketball is a hard physical game.

Let's get back to the basics vs. set offenses and defenses. I believe I was advocating my philosophy of not going too heavily into X's and O's until 9th grade, right?

So why am I going into the basics as much as I am? Because if the average coach has ten steps to success, and in order 1-10, they always want to skip steps 2-6 and get to step 7 too soon. The average coach will introduce themselves and then say, "Now let's learn some plays." What's wrong with this picture? How can you execute a play effectively if you skip the fundamentals? Trust me, this type of coaching goes on everyday.

Ok, this is for you doubting Thomas's of the world who are only interested in the win. You want to win more games? Follow this line of thought. My team played one of the best teams in St. Louis yeaterday in my tournament. We have played this team at least 10 times before, and never gotten within 7 points of them. They are really, really good. This team played a flex offense. Defensively they played m-2-m and also a 1-1-2-1 trapping zone defense. So much for their gameplan.

We played 100% m-2-m defense and no set offense. They never could figure out our offense, because there was no pattern and we scored because of good ole fashioned basketball sense. My team fought through their screens and stayed with their girl on our m-2-m defense and we won by two. This was the first time we had ever beaten them. You want the almighty win? How can a team stop you if they can't figure out what you're doing?

Is this type of play for everyone? Nope, nope, nope! It's not even for most teams. But if you teach your kids enough, it can be for you.

Let's hit one more subject. I've spent an aweful lot of time on priorities, coaching style, and having fun. Why do you think that is? Am I into the save a whale, save a tree, or save a kid crusade? I don't think so.

Being successful at whatever you do is comprised of only two parts, learning how to do something, and doing it with the right attitude. Attitudes win games. If the best player in the world has their head up their patooty, they will have a bad game. If an average player has his head on right, he will play better than average that day. Scream at a younger kid and watch what type of attitude you get. Next, watch how they play, because they will suck. Encourage a kid, praise them when they do something right, and they keep on TRYING to to it right. Bad attitudes = a bad game ! Kids are rebellious at this age anyway, don't add to it.

I have given you all you need to know for year one. You have some basic drills that will help you teach your kids the game. I have tried to brainwash you into having what I consider to be the right priorities. I could go into oodles more, but you have more than enough on your plate at this time. Remember this is your and your players first year. SIMPLE IS GOOD!

There's only one more chapter and this will be a fun one. I asked a bunch of my buddies at Chalk Talk to give me a basketball cliche or saying. I have compiled a list of them for you. These will be quotes you can use and impress the wee-wads out of other coaches and parents with. There will also be a lot you can learn from these quotes. I know, because I learned a bunch from them. Remember, COACH = TEACHER AND ROLE MODEL !!!!

Have any questions or need any help, e-mail me at firepow55@aol.com In case any of you are interested, my e-mail address comes from my team's name, Team Firepower. Someone else had firepower so I could only use firepow. The 55 comes from the old speed limit of 55 mph. Why 55, because it's a constant reminder to myself not to speed with my team. When you speed, you skip steps!

CHAPTER 35 = How to Impress Your Fellow Coaches - or, I can talk the talk!

Behind every cliche, platitude, or country saying, there is a kernel of truth or more. Here is a collection of sayings from my buddies at Chalk Talk. Most of these sayings have more than a kernel of truth. These are also sayings you can use at basketball frat or sorority parties. You can use these on Super Coach! Or, as my buddies have done, you can use them to help teach your kids. Some of these need no explanation. When I need to jump in and explain one, I will, but it will be rare. Here's the format: author, then the saying. Most of the authors use e-mail names, so sorry if I don't have real names for some of them.

Sbay Coach: If the clock is running, then why are you standing still?

Alaska Coach: Learn to do the simple things perfectly

Coach MacKinney: Practice makes habit. Perfect practice makes perfect!

Alaska Coach: Nobody ever drowned in sweat! (God, I love this one!)

Sbay Coach: Don't spectate, participate

Coach Mark Bonifield: Defensive position is like the new Dodge, wider is better!

Coach MacKinney: If you want to get open, set a good screen (to get your teammate open)

Coach MacKinney: Win the old fashioned way - outwork your opponent

Andrew Haysom: No stance - no chance! (on offense, if your shooting form is wrong, odds of you making a shot are slim. On defense, if your footwork and positioning is off, you are easy to score against!)

Sbay Coach with a Ricky Birdsong quote: There is no glory in rebounding, JUST VICTORY

coach mph: Scoring a lot of points may impress your girlfriend or boyfriend, but defense wins games, and rebounding wins championships!

Sbay Coach: To win, you must defend!

