How to teach defense in youth basketball

What Defense Should You Teach Youth Players (Zone, Man, Press)??

By - Joe Haefner

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First, we commend all youth coaches for taking up such an important role in developing children! In the grand scheme of things, what defense or offense you pick doesn't matter in regards to how we develop the children's character on the teams that we coach.

Second, I think we can all agree that we want to develop better basketball players for the future and we want what is best for them.

Now, one of the most-debated topics is what defense should we teach youth players? Zone, Match Up, Pressing, Man, Amoeba?

The answer is without a doubt man-to-man defense! I can promise you that in the long-run, you will develop better basketball players by playing man to man defense.

Man To Man Defense Will Help You Win More Games In The Long Run and Develop Better Players

At times, you may not win as many games at first, but I guarantee you start winning more games by the 7th and 8th grade as long as the man to man defense principles are properly taught.

And the chances of those players making their high school teams will be dramatically higher.

The feeling of seeing players succeeding at higher levels, because of the foundation you set as a coach is so much more rewarding than winning a few more games at the youth level that you and the players will forget about after a few years.

If you use zone defenses and presses, while you read this article, please remember that we're not judging you or trying to be condescending by any means, because we've used zone defenses and presses at the youth level as well. But we feel like that was a mistake when it came to developing the players that we coached. And we all want what's best for the kids.

We hope that you read the entire article and share your thoughts below even if you disagree with our points. We want this to be a community where we debate things in a positive, constructive way and come to a better understanding of these issues.

Now before we delve into all of the reasons that you should play man to man defense at the youth level, let's examine why youth coaches typically go to zones, presses, and other defenses, the systemic issues, and why zone defenses and zone presses work.

Why Youth Coaches Go To Zone Defenses

First off, I don't have a problem with zone defenses. I believe that zone defenses combined with good defensive fundamentals can help teams win games. However, in most cases, they should not be used at the youth level.

Under the current system in the U.S., most coaches get the unnecessary burden of having to teach skills, zone offense, man offense, press breakers, and defense with limited practice time. Some coaches only get one hour per week. Even at the high school level, it takes me at least 10 to 20 practices to get a good base to handle these situations. Some youth coaches barely get 20 practices within two seasons.

If we are concerned with the long-term development of youth basketball players, they should not even be playing 5v5 with the same rules as high school and NBA teams. As we've been saying all along, young kids should start out playing 3v3 half court, then 4v4, then 5v5. I first heard this from my high school coach 15 years ago. This is something that I've seen youth expert Bob Bigelow and many other great coaches preach for years. Not to mention, we introduce the game to kids before they are taught how to move efficiently.

As Bob Bigelow likes to say, "Adapt the game to fit the kids. Not the other way around."

Even the NBA & USA Basketball put out guidelines that eliminate the use of zone defenses before the age of 12.

If you would like to read more in depth on the systemic issues, please read these articles:

Could 3 on 3 Basketball Be the Best for Youth Players?

What's Wrong With Youth Basketball Leagues (And How To Fix Them)

Should We Teach Basketball Skills to Kids Under the Age of 10?

Not to mention, most youth coaches are volunteers who have full-time jobs and kids! So they barely have any time to educate themselves on how to teach basketball to youth players. Nobody educates them on the age-appropriate skills and how kids learn.

So what happens is that a coach hears from a colleague, faces a zone defense, or sees another team playing zone. Then, they see how much trouble it is giving the opposing team. Next, the coach implements the zone defense and realizes it only takes a few minutes a day to practice. And they weren't even sure how to teach man to man defense in the first place. Next, games are closer and you might be winning a few games you shouldn't. So the coach decides he's sticking with the zone defense.

With the instant gratification of winning now and the need to please parents, coaches end up coaching for the outcome, rather than the process. And this does hurt youth players' development in the long run.

Why Zone Defenses Work At The Youth Level

Zone defenses also work at the youth level because:

• Players have not practiced enough yet to develop the proper ball handling skills to beat zone defenses and break presses.
• Players are not strong enough to throw passes far enough and crisp enough to beat a zone. Defenses can send 3 or 4 defenders at the ball and still be effective.
• Players have not developed the necessary strength and coordination to shoot accurately from long-distance.
• Players have not developed the cognitive skills necessary to recognize situations quickly and react in the appropriate time needed.
• Opposing coaches don't have enough practice time to cover all of the situations.
• Unlike man to man defense, you don't even have to apply good defensive principles to be effective at the youth level.

