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As an experienced coach at many different levels, the root of all complaints with coaches, regardless of age or skill level, is playing time. High school, college, travel, and AAU. (Even the 2024 Olympics with Jason Tatum and Steve Kerr.) No parent is happy with the playing time of a child in the majority of cases.
To make a season easier, it is best for the coach to establish clearly the playing time guidelines, whatever they may be at the start of the season. (Over the years I have found this 11-man basketball rotation to be very helpful.)
It is always better to defer to others in youth basketball in terms of playing time. One town had a minimum playing time of 25%. That is 1 quarter of a game. It is not a lot of playing time specially at younger levels when there is very little separation between the skills of the players. . But up until USA Basketball establish guidelines in 2013, coached had very little guidance and in many cases no guidance at all..
USA Basketball, in our biased opinion, is one of the best basketball organizations in the world for youth basketball coaches. Their job is basketball and basketball development. They are not parents. Judgment can be blurred by being a parent. They are basketball experts with combined backgrounds and experience that no youth coach could ever acquire. If you are a youth basketball coach or a parent, we highly recommend that become very familiar with USA website. Become an expert on your child’s age and the ages around your child. USA Basketball has developed a curriculum for each age. The guidelines that they feel our best for individual players and the national program.
What should the guidelines be for first grade?
For playing time it should be “Even Steven.” in a first grade basketball game teams will be lucky to score 10 points and there will be violations every possessions. But at this level, winning should not be important. At this age, some town leagues don’t even keep score. We see no problem with this.
Kids may end up keeping score on their own, but taking away the pressure of winning and losing, will decrease the amount of tears for the players. Because there WILL BE CRYING IN BASKETBALL once you introduce winning and losing at such a young age. 100% there will be tears. There will be players pointing fingers at each other for missed shots.
USA Basketball understands the 1st grade basketball should be about fun and fundamentals. USA guidelines recommend the players receive equal playing time at this age.
As a youth coach that did not have these guidelines, I agree 100% with equal playing time at this age. The bigger question might be is should games be played at all?
Skill development is very important, however, taving fun at this age is more important than skill development. Playing a game of a basketball is very, very complicated. Shooting, cutting, passing, defending. It is overwhelming at this age. It seems to be way too, way too much for these developing players.
We have created a page completely devoted to Coaching 1st Grade Basketball. We do not claim to have all the answers, but we feel it is a great resource for first grade coaches to check out. One of our favorite modifications for basketball at younger levels it the numbers game. it allows players to understand some of the concepts of 5 vs. 5. It is very manageable.
Good luck and have a great season.