Alaska Coach: Behold! The power of possession! (Offense isn't just the best defense, it's the perfect defense. Teach the kids the power of possession. The other team can not score, if you have the ball.)

Sbay Coach: Maximum effort, all of the time!

aussie coach: A winner finds reasons, a loser makes excuses!

Coach Mark Bonifield: If you want to Be like Mike," take a hike! I will have no 360 double pump from behind the back board, tongue hanging out, windmill finger roll lay ups on my team. When you make the pros, go for it. BUT NOT IN THIS PROGRAM!

aussie coach: a successful team is like an iceberg, everyone sees the star, but underneath it all is that big, wide, strong base: the rest of the team. Without that base, the star sinks too.

Sbay Coach with a Michael Jordan quote: Always focus on what you want to achieve

Sbay Coach with a Bill Walton quote: Winning is about having the whole team on the same page.

b-ball ed: COACH: TEACHER AND ROLE MODEL!!!!

b-ball ed: Simple is good!!!!!!

Sbay Coach: when you get to the end of your rope...tie a knot and hold on!!!

Country Coach: There will come a time when winter will ask, "What have you done all summer?" (Basketball players are made in the summer!)

Anon.: Basketball players are made in the summer, teams are made in the winter!

Anon: Your players won't remember the score of a game 20 years from now. But they will remember if they sat the bench rather than played. And, they will remember how you treated them!

b-ball ed: You are always teaching your players something. When you scream at them, what are you teaching them? Before every practice or game, you need to decide, "WHAT WILL YOU TEACH YOUR KIDS TODAY, AND HOW WILL YOU TEACH IT?"

You want to know what to teach your players? Every one of these sayings could make an extremely valid LS. There is a lesson to be taught in all of them. I thought this would be the last chapter, but after all of the e-mails I have received, there will be one more question - answer session. This will be a meat and potatoes session.

I have debated about doing something for the 2nd and 3rd year coaches. If this appeals to you, let me know at firepow55@aol.com

Chapter 36 - Your are Only Vertical for so Long, Then ...

Q: I coach 8th grade boys and we have always played zone. How do I teach them m-2-m defense?

A: With Difficulty! The 1st question I would ask myself is do I have any players who could make their high school team, and is it more than one? If the answer is yes, then teach them m-2-m. If the answer is no, then you might want to skip it. If they have gotten this far with a zone, and had fun, then why upset the turnip truck if they aren't going to go any farther.

That being said, if you have potential players and need to work on m-2-m, then I would hold a team meeting. Explain to them how you plan to change their game plan and why. Here are some pointers:

1. Start with proper footwork - sliding, running backwards, etc.

2. Teach them to fight through screens or to switch off with another teammate

3. Teach them spacing = 2 arm lengths or more away from your player on the weak side - closer to your player on the strong side

This will get you started. Be prepared for some whopping losses during this learning phase. That's why you have the team meeting.

Q: I can't keep my kids from dribbling down the sidelines and then from getting trapped in the corners. How do I break them of this habit?

A: When you find a quick solution to this, we can package it, and make a million. The sidelines and the corners are kid magnets. You can preach, bribe, beg, and threaten, but that's one heck of a strong magnet. Even when they do the right thing 4 times in a row, don't become too smug thinking you've broken the habit. #5 will see them go back to their prehistoric instincts, and go down the sidelines again. I understand kids are smart, but the kid magnets are stronger than their reasoning powers. Solve it by telling them over and over and over and over .....

Q: I have 2 problems. My guards dribble with their head down so they can't see who's open, and my forwards won't move to get open. Help!

A: In your LS's, scrimmage without dribbling, more often. This will help both problems. In your next game tell your guards they aren't allowed to dribble more than 4 times without passing. When they do this, YOU AREN'T ALLOWED TO LAUGH! You will hear your guards counting out loud to 4, then looking for someone to pass to. At first you just want to laugh, but laughing is not a good thing. No player wants to be laughed at. You will lose ground if you laugh. After a while, you will start to see improvement.

Q: I have a 5th grade girls team that does the basics pretty well. We have won all of our games by over 30 points, but I want to find a new offense that will let me win by even more. Defensively we play a 1-3-1 zone and with my teams height, it's really hard to score against us. The area we need to improve on is our offense. We play a flex and a wheel offense. I would appreciate any ideas for new plays so we can win by an even greater margin?