Why Teaching Zone Defense Can Handicap Your Youth Players' Future and Why Man to Man Defense Is The Best Defense For Youth Players

1 - Develop Athleticism

Something I rarely hear coaches talk about in the man to man versus zone defense debate for youth players is athleticism.

Now who is going to develop into a better athlete?

Somebody who has to move all over the floor using many different movement patterns or a defender in a zone whom only has to guard in a 7x7 feet box. Also, in a zone defense, defenders are typically stuck in the post area or perimeter area. So they don't learn post and perimeter defense.

Now, you might argue that you don't use a lazy zone or that you have a trapping zone and that your players run all over the place.

Well, as a person that studies athletic development both as a hobby and as a basketball coach, I can tell you that even aggressive zone defenses do NOT develop athleticism the way man to man defense does.

Let's take your centers and/or forwards that you have towards the back of the zone as an example. (And by the way, these "big" players probably need to work on foot coordination and athleticism more than anyone). Just look at their feet as they play in the back of the zone. They rarely have to move quickly, get down in low stance, or transition from shuffle to cross over defensive movements. This changing from run, to shuffle, to cross over, is incredible for athletic development. This is one of the best things you can do. Their legs get stronger, faster, more coordinated, and more athletic.

And let's pretend that you even rotate your big guys to the front of the zone trapping to develop their athleticism, you still won't develop the same athleticism as playing man to man defense. With straight up man to man defense, you have to play 1v1 on-ball defense. There is nobody to trap or bail you out, except for help defense. So you have to move faster, work harder and smarter, and react quicker to keep the ball in front of you or out of the middle of the court.

Not to mention, the zone at the youth level usually forms bad habits. You'll find that players in trapping and pressing defenses will form bad habits, because they can get away with things defensively such as lunging out of position, constantly going for steals, and reaching all of the time. It's very hard to break these habits and in some cases, it doesn't happen. So in my opinion, this can wreck a player's basketball career if not approached properly.

Also, how many times have you seen a player who is extremely skilled get passed on for being not athletic enough? Now how many times do you see college coaches attempt to develop athletes who are not very skilled?

If you've been around the game, you know that many coaches are more willing to take a chance on an athlete who isn't very skilled compared to a skilled basketball player who isn't athletic. I'm not downplaying the importance of basketball skills. Developing basketball skills is super-important, but you also need to spend a considerable amount of time on developing athleticism.

If you don't believe me, go watch some NAIA and Division 3 games. These kids are skilled! They just aren't as big and as athletic as the D-2 and D-1 guys. Some of this is genetics. Some of this is a faulty athletic development system in the U.S.

Bottom line, this argument alone would deter me away from zone defenses, because of my background and belief that athleticism is so important not only in the game of basketball, but in all sports.

This is one of my favorite drills for developing basketball skills and athleticism: https://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/drills/1on1-defense.html

Al Marshall is one of the best zone defense coaches in the world (if you don't believe me, just check out the reviews on his zone defense DVD). He uses the drill above every 2 to 3 practices because of its tremendous value to improving on-ball defense and athleticism.

Since we're talking about Coach Marshall, I figure we'd also mention that even Al does not allow his youth teams to play zone defense.

2 - Players Develop A Better Basketball IQ Playing Man to Man Defense

One of the reasons I'm a big believer in motion offense is because I think it develops smarter basketball players and I'm a fan of man to man defense for the same reason.

Who is going to develop a better feel for the game?

Player A shuffles back and forth between two spots and only learns to defend on one part of the floor.

Player B who is transitioning to different spots on the floor and learning to defend screens, cutters, post players, ball handlers, shooters, etc.

Obviously, it's Player B. The more situations the player faces and the more repetitions the player gets in those situations with proper coaching and feedback will result in a better and smarter basketball player.

Now if Player B heads to a program that plays zone defense, they will be a very effective defender.

