Youthbasketball123 is a website designed to provide ideas, drills, books, teaching tools, guest blogs and so much more for basketball coaches, players, and parents.
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- Top Youth Basketball Websites
The idea for this website came in early December 2012. I was a volunteer coach for 1st and 2nd grade boys. I had played basketball since attending my 1st camp in 2nd grade (1978). I played high school and college basketball and coached high school basketball for 19 years. A lifetime of playing and coaching basketball COULD NOT prepare me for my 1st youth practice with 1st and 2nd graders….
It was an eye-opening introduction to the world of youth sports.
I entered this 1st practice armed with a whistle, a few balls, some cones and my own personal basketball background. The league provided no curriculum, no age-appropriate drills, and no recommendations for the season.
As a teacher, I found this lack of guidance by the league a little shocking. But I had many years of coaching a variety of sports at a variety of levels. I felt confident in my practice plan and was prepared to run a practice that kept the players moving and taught the most basic fundamental skills.
After supervising the most basic of ball-handling drills, I realized simply dribbling a ball was a challenge for most players this age. I could not imagine what a full court game would look like.
The majority of the players were participating in organized basketball for the first time in their lives. After a brief introduction, I started with a few dribbling drills to evaluate the skill level of the players. 10 minutes into the practice, the opposing coach interrupted the drill to ask “Are you ready to scrimmage 5 on 5?”
“Are you ready to scrimmage 5 on 5?”
This question caught me completely off guard. Looking back 9 years later, I realized it may have been one of the dumbest questions I have ever been asked in basketball. Since most of my team had never be in on organized basketball team, it would make sense to have MORE practice time instead of less.
The one thing the league did provide was a format for the league. Each session was one hour. (Very appropriate for this age group.) The first thirty minutes was for team practice and the final 30 minutes would be a 5 vs. 5 scrimmage. Since the format was the one set of guidelines provided by the league, I was able to buy myself another 20 minutes of practice time, until the full court scrimmage.
As expected, the full court session was some of the ugliest, violation filled basketball in history. It was painful to watch as one player dribbled, and more often simply RAN without dribbling, the length of the court to heave a field goal attempt at the basket.
At that moment, I realized that there was no set curriculum for teaching basketball to this age group. Unlike most of the the other parent / volunteer coaches, I have read dozens of books on coaching basketball, attended clinics with world class lecturers, coached varsity high school basketball, and directed youth camps.
Despite my basketball coaching experience and knowledge, I was not prepared, in anyway, to coach a team of 5 and 6 year olds. It was going to be a challenging season with very little guidance.
This website is my attempt to provide youth coaches with practical, age-appropriate drills and instruction that will help lay the groundwork for a positive season for the coaches and youngest players in organized basketball. There will be detailed drills, practice plans and skills that are specific to this age.
Thanks for reading! Good luck this season!