r/basketballcoach

Into the weeds on this fun little press we have found success with. If you are utilizing a 3/4, 1-3-1 trapping press, the head of the snake, obviously, tries to direct the ball to one of the suicide corners. If the other team’s point is able to dribble across half in the middle of the court, do you ever try to implement a trap at the half court stripe, or at that point, just fall back into your half court D?

Hi there, i have been coaching since last September first at local basketball academy and i also was in charge of extracurricular basketball club activity at local private school. I just wanna hear coaching tips and advices from experienced coaches, i will be glad to learn from you, thanks.

Hi everyone,

What do you think about defending with a zone defense on every inbound play (2–3, 3–2, or 1–3–1) and then switching back to man-to-man the following possession? Do you think it could work?

I'm thinking about implementing it with the senior team I'll be coaching next year.

So last year was my first year as a high school boys coach. I prefer to run a motion and reads-based offense the majority of the time (teaching players to play vs teaching plays) but I want to mix in set plays here and there. I have some pretty good sets, but I had two big issues with it last year:

1. Guys would get too robotic. No matter how many times I always told them they could “break” the play if they saw an open lane, open man, etc, they wanted to do exactly what they were supposed to do and wouldn’t look for anything else even if the defense took that option away. How can I make them less robotic? Or is this just something experience/reps will solve?

2. Guys would get confused, even if I had them running in multiple spots in practice, they’d get out in a game and mix things up. It was really hard for them to remember the sets especially if they had to know more than 1 spot. I’ve seen a coach who tells kids what position they’re going to play as they check in (1-5). So with that I’d be teaching sets by assigning each spot a number. Do any of yall do that? Or do you have a better system that will help kids remember this stuff?
   Thx for the help. Happy 4th.

I coach in an u21's league where there isn't much parity among the teams and point differential matters as a tiebreak in head-to-head games. It's late in our season and we had a game where we had to win by 11+ points to win the tiebreak (and get to the same record as them, 12-7) giving us the best chance to make the playoffs. There's only 3 games to go before the playoffs.

We talked about it during the week and decided we had to press a lot on defense, but it didn't work and we lost by 14. Credit to the other team they played really well and hit some big time shots; but my team didn't perform nearly as well as we normally would. Does anyone have some thoughts on how to approach a game like this? Is there a way of discussing having to win by a point differential without negatively effecting the psychology of the team?

I’m 19 and I wanna be a coach and I love the game of basketball, but I’m not sure on how to get started. I don’t know where to start and I really need help getting my foot in the door does anyone have any advice or suggestions?

I have three kids who are all super into basketball (aged 9, 7, and 6). I have to pull them away to play other sports in the offseason otherwise they'd want to play year-round (and still do in our driveway with neighborhood kids).

Up to this point, I've always just trained them in our driveway. I'll look up training drills online and have purchased a few books/online training apps that have dribbling, shooting, and fundamentals programs. Focus is on keeping it fun and spending time together as a family.

Recently, there was a former WNBA player who was offering private training in our area. I hired her for weekly sessions and found that she was basically doing the same stuff that we were already doing. Basic dribbling, shooting, passing, defensive drills that we've all seen on IG/YouTube.

It's been a month and I'm thinking about stopping the lessons. Obviously this WNBA player is MUCH better than me at basketball. But I'm thinking that the kids aren't at an age where they can take advantage of this resource? Maybe they can get more out of it when they're jr high/HS age?

For context, I played HS basketball at a small state school and went pro in a different sport (not one of the super popular ones). I love getting to pass on some of that knowledge to my kids and am willing to hire a trainer if it helps them and if they continue to love a sport. Just not sure when the right time is to actually spend that money.