3 - Players Form Bad Defensive Habits By Using Zone Defenses and Presses

As mentioned above, a big problem with zone defenses and presses is that many youth coaches allow their players to develop bad defensive habits. Because youth players have not developed their coordination, strength, basketball skills, and general athleticism, defensive habits such as swarming the ball and lunging out of position for the steal every time will benefit them on the scoreboard.

In a zone defense, they also tend to just watch the ball and they can still be successful in regards to wins and losses at the youth level. In order to be successful with a man to man defense, they have to be aware of both the man and the ball. They HAVE to learn good defensive principles in order to be successful!

As these youth players get older, all of the sudden these bad defensive habits get exposed because kids are bigger, stronger, more coordinated, and more skilled.

Now, the kids with bad defensive habits are cut from teams, get less playing time, and in the extreme case, could even lose out on scholarship opportunities. Now, if you're at a school that doesn't cut, you just end up with a poor team and this hurts the player's chance of getting recruited. College coaches usually want good players from winning programs.

• It can takes years to break the bad defensive habits. After players have spent most of their youth basketball career using poor defensive fundamentals, it's very difficult to break the bad habits.
• They'd rather keep the players with good habits and spend their time on other things to make them better players and make the team better. After trying to do this a few times, most coaches just end up cutting these players right away because they have learned that the process is so frustrating and not worth their time. The coaches do this to keep the team's best interests in mind.

You also have to know man to man defense principles to have success at the higher levels even if you use zone defense as your primary defense. You can ask Syracuse's Jim Boeheim who is known for running a very successful 2-3 zone defense and he will tell you the same thing. As mentioned above, Al Marshall does the same thing.

Arguments For Zone Defenses At The Youth Level

Zone Defense Isn't The Problem - Lack of Defensive Fundamentals Are The Problem

I've also heard the argument that zone defenses aren't the problem, it's the lack of fundamentals being taught with the zone defense that is the problem. I agree with this. But it is a rarity at this age level for coaches to teach the proper defensive fundamentals with zone defense. And I still don't believe zone defenses are age-appropriate for youth teams for the same reasons mentioned above. On average, players are too weak and uncoordinated to execute the offensive principles that beat zone defenses.

Look at the baseball system. Players are eventually going to be taking leads off of first base and pitching from 60 feet, 6 inches, but we don't start the youth players out that way. We shorten the mound and we don't let players take leads off of first base until they reach a certain age. Baseball modifies the game for youth, not the other way around like the current basketball system.

Players Can't Advance the Ball Against Aggressive Man to Man Defense

I agree that if you play a super-athletic team that plays aggressive man to man defense, you can have more problems with this team than if they had played a zone defense. I think there are two solutions here.

1. If the coach is winning by a lot, they should call off the dogs. Don't let them defend outside the 3-point line or play a zone defense if they think that would help. That is what I have done in a few games where we ran into this problem.

2. Find equal competition. It's senseless for both teams to play a game where you win or lose by 40+ points. I realize that I'm spoiled because I coach in Kansas City, so it's easier to find similar competition due to the large population, but do your best to find teams that will be productive to play against. When I organized my first youth league in small-town Iowa at age 22, I called local teams with similar skill levels and organized a 6-team league.

These Kids Will Never Play Basketball Beyond Middle School or High School

Basketball is one of the latest developing sports. Unless you can see the future, I don't believe anybody can truly figure out who is going to develop into a good basketball player or not. Here are just a few reasons why:

Build a Winning Tradition

At some schools, coaches have the challenge of building a program. Maybe the team has lost at all levels from varsity to youth for a long time. Due to this, excitement about the program is low to put it kindly and participation is low. In order to create a buzz and get kids involved, you need to use some tactics such as zone defenses and zone presses that might help you win more games.

This one is hard for me to argue with. However, you want to be careful. You would still need to make sure proper defensive principles and basketball skills are being worked on in every practice. Otherwise, the situation could be a catch-22. You might start winning more games at the youth level and get more involvement, but due to the bad habits being formed, you still don't win many more games at the varsity level.

Also, maybe you want to develop a "winning" attitude. This also needs to be handled with care, because what is the underlying message that is or is NOT being communicated. It could be harder to convey that working hard, doing the right thing, and avoiding quick-fixes will be better for you in the long-run.