A: This book is for beginning coaches who teach the fundamentals. Secondly, to play a 1-3-1 zone, at the 5th grade level, is only ok if your team is extemely solid in a m-2-m defense. I doubt that they could even spell m-2-m, let alone be proficient at it. To ask me this, makes me seriously doubt if you have even read my book. You are one of these coaches that I preach against. To ask how to beat other 5th grade teams by 50 points, means you shouldn't be allowed the privilege of coaching kids. Once you are up by 20 points or so, basketball courtesy says you don't run up the score. This is especially true for the younger kids. AND 5TH GRADERS ARE YOUNGER KIDS !! To you, the readers of this book, I hope you understand my anger with jerks like this. I guarantee you that his kids know his zone defense and zero m-2-m. By 7th grade the other teams will catch up to his team, and then start beating them soundly, as long as they have coaches that teach. This guy is coaching for his own ego, and not for the benefit of his players.

Q: While I support your beliefs about teaching the fundamentals and m-2-m defense, my team is being beat by the 2-1-2 zones that the other teams play. Do you have any ideas that could help us win at least one game?

A: Please re-read chapter 31, that's the one about Zone Busters. At this level there are only 3 things that I can think of to solve this problem.

1. Shoot over the zone. Get your best long range shooters to square their shoulders to the basket, and start shooting. One thing to remember about this. LONG DISTANCE SHOOTS USUALLY MEAN LONG DISTANCE REBOUNDS. If your players try to stay within 2 feet of the basket, THEY WILL WATCH the rebounds soar over their heads. Long distance shots mean long distance rebounds.

2. Pass the ball around the zone quicker than their players can react and cover the ball. Someone will end up open for a shot.

3. Overload their zone. This is explained in chapt. 31.

Q: The referees aren't calling enough fouls and someone is bound to get hurt. Should I point this out to them or what should I do?

A: I've never seen jumping a ref work. If you want to pull them aside at the half and ask them to watch a specific player because of their swinging elbows, that might work. Basketball is a hard physical sport. Remember, NO WEAK SISTERS ALLOWED! Now let's add to this puzzle. Most referees for youth leagues lack a solid knowledge of the rules and the game. Most receive $6-$8 per game. You get what you pay for. These folks usually take every comment you make personally and negatively. This puts your team on their bad side. Unfortunately my advice is - Grin and bear it! Watch the college coaches. They don't believe you can get quality refs, even at the college level.

Q: My 4th grade players have a hard enough time getting the ball to the basket with 2 hands. I understand that I should be teaching the proper techniques, but what do I do when they aren't strong enough to do it one handed?

A: Getting it to the basket one handed is a matter of learning and the right mental attitude. Start them shooting one handed about 3 feet away from the basket. As they get comfortable at this distance, slowly go to 4 feet, then 5', and so on. Next, in 7th grade, I had a 5'6" girl who weighed 150 pounds and couldn't shoot a free throw and get the ball there, unless she did it 2 handed. At the same time, my best 3 point shooter was 4'10" tall. My short player thought she could, so she could. My bigger player didn't believe she could, and she was right! Kids will find a way to get something done, when they want to.

Q: I coach 5th grade boys. I have read your book and it is working great on defense, but I need some help on offense. We are getting open shots but they just won't go in. We played a team last night that we should have beaten. We out shot them by two to one, but ours just wouldn't go in. Help!

A: First look at their shooting form. If this is ok, then just get them to shoot more in your LS's, and on their own. You might start every LS with what I call the 30-30-30-30. This is 30 shots, from 6 feet out, 30 from the right, 30 from the middle, 30 from the left sides, and then 30 free throws. Depending upon how many baskets your gym has, this normally takes about 10 minutes. Then at the end of your LS, give them homework. They are to shoot 300 shots on their own at home. You will see your shooting %'s increase dramatically. Now if your shooting form isn't ok, then spend a lot more time in your LS's on the proper form.

Q: I am having problems with my defense. I did as you suggested and we are playing strictly m-2-m defense. Our 1st game we lost by 30. The next game was by 18. The next was 12 and our last game we lost by 6. Everyone keeps telling me to go to a zone. What do you think? A: Your losses are by a slimmer margin every time. It would appear that your kids are getting better at m-2-m. I wouldn't switch to a zone when your team is showing major improvement. It sounds like you need to work on your offense more, not your defense. Next time you scrimmage or play a game, watch your kids shooting form, watch their screens, are they rebounding the missed shots and putting them back up and in, and the shot selection. If they are making 25% or more of their shots, then look at your defense. If you are only making 10-20% of your shots, then it's not your defense.

Q: I am coaching my son's 1st grade team. Any ideas would be appreciated.