My players (U10-11) desperately need work on this. We’ve in the past had limited practice time so while I’ve spent some time on it, it’s hard to spend much, as there are so many other individual and team skills to work on and concepts to learn. How much time do you spend on form shooting (not just shooting or shooting games) during practice? I’ve thus far spent very limited time, hoping they’ll take what they learn and work outside of practice but, while they’ve shown continuous improvement in some aspects, the shooting isn’t getting any better (with the exception of my son and one other, who do work outside of practice). Would love some thoughts here.

I feel like every coach has a different experience with this. Some say parents never check the team app and others say notifications get ignored and some end up texting everyone anyway. What's it been like for your team?

Need some advice.

Over the last five years, I’ve dedicated my life to building my coaching resume by assisting at various levels across the U.S. and Europe. I spent every off-season flying around the world to attend camps, training sessions, and clinics to network and grow as a coach. I even built my own self-sustaining business so I could coach full-time without relying on a stipend, with the goal of deferring my pay to my future assistant coaches once I landed a head coaching role.

Finally, it all felt worth it. I received an offer to be the head coach at a Top 20 school in the state. It was my dream job and the place I hoped to eventually retire. I was supposed to start in early July, so I bought a house and moved my entire family across the state.

Then, just one week before my start date, HR emailed me to say the job offer had been rescinded because my background check did not pass. I am destroyed, and my whole family is in shock.

When they shared the report with me, it flagged a single marijuana possession charge from 13 years ago when I was an 18-year-old kid making a dumb mistake. The charge was eventually vacated. At previous schools, this occasionally came up, but after a brief explanation, it was never an issue. This time, however, the screener marked my report as "ineligible."

I feel completely defeated. Coaching is my absolute passion, and I did everything in my power to set myself up for a limitless career. Now, I’m terrified that I might never be able to get a head coaching job because of a single, decade-old vacated charge, and I fear all my hard work was for nothing. I don’t know what my next step is.

I’m helping train my younger brother, who is a U13/U14 player, and wanted to ask if this idea would actually translate in AAU/club ball, and if a coach would even allow it in a real game.

For context, my brother is already very proficient in isolation situations. He plays a lot of 1v1 against players who are 3–4 years older than him, including club players, and he can compete at the same level as them. The issue is that even though he is good in 1v1s, he still struggles with knowing how to attack and score within a real 5v5 game.

Me and him are thinking about adding a wing post-up/iso package where he starts from the wing, around 1–2 feet inside the 3-point line, then uses his body to back his defender toward the high paint/free throw line area. He also really likes shooting around that whole midrange area, almost like drawing an arc around the free throw line/free throw line extended, like a “mini 3-point line” but for middies.

The idea would not be to just force shots, but to make reads based on how the defender is guarding him.

The reads would be:

- If the defender cheats toward the middle, he spins or attacks baseline.

- If the defender cheats baseline, he attacks middle.

- If the defender plays straight behind him and takes away both sides, he bumps, stops, and creates space for a step-back jumper instead of forcing a finish.

- If help comes, he kicks it out to the open teammate.

We were also thinking about having the corner clear sometimes so he has space to work, but I’m not sure if that’s smart at this age or if it just lets the defense load up on him easier.

Would this type of wing post-up/iso package work for a U13/U14 player, or is it too advanced/too much isolation for that level? Would most coaches allow a player to use this, or would they see it as bad offense unless he is clearly one of the best scorers on the team?

How can I help him turn his 1v1 ability into something that actually works in 5v5, instead of just being good in isolated matchups?

What should be changed to make it more effective, realistic, and team-friendly?

See I had came onto here almost a year ago talking about my struggles with getting cut from frosh basketball but now I seem to be in a bigger situation that worries me. I have been playing and training with my high school summer basketball team. Now that seems like an upgrade from being cut but what worries me is the uncertainty of it all. Everyone gets pt but since that coach doesn’t know or trust me yet( hasn’t seen me practice only ac has) I am forced into the role of corner shooter where I can’t show my skills or grow my confidence. What should i do ?

I coached HS boys for a decade. At first at an inner-city school where players came in with developed athleticism but no skills. Then I coached at a suburban HS where players had more talent and experience and I didn’t have to focus as much on developing fundamentals.