The Zone Defense Gives Our Kids A Chance To Compete

I know some coaches that teach man to man defense, but will use a zone defense against a team that is far superior with talent. This one doesn't really bother me as much as long as the team doesn't get in the habit of playing zone defense every game.

I prefer to try a sagging / pack-line type defense to counter the more athletic teams. If I still have lots of trouble, I MIGHT use a zone defense.

They Have To Learn How To Play Against Pressure and Zones When They're Older So They Should Be Playing Against It Now

Yes. I think we can all agree that they will play according to those rules when they get older, but is that really the right approach?

Kids also may need to learn how to drive a car, learn calculus, and learn how to raise a family and communicate with their spouse, but we're not going to throw them the keys and have them get in LA rush hour at age 10, we're not going to teach them calculus before they understand basic math, geometry, and algebra, and we're definitely not going to tell our 12 year old kid to go start a family.

It's all about progressions and doing what's right for their long-term development. Presses and zones are advanced basketball strategies and need to be saved for the older age groups.

Now, I don't have issues with teaching zone defenses to 7th and 8th grade teams. To me, that's more of a to-ma-to / to-mah-to issue. Younger kids from the 3rd to 6th grade levels, they need to learn how to play the game, physically develop, and psychologically develop before zone defenses and presses are used.

Possible Solution To Work on Zone Offense With Advanced Youth Players

I wouldn't advise this until the kids are 12 or 13, but if coaches got together before a game during the second half of the season and said let's work on playing against a 2-3 zone defense during the 2nd quarter, I believe the benefits would be outstanding. That way, you could introduce zone offensive principles when the kids are ready and work on them in a game environment.

Even though it takes effort, discipline, and time, man to man defense is by far the best route to go in developing players.

Among many other things, it improves athleticism, basketball IQ, basketball skills, and the athlete's chances to succeed at the next level.

Defense Solutions & Resources:

Man to Man Defense with Jim Huber -- DVD 4-Pack & eBooks

Keith Haske's Uptempo Basketball System - Pressure Defense, Pressure Offense

Al Marshall's Aggressive 2-3 Zone Defense

Don Kelbick's Match Up Zone Defense

How To Quickly Become Competitive and Save Your Season (With Drill Videos)

By Joe Haefner

I really believe the tips and advice offered in this article can save your season. You can even end your season with parents giving you high fives after the last tournament.

How do I know? It happened to me.

Now, let me explain why I'm writing this article. I just received an email from a friend coaching youth basketball for the first time. It read...

"We just got beat 65-2. What do I do?"

And while I was responding, I thought... "Duh. You dummy (me). This happens to a lot of youth coaches. Why don't you share this advice with them. It's been at least five or six years since you've put this in the newsletter."

So here it is. But first, let me explain what NOT to do...

The knee-jerk reaction often is.... I need to run more plays and ball screens for my best players. I need to go to a zone defense. They want the quick fix.

But don't do it! While it might help you win a few more games in the short-term, it hinders your team's long-term development.

You may not even see the negative effects for a few years. But trust me, it will catch up with you. In rare situations, I've even seen it happen as late as varsity basketball.

I made this mistake early in my coaching career. I had a group that was terrible at man to man defense. Rather than taking the hits and fixing the problem, I just played zone defense.

I also taught a patterned offense rather than teaching them HOW to play. We won more games in each season for 7th grade and 8th grade than they did in all four years of high school basketball combined. They didn't win a game their senior year! I felt responsible for part of that.

These two articles address the issues of running plays and zone defenses at the youth level in more detail to give you a better understanding.

What Defense Should You Teach Youth Players (Zone, Man, Press)??

Should Youth Coaches AVOID Plays and Patterned Offenses?

Here's the bottom line... developing ball handling, shooting, passing, and footwork skills takes time. Teaching players how to play on offense takes time. And you should still do this every practice. However...

Depending on the severity of your situation, you might want to spend at least half of your practice solely on man to man defense at first. You should do this for the next few weeks.

And the rest of the season, spend at least one third of the practice on man to man defense.

Unlike offense, the defense can be developed quickly. It just takes focus, effort, and discipline.