A: I am not a big believer in 1st or 2nd grade teams. I haven't ever coached that young a team, so I may be speaking out of ignorance. My best guess is to concentrate more on passing and dribbling contests. Make sure everything you do is fun. At this age the kids are just looking to have fun. If you can make learning fun, you will have succeeded big time!

Q: I coach a 4th grade girls team. Our next opponent has a guard that scores about 20 points a game. Any ideas?

A: A guard that scores 20 points at the 4th grade level probably makes a lot of their points from lay ups. Also, they probably score almost all of their teams points. 4th grade scores are normally 15 to 10, 20 - 8, etc. Two ideas come to mind. When your team has the ball, always make sure that you leave a guard around the top of the key. Your guard is there to keep the other team from making a fast break every time they get the ball. Next, figure out who the other teams weakest player is, and don't guard them. Double team the 20 point player, and make their weakest player beat you.

Q: In our league, I don't have a choice who is on my team, and I can't kick anyone off of the team. I have a boy who has the worst attitude. He verbally picks on the other players and keeps everyone upset. The other players are good kids, but I'm losing them because of my trouble maker. Help!

A: Every team will have at least one player that is a source of cancer. Me personally, I would give him a warning, verbal and written, in front of his parents. If it occurred again, adios amigo. You can't do that, so here is an alternative. Give the verbal/written warning in front of his parents. The next offense will be dealt with in practice with suicides. Every offense there after will result in reduced playing time. Finally you will get to a point where there is no playing time. Make the kid quit. Everything you do will need to be in writing and given to the parents. Also make copies and send to your league coordinator and bring a copy to each game where you plan on benching this player. This way you are justified in what you are doing and it shouldn't be able to backfire on you. ALWAYS COVER YOUR TUSH!!!

Q: I want to give a friend of mine a copy of your book, so could I have your permission to do so?

A: As long as it is not for reprint in any media form, or for the intent of making money. As long as it is for your personal use, or theirs, copy away my friend. These websites and I are putting this 1st book on the web for free. It was written with the sole purpose of trying to help that 1st year coach. It was never intended to make anyone a profit.

Q: My 6th grade team just got beat 40-6. The other team put a full court press on us the whole game and we couldn't get the ball across the half court line. What can I do?

A: First let me say I don't believe in full court presses in rec. leagues. I totally believe in full court presses for everything else. My team has full court pressed every minute of every game since 6th grade. When we are up by 20, we stop pressing. But we are not a rec. team. That said, how do you beat it? Unless you have one fantastic dribbler, you beat a press by passing. Here are a few of the basic rules:

1. You try to keep the ball toward the middle of the court. Basketball is just the opposite of soccer. In soccer, you take the ball down the sidelines and pass into the middle, close to the goal. In basketball, it's just the opposite. You bring the ball down the middle of the court, and dish off to the wings, close to the basket. If you bring it down the sidelines, it's too easy for the other team to trap you against the sideline.

2. Unless you are making a long pass over the opposing player, try to make all of your passes bounce passes, they are harder to steal.

3. Take fewer dribbles and pass it down the court. Whenever my team has a problem bringing it down the court, I make them play like it's a no dribble scrimmage. Even though we are in the middle of a game, I will not allow them to dribble the ball. This forces everyone to move to get open. We have never had a problem bringing it down the court this way.

Q: I want my forwards to be able to move without the ball better, and actually handle the ball better. Any drills that will help me with this?

A: Other than the no dribble scrimmage for movement, try this **** FULL COURT 3-ON-3 *** Sometimes I am really a forgetful bonehead. This will help your players as much, if not more than any other single thing they could do. Most gyms have baskets on each side of the regular court. This makes for a shorter basketball court. Play full court, across the big court, 3-on-3. That's 3 players vs. 3 players. Your forwards will learn how to handle a ball because of this game. This is not the normal half court 3-on-3, this is full court on a short court.

My team has played this as a real game in 3-on-3 leagues I have hosted. Because of full court 3-on-3, every player on my team is great at leading the fast break. Even my big girls can now dribble a basketball. When I get compliments at how well my forwards can handle a ball, I just want to laugh. I didn't teach them this, 3-on-3 did. NO DRIBBLE SCRIMMAGES AND FULL COURT 3-ON-3 ARE THE 2 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU CAN HAVE YOUR TEAM DO. No other single drill or game even comes close in my book. You folks want less preaching and more help, full court 3-on-3 is the real deal.

THANK-YOU

I apologize for the lack of continuity, the spelling, and all of the other mistakes I have made. This has been typed when I had 5 minutes here and 15 minutes there. I never took the time for spell check. In fact there were times, I would have to retype 90% of a chapter when I was kicked off line because I would be interrupted and then take too long coming back to the computer. Does this mean work is not a great place to type your book? Probably not! Please over look all of the little mistakes and take a look at the big picture.

