I won my first game as a basketball coach
Coaching 10-year-olds has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time. It’s challenging, but watching them learn and implement what’s being taught is extremely rewarding. Another layer of being a leader has been placed in my life, and I’m not taking a second of it for granted.
Now for some basketball talk
The first few practices, I taught them what a 2-3 zone is (each kid has a bubble they hover around). On offense, I taught them how to pass and cut (teaching how to rotate). Our first game, the defense smothered the ball handler though, making it impossible to pass. The ball never moved. A lot of turnovers. A lot of fast breaks from the other team.
My solution: before game two, I taught them how to do handoffs to each other when in trouble. Quartback/Runningback style. This prevented them from being jammed up. We won that game.
So far: 2-3 zone, pass and cut, and handoffs. In a short amount of time, I see these lessons clicking for each one of them.
Next lesson I’ll be teaching is the art of setting a pick and creating a wall, so the defender is removed and options are opened up all over the floor. On-ball picks, as well as off-ball picks: this will get the whole team involved, creating movement, spacing, and wide open shots. “If you don’t have the ball, build a wall.”
Little tools like these, the fundamentals of basketball. Each one is critical. At times, basketball can look like 10 people running around, back and forth, with no plan. But it’s these fundamentals that turn that chaos into strategy and execution.