In fact, one year at the 9th grade level, we got beat 73-19 and we started over from scratch. Actually, we did this over Holiday Break in late December and early January.

We started over with our defense like it was day one of practice. You can see the first steps and some of the drills that we used below.

Oh yeah... and we ended up losing to the same team later in the season by ONLY 4 points.

Another year at the 7th grade level, we started the season 1-5. Then we won our last four tournaments.

And look at what a subscriber also named Joe wrote in and said...

"I started coaching a middle school team 3 years ago (all 6th graders). Like many coaches at this level, I was a parent volunteer and had little experience in coaching basketball. I got involved with the high school coach and got her involved with our program. She told me the players coming to her program cannot play M2M and their zone defense is even worse because they do not have the fundamentals.

I set clear goals (SMART goals) for the team and each girl. I scheduled and planned practices. We finished the year 0-12 only scoring 14 points a game and giving up almost 40. I reinforced with our team and parents that we are giving up the short term gratification of using "zone defense" for a long term foundation that will benefit the girls long after they are finished with their middle school careers.

The following year, we went 5-11 and only lost by an average of 8 points (26 ppg on defense). The last year they were in middle school, we won the championship. We went 15-3 with the best defense in the league (16 ppg) and the second best offense in the league (29 ppg). These were the same girls that went 0-12 just two years before.

We did it against mostly "zone" defenses. We didn't do it with more talent or different players. We did it through hard work and determination and learning how to play defense (footwork, positioning, deny, help and recover, rebounding, transitioning) while everyone else was fixated on winning now. Because our defense became so good, our offense improved dramatically. Our offense had to play and learn how to score against the best defense in the league every practice.

Coaches would ask me after games, "your team is tenacious; how did you get them to play M2M defense like that?" I would tell them," it started two years ago while you guys were beating us up with zone defenses."

I tell you this as a testimonial to working on building a solid foundation. That formula works for everything you will do in sports and, more importantly, in life. There are no short cuts to long term success."

- Joe

While it took Joe a season to start to see results, we didn't have the exact steps and videos for him to use at the time. Our advice below can speed up the process.

Either way, I would talk to the parents and tell them it can take seasons to do this. You're building for the future. That way, there aren't unrealistic expectations.

Before we get to the steps necessary to build a great foundation for man to man defense, this is highly important for your success.

When you watch Coach Huber teach players in his Man to Man Defense System, he demands excellence in regards to effort, execution, and focus.

It's not just what he does. It's HOW he teaches. It's HOW he demands that players do things properly.

It's also important to be demanding without being demeaning. You can still coach in a positive, upbeat manner while letting your kids know what needs to be done.

In Jim Huber's Man To Man Defense Videos, these are the foundational stages for a great defense. Of course, there is more drills, tips, and steps in the videos, but this is a great start. And it will help you get more competitive.

You should be proficient in these stages before spending more time on the more advanced stages.

Stage 1 - Get the players on board and introduce the defense.

You need to sell your players on the importance of defense.

Stage 2 - Teach players how to play defense on the ball. Show them the proper defensive stance, how to push-step, quick turn, sprint, contest shots, and pressure the basketball.

Stage 3 - Show players how to properly close out on the ball.

Stage 4 - Practice blocking out and rebounding. This is vital to every great defense. One shot and out.

Stage 5 - Introduce how to position your players when the ball is one or two passes away.

Stage 6 - Combine on-ball defense and help defense with the variations of the shell drill.

For those of you that don't know Coach Huber, Jim has coached everywhere from 3rd grade to the college level.

He coached a club named MOKAN, a Nike EYBL team in 2013. The EYBL is equivalent to the NBA of high school basketball. Most of the best high school players play there.

However, Coach Huber lacked one top 50 player on his team. This was a rarity in the EYBL. And he had to defend these guys.

• Jahlil Okafor - Duke and 3rd pick in NBA Draft
• Tyus Jones - Duke and 1st round NBA Draft pick
• Tyler Ulis - Kentucky and 34th pick in NBA Draft
• D'Angelo Russell - Ohio State and 2nd pick in NBA Draft
• Stanley Johnson - Arizona and 8th pick in NBA Draft

And guess what, he was ranked #1 in defensive points per game in the league. They even made the end of season tournament which only takes the top 16 teams.