Now, I’m coaching youth girls, currently 10U. From your experience, what should players be able to do at 8U, 10U, 12U and beyond if they are “on-track” to play HS ball? I don’t have a strong sense of where they should be. It’s like, I was able to teach my HS students to think critically and write different types of essays, but I don’t think I could’ve taught them how to read.

For example, when should they be able to do one-foot layups on their strong side and then later with their weak hand? Shoot 3s with form? Have awareness to pick-n-roll? Any random observations are helpful as I ramp up and play catch-up with 10U and prepare proactively to coach my younger daughter (currently 7U).

This changed everything for me. I coach at a school with limited basketball talent. We won't out execute you in the half court but we will continually pressure you. Of course disciplined and skilled teams will still do okay but it's changed everything with lesser talented teams.

1. a lot of teams aren't equipped to handle constant defensive pressure. Maybe one or two kids can but they will get worn down or frustrated

2. it makes the game more of a track meet and makes the game ugly. Helps if you don't have a lot of talent

3. players buy in because it's high energy and excitement.

Playing with constant pressure and hounding ball handlers has saved me a lot of time sweating x's and o's. Also defense is a lot simpler for players than offense and it's fun to practice too. You'll give up some stuff in the beginning but you cam eventually break teams.

I’ve coached plenty of my kids school teams, and I always run into the same issue. We divide players after tryouts into A, B, C and so on teams, but even with this, at a big middle school with no cuts, there is some big skill gaps. I always find myself weighing wanting to win and play my best players vs playing the whole team 1-8. I feel like, in youth sports, parents care most about their kids participating and making memories, but it’s also no fun to play on a team that looses winnable games. Would love to hear some thoughts on this.

just trying to get a good ball for my kid. the SKLZ is available in town. anyone have any views on it?

We live in the greater Houston area, my daughter is 8, does really well in rec co-ed basketball, baseball and flag football. She wants to keep playing all 3 and is a sports nut. We started her in basketball training once a week this year once we saw that her new girls rec league was very behind what she was used to. The league rules are no stealing, no fast breaks, no free throws, 8ft rim, etc.) and she ends up scoring 98% of the points. When I observe similar age girls at the AAU/travel teams in our area, she is below their level but not too far off. 

The skill gap between the 2 options seems so wide by the time the girls get to middle school. I asked a baseball parent (who has 2 older girls in AAU basketball) and she said that if my daughter doesn't join an AAU program by 5th grade, it will be too late to catch up in middle school. Is this what you all are seeing as well?

This would mean that my daughter would need to increase her basketball hours/ frequency and won't have time for her other sports that she loves. She isn't willing to give those up and I don't want to pay so much money at the elementary age and end up also end up with ACL surgeries by middle school either (this mom said their coaches said its better to tear the ACLs earlier than later, wtf?).

Academics are also a big priority for us and I know she wants to join some math competition teams too but picking one sport to commit to seems like it eliminates time for other extra curriculars. 

Are you all also seeing that the skill gap is hard to catch up on by the time middle school rolls around? 

I coach U15 girls, we are a great team probably top 3 in our area. I’ve had some of these girls since they were U12. I have now noticed that we are struggling with keeping a lead and staying composed when playing against strong teams. We work so hard to get up and then as soon as they get up by 5 points they fall apart. It’s like we are speeding up the game so fast we forget everything, or start lacking on defence or go 1v1 and not work as a team. I will do everything I can do as a coach to try and cool them down by calling timeouts and get them to lock back in but it’s sometimes impossible. I guess I’m just asking for advice on how to coach them through this, and not have to panic and be to emotional.

I'm always looking for better ways to handle player evaluations. I've coached long enough to know there usually isn't one perfect answer, so I'm curious what systems other coaches actually use.

What has worked for your team? What have you tried that didn't work? I'm hoping to steal a few good ideas before next season.