Training and Coaching Tips for Youth Basketball Practice

Once the team is selected, a youth basketball coach faces two major decisions: developing a philosophy and prioritizing skills.

In many youth leagues, teams practice once or twice a week for a total of no more than three hours; a coach cannot expect to teach his team everything, so he must prioritize skills and create a basic system of play around the prioritized skills.

Novice players have so much to learn: the rules, the skills, the strategy, the tactics, etc. Young players (9-11 years old) need to experience the game and prepare to play in games, as the game is the point. However, in order to play better, players need instruction, drills and repetitions. Coaching a youth basketball practice is more difficult than a college or professional practice because there is so much to teach and such a small foundation. While anything one teaches is helpful to the players, the amount of required instruction to prepare players for a game is somewhat overwhelming.

Coaching philosophies break into two very general categories: winning or fun. Both have negative connotations. When the score is kept, the goal is to win. However, for most youth players, winning is not the most important part of sports; winning is preferable to losing, but there are more important things, like fun, learning new skills and playing with friends. When coaches are “fun,” players do not develop new skills and there is not a significant challenge. Coaches need to balance these philosophies to create an appropriate philosophy for his team.

A youth coach’s focus should be development and learning; youth sport is preparation for further athletic participation, whether recreational or competitive. This preparation is physical and mental, general and sport-specific. Unfortunately, the emphasis is often solely on basketball-specific development and game preparation, which ignores many lessons that are equally or possibly more important to players’ development.

The following is a basic philosophy and generic practice plan for coaching youth basketball.