If you'd like to learn how Jim Huber teaches his entire system step by step, check out his Man to Man Defense videos.

Coach Huber reveals all of the teaching points, corrections, and drills (50+) necessary to have a great defense.

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

Most Common Mistakes in Kids Team Practice

By Coach MAC

Have you ever wondered what mistakes you make when you run basketball practice? In creating this blog, I have been blessed to interact with some of the smartest basketball minds in the US. What better way to help you and collect answers to our simple question from all these experts? I asked leading basketball experts to answer: "What are the most common mistakes coaches make when conducting training in children's basketball?" There are two ways you can digest their responses...

1. I created this list so you can skip some by going down to your favorite expert.

2. Grab a coffee, make sure you have 20-30 minutes to spare, and read the entire list (recommended). Darrell Johnson - Cross Over Hoops Some children's coaches are too concerned with the results of their team's games, how many wins they can get. Don't get me wrong, winning is important, but developing fundamental individual technique skills is much more important at a child level. No one will remember your elementary school team record, but what they will remember is winning their state varsity tournaments or maybe the U.S. championships... Most kids' training should be spent on developing skills, not teaching offensive and defensive strategies. What good is a game worth when your players can't dribble, pass, or shoot the basket? The basics of individual fundamental offensive and defensive playing techniques must be taught correctly and then trained using repetition. If a player does something wrong, then the mistake must be corrected before a bad habit is formed. Too many players enter middle and high school with terrible habits that are extremely hard to break because they weren't corrected in elementary school during the training period. Establishing a good foundation of fundamental playing technique is the primary responsibility of children's coaches for the future careers of their pupils.

Alan Stein – Stronger Team

The most common mistakes youth coaches make are:

Training is not age appropriate (physically, mentally or emotionally). Training is not targeted. Workouts are boring.

Brian McCormick - 180 Shooter

Exercise must have a goal, and the coach must also know the goal for each part of the workout, even if the goal is to take a break to recover before intense exercise. However, the biggest mistake is talking too much and giving answers to all the players to their questions. There is a misconception that players learn a lot from the coach's conversations or briefings; but players learn more from doing. When the coach speaks, the players do nothing. Instructions should be short and concise. Players should be able to decide for themselves what to do or what they should have done. When coaches constantly give advice, players stop thinking and rely only on the coach.

Randy Brown – Coach RB

1. Conducting a workout without a well thought out plan prior to practice. Note: The plan must be developed jointly with the assistant trainer so that what is taught is the result of a collaborative effort. Every workout needs a goal.

2. Not making maximum use of time, court space and high involvement for all players. those. - Gathering in line for throws is one of the most mediocre wastes of time.

3. There is no method for evaluating every workout. Without a methodology to accurately assess the progress of players and teams, how to measure the improvement of this training session, the necessary adjustments for the next training session, and use the analysis of how time was used and whether your goal in training was achieved - there can be no good results.

4. #1 frustrating - Trying to do too many things and waste time attacking and defending instead of dividing them into parts of each and teaching / coaching / making players responsible for each skill. What for? - If you do not make the players responsible for their actions in training, then this is the fault of the coach and not the players. How can a coach be frustrated, angry to make substitutions when he didn't teach / coach / and not every player / and the team as a whole listened to him, practiced skills in exercises, and then put them into practice. Until this is done, the game is a joke, and the coach is to blame for this.

Bryan Burrell - New Age Elit Sports

In my opinion, the most common mistake in training children's teams is the amount of time coaches spend on special game situations.
I believe that time in kids basketball practice today is only spent making their current team better, not working on things that will benefit the players throughout their future careers.

Chris Hyppa – Chris Hyppa BasketBall

Coaches only focus on winning!

• Everyone wants to win, but the "development of fundamental individual skills" at the youth level takes a back seat to win. I believe development should be focus #1. Victories will follow. Developing through learning and improving skills, raises basketball IQ and strengthens relationships with players!

• Have a plan!

• I see a lot of kids training without a "goal". Kids coaches will have more productive workouts and see players progress if they document progress/failures and have a plan for every workout! "Confidence comes with preparation" - you have the power to inspire confidence, be prepared!