I have enjoyed writing this for you folks. In the 4 months that it has taken to e-mail this to the various sites, I have averaged over 40 e-mails a day from you asking questions. Most of these questions were the same, just asked in different ways. I have responded to every e-mail but one, I deleted that one by accident, sorry whoever you are.

According to the e-mails, there are at least 6 major school systems, with over 100 coaches each, that are using this as a guide. Add this to the rest of the people who have told me they are using it, you get over 1000 coaches using this.

So what does this mean to me? Nothing financially, not a single penny has been made because of this. If coaches use the drills, but coach for their own secret agendas, meaning to promote their own ego, then I have wasted months of work. I believe that COACH=TEACHER AND ROLE MODEL! If none of you adhere to this, then I have failed.

As I told you earlier, my father died this year. This made me think about the legacy I will leave behind. I want to be known as a most wonderful husband, father, and as a Coach who gave back to the game that he loved. If I can have just one positive influence on my wife, my daughter, my friends, and on even just one future coach, then I will have considered my life a total success.

Folks, you have some choices to make. As a coach your number 1 priority will be to decide what direction you are going to take your team. Does coach = # of wins or does coach = teacher and role model? This book has come full circle, it started out with priorities, and is ending up with priorities.

Again, my heart felt thanks go out to COACH Steve Jordan, COACH Larry Dean Jackson, the Powerbasketball Team, and Norm from Chalk Talk. Believe me, I am not one of those folks who use the word Coach lightly. Alaska and Larry Dean have more than earned that title. I am not always the easiest to put up with, but it helps to take me in small doses. Without you folks, this project would never have happened.

My thanks to all of the regulars at Chalk Talk who have helped to teach me and who have helped mold my twisted view of the basketball world. Most of all I want to thank you, the readers, for putting up with my ranting and raving.

PS, thanks to my wife and my daughter for supporting me throughout all of this. For you single folk out there, make sure that the person you love and then marry is also your best friend, it makes for a most wonderful life. They even let you do crazy things like this.

Let me leave you with a couple of thoughts. First, NEVER PUT YOURSELF IN A COMPROMISING POSITION. I.E., never give a player a ride home when it's just you and them. Compromising positions are not good things, I know from experience. If I do book 2, I'll tell you about it.

Next, your kids are learning something from you every day, WHAT WILL YOU TEACH THEM TODAY? Your kids also learn from your actions. WHAT WILL YOU SHOW THEM TODAY?

Last, I would like to poll you. As you can tell this was a book strictly for 1st year coaches. I was approached by a sporting goods co. to publish a 2nd book. (Yes, of course they told me I would have to clean up my material, spelling, grammar, etc.) Even though this has pretty much fallen through, I am still thinking about doing book 2 anyway. Book 2 would be " SURVIVING YOUR SECOND YEAR AS A YOUTH BASKETBALL COACH." I could call it "HOW TO LOSE YOUR HAIR AT A RIPE YOUNG AGE." Or how about "THE LOBOTOMY HELPED A LOT, THANKS MOM!"

All kidding aside, e-mail me if you would like to see a book for the 2nd year coaches. If I get enough e-mails, I might just continue this lunacy. Yes, I would go into more drills and some plays.

To all of you, my new found friends, may God bless you in your endeavors, have patience, believe in yourself and those around you, and please keep your head up when you're dribbling, (you can see the Mack trucks that are gunning for you this way!) I have always had this attitude that you are only vertical for so long, then you are horizontal forever. Just like life, all good things must come to an end. So it should come as no surprise that this was the last chapter in the book. Again, thank-you for putting up with me.

And ps...In the summer of 2002, I am going to try to have the most fun basketball camp in the whole universe. It will start off here in St. Louis. We will spend 5 days at a college learning more about basketball. That's 5 nights in a college dorm, eating college cafeteria mystery food. It will be for 5th - 10th graders. If that's not cool, what is???

Oh, so Nike camps already do that, huh? Well, to paraphrase what the Joker said in Batman, "Wait till they get a load of this!"

After the 5 days at college, THEN WE GO TO LAS VEGAS. We will play in a tournament there and spend 4 or 5 days in LAS VEGAS. I have time to work out the details, like a year and 1/2!!!! So watch for book 2 or just don't lose my e-mail address = firepow55@aol.com

Thank-you again and as always, any questions, e-mail me.

Ed Riley aka b-ball ed