Friday, January 4, 2013
Drills for Youth Basketball
If you are searching for youth basketball related information then you have come to the right place. I wanted the chance to reach a lot of people out there that don't really know very much at all about youth basketball and I wanted the opportunity to be able to help you.
What are my qualifications you may wonder? Well, over the past ten years I have been coaching youth basketball teams in my local area so I have spent a great deal of time doing this. I love basketball and would like to able to help others that are wondering where to start. I am currently working at a junior high school as a teacher and head basketball coach. I really enjoy working with the boys on my team and right now I have the opportunity to be able to coach my own son on our school team and on a competitive AAU basketball team. You would be amazed at the skill level of some of the players we go against on the AAU level. It is very competitive and it is clear to me that in order for young kids to be able to play basketball at a high level that they must start early learning some of the most basic skills to lay a good foundation for themselves to be good players as they grow.
Youth Basketball - Shooting
Now, on to youth basketball drills and the topic of shooting. In my previous reading and research on this subject I remember reading a book my the famous basketball player named Pistol Pete Maravich. In it, he said that his dad would not even let him shoot the ball when he was to small to reach the basket. Remember, back in those days they did not have all of the adjustable basketball goals that we have nowadays. In this book Maravich said that his father made him do nothing but dribble the basketball constantly as he was a young boy. His dad did not allow young Pete to waste time trying to shoot baskets at a ten foot goal that he was not strong enough to reach. This may sound odd but really makes sense when you think about it. Here young Maravich wants to shoot the ball and score because that's the glamorous part of basketball. Everyone wants to score in basketball. His dad knew that superior ball handling would give young Pete a big advantage in later years and it sure did as he went on to be the all time leading scorer in college basketball history in his three years of varsity basketball at LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Anyway, I would recommend to you to follow this lead here and not worry too much about shooting the ball as a youngster but have your player concentrate on becoming very comfortable dribbling the ball. Now, as they seem comfortable dribbling and you want to show the player how to shoot this is VERY important. Do not let your child start off by shooting the ball with two hands and pushing the ball up. This is the single worst thing you can let your child do. It is important that your goal at your house be low enough that your child had no problem reaching it. Then it is important that your child be shown that if they are right handed, then their left hand is placed on the side of the ball only to hold the ball in place and guide the ball. Their right hand will end up shooting the ball by itself. That's right, even little kids need to realize that you only shoot the ball with one hand. I have a close friend that is coaching 9th grade girls and he says they can't shoot well because many of them are shooting the ball with two hands and they are playing varsity basketball at a small school as ninth graders. Kids needs to be taught proper shooting as youngsters. I had a very good athlete on my 6th grade boys AAU basketball team and there he was plain as day shooting the basketball with two hands like a little untrained baby. I got him doing it right and he greatly improved his shooting ability. Great news here is that I just found the Pistol Pete video on how to shoot the ball properly. It is well worth your time as a coach or parent to watch this video as it will show you EVERYTHING you need to know about shooting the basketball properly. Watch it below this post.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Youth Basketball Drills - Start with Dribbling
Another very important thing that we need to take a look at is youth basketball drills. Sure dad or mom or maybe coach, you want your child to be able to learn to play this great game but where do you start? Well, in my opinion the best place for young kids to start is learning how to dribble and be comfortable do so. I recall in my experience working with the kids on my son's Biddy Ball or pee wee type of leagues that the children on my team all struggled in being able to dribble the ball well for the most part. Parents, I would suggest to you that you go outside with your child and have them be sure to have a smaller youth size basketball and start dribbling the ball in place with one hand. I remember I did this with my own son. I had him dribble in place with one hand and see how many times he could do it with out messing up. Our goal soon became to get to 100 dribbles without messing up but you may start with a lower number to begin with and work your way up together. Important notes here are to try and have your child to not look down at the ball while they are dribbling if possible. You want the young player you are working with to be able to dribble the ball comfortably and not looking down at the ball during actual game play will be a vital skill to the player as he or she progresses forward. Make sure that the child is not slapping the ball while they dribble. The player should dribble the ball with a smooth motion with their hand curved and not out flat. This is very important. I saw many kids I worked with that would look down at the ball and slap at it while they were dribbling. That is NOT what you want them to do. Show them the right way to begin with and they will not have bad habits that will have to be broken later on. I highly recommend that you and your player or players take the time to watch Pistol Pete's video below on how to dribble the ball properly and then all kinds of awesome drills that go along with it.
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