Courtney Campbell – Train to Ball

• I think it's a common mistake coaches make to spend 20% focused time instead of 80%. This comes from the Pareto principle (or the 80-20 rule) which states that 80% of the results come from 20% of your actions. I think a lot of young coaches' drills are designed to teach certain skills that are rarely used in games. Drills can be chosen randomly without thinking about what are the dominant skills needed to create an effective and productive player. I try to tailor my agility drills, footwork, individual ball technique, etc. to learn and improve the basics of what will be 80% applied in the game.

• In addition, there is an increase in the use of rubber bands and other training tools and equipment that will help increase the first stride, speed and agility of the players. However, most coaches are not aware of the mechanisms of injury in our game. If the trainer does not have knowledge of the general mechanism of injury, you are likely to increase the number of injuries with this equipment (knee, back and other injuries). Use this equipment with the limitation to your proper self-study.

Dave Hopla - DaveHopla.com

I find that most coaches are more interested in managing the game or letting them play rather than teaching them how to play. It never seems to be enough training to pass, catch, or throw. Too much dribbling.

David Nurse –Perfect Shots Shooting

I strongly believe that one of the biggest mistakes children make is that they want to start learning offensive patterns by making players become "robots". The more coaches emphasize drills that put young players in situations where they have to make quick decisions and think for themselves, the more and sooner they will develop their IQ of their game. It's like when you want to learn a new language, it's easiest to do it while you're young, before your brain gets developed in that area. The same with IQ "feel basketball". It is very important to develop this feeling as early as possible and youth coaches should do their job much better. I have seen all this all over the world, and this same topic is driving me crazy! I compare these bad habits of being a "robot" to sleeping in comfortable beds - it's easy to get into bed, but very hard to get out. Players must learn to think for themselves at a young age and this habit will pay dividends in their development.

Drew Hanlen - Pure Sweat Basketball

• Too much flame and not enough fuel

• Too many old routines (eight 3's, throws with no resistance on passes) and not enough individual skill development

• Too much play and not enough development exercises

• Lack of correction (too many mistakes allowed).

• Winning at lower levels is celebrated instead of focusing on learning skills for long-term success

Duane Jourdeans - Rule of 5

1: No training plan

2: No focus on building relationships with players

3: No development and improvement of playing skills 4: Emphasis on game management

not how to play

5: Shouting while learning

6: Lack of preparation of leader players

7: Tall children learn to play only in the center position

8: Lack of mental preparation.

9: Fitness exercises without a basketball goal

Galen Harkness – GalenHarkness.com

Major mistake: Too much emphasis on strategies for how to win the game, which often sacrifices a long-term program of fundamental player and team development.

Other thoughts.

1st: Too much emphasis on game control and game combinations. Coaches have a good set of playing combinations that are trained to complete the throw. But what can players do when schemes don't work? This strategy is designed in such a way that it does not allow or encourage players to make the right game decisions.

2nd: Lost time. A large amount of time is spent when moving from one exercise to another. Drills are rarely designed or implemented in such a way that all players are constantly involved in them. Too many stand still.

3rd: Lack of professional development. Some coaches teach and practice the way they learned to play. The basketball game is constantly evolving, but not all children's coaches evolve with the game.

Ganon Baker – Elev8Basketball

Problem - Coaches talk too much during practice where the kids lose their attention and sweat. They are too wordy in their instructions. Decision - do instruction/correction 20-50 seconds. Make your remarks, and then exit them without disrupting the flow of intense training.

Problem - trainers do not use humor or have no sense of humor. They seem to be tough and awkward in their communication. Decision - A coach with a child's heart but an adult mind. Enjoy the conversation, but don't overstep the bounds. Basketball game for kids, help them have fun!

Problem - they use useless exercises in their training. The drills are boring and not like a game, and do not belong to their offensive and defensive systems! Solution - Examine your ship. Try to find ways to have a professional workout. Teach the skill, choose exercises similar to the game, such as 1 on 1, 2 on 2 or 3 on 3.

Gary Maitland – Coach Maitland

1. Punishment. Children's basketball practice is an early experience of a long-term passion and commitment to the sport we love. The biggest mistake a coach can make is to create an environment where kids are afraid to "do it wrong". It is unfortunately all too common for children's basketball coaches to punish their players for mistakes. The player should not be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are an integral part of the learning process and hence it is important for children to know that they will not be constantly penalized. Basketball involves a number of complex ball handling and decision making skills. Skills must be taught, developed and mastered. When the coach punishes a player for a mistake, he/she prevents the player from taking risks; Risks help them learn the game and develop a sense of making quick decisions and actions. Those early training years should be interesting. Children should have fun when they learn new things. If a coach punishes kids with endless push-ups or sprints, it is unlikely that they will want to continue training with him and have fun. It will only be a matter of time before they stop attending these workouts. It is very important for young players to understand the consequences of their mistakes (i.e. that poor performance has a negative impact on the course of a drill or game). Punishments do not teach children how to do a technique or how to make a better decision next time. This type of coaching behavior is so common that young players judge the quality of coaching/training by how intense the punishments were. "What was the workout like?" "It was hard. We ran a lot and did a lot of push-ups." This answer shows that not much (or anything) was learned during this training session.

2. Long lines Children's practice should be structured so that each player has a lot of touches on the ball. Children's training is developmental training and therefore a sufficient number of repetitions of learning and improving elements of individual technique should be planned. When the coach puts the players in long lines, it reduces the number of times the player has the ball. Their chance to interact with the learning decreases, they become bored and distracted. It is very important for young coaches to organize their training so that all children are active, busy and practicing skills.

Greg White - Twitter Profile

The epidemic of bad coaching in youth sports is high at all times. I applaud USA Basketball for creating a coach certification program, but there is a question we need to answer: "Who trains our coaches?" Here are a few things I see wrong with youth coaching. 1. Exercise is more important than Skill. Coaches use exercises for the sake of exercise in elementary school. Ever watched an 8 year old team run a 3 player eight? This has no meaning or purpose. Find a way to practice skills without overly difficult exercises. We learn the alphabet letter by letter. 2. Fundamentals. Young players should not associate practice with yelling. Children's basketball should be fun and upbeat while learning the basics of the game. 3. Play simply without complicated game patterns. Teach players how to play, not how to make combinations. What do you gain by using exercises at the 5th grade level that are not well suited to the 7th grade. 4. Competitions. Too many games. It doesn't take a genius to know that in a team game of 8 year olds, the 2-3 zone wins games. At this age, competition is more for the ego of the parent than for the benefit of the children. Let children be children. I think we shouldn't play 5v5 under 10.

Hal Wilson - Coaching Basketball Wisely

Maybe these exercises were used when you were playing because they suited your skill and development level, but they are not suitable for the level of the team you are coaching now.

2) The second big mistake is just doing something because it's done by a successful coach X on TV. Great coaches have great players with great needs, again, your players may have other needs. Trying to get your players to use and perform elements of high and complex skills and concepts before they have mastered the basics of fundamental individual technique, a recipe for disaster, for herbs or frustration. Coaches must look beyond their own experience and find cutting edge ideas, but must adapt them to their team's current situation. A drill should be designed with clear goals: a) How this drill can help your team in games, b) Gradual progression (break complex skills and concepts into more accessible levels for your players), c) Applying clear goals and objectives of the game (players need to understand why skills and concepts are important and how they will help them be more successful individually and how they will help their team in games).

3) The third big mistake is to train to make the coach look good and not to teach the team to play better. Yes, your difficult drill may look great in practice, but as mentioned in point two, if it doesn't have a clear application in games, then it (the drill) is really more for you than for your players.

4) The fourth biggest mistake is taking away the enjoyment of training and sports, often in the name of winning. Some well-meaning youth coaches try to dampen or extinguish the competitive fire of their players by focusing too much on short-term outcomes. Enjoy the ride and let your players do the same! We want the long-term sporting development of our players, on and off the court!

Henry Barrera - Shoot360

1. There is no training planning, 2. They say much, 3. There is no sufficient development of the individual fundamental technique of the ball and throwing technique

James Gels - Coaches Clipboard 9000

very a common mistake is that children's trainers talk too much. Players get bored and don't learn anything. When I train in high school, I always say that a good practice is when the players are talking (communicating) and the coach is not heard.