Originally Posted by tdomeski
Didn't know where to post this and didn't think it was threadworthy so settled on here. If you want to move it you can.
HELP! Hack my 11-12 yr old youth basketball team:
I coach an 11-12 yr old youth basketball team in a competitive rec. league. The organization has two leagues for this age group, and the team I coach is in the more skilled one (top 80 of 200+ kids that tried out) that puts less emphasis on development and more emphasis on winning.
I've never coached before and have very little history in basketball. Never played in a competitive league in my life, never been coached at all, and don't watch that much NBA/NCAAbb. We started in October, and I've picked up a lot from YouTube and other internet resources along the way.
I feel like I absolutely crushed the draft. I had an idea from a former coach what skills played well at this age and drafted around that. Also had a very fortunate draft position (the way it was structured I was able to get the 10th-11th 12 yr old in league and 1st 11yr old and the 11yr old is probably best player in league). We are currently 4-1 (13 game season then the tourney) and have done it completely on athleticism and speed. I am clearly getting outcoached every game and want to see if you guys can offer advice. Some of the in-game adjustments coaches make are catching me completely off-guard as I have no f'ing idea. We suffered our first loss today, and I feel like it's completely on me.
Some things I/we struggle with:
Half court offense - we have one "play" that we are never really on the same page for. They seem to have trouble remembering it even though it's one simple play (we see each other 2-3 times a week and go over it every time in some capacity). Other than the play we just kind of pass the ball around and hope to find a good look and put it up. We suck at rebounding, but really most teams do, so we luck our way to a few O-Boards like everyone. Really struggle to finish inside if we get the ball into the post. It's really easy to establish position in the post, but getting the ball in there doesn't do much good as our personell can't finish.
Transition D - We let teams push it on us way too much. I try to emphasis stopping the ball, but we don't do it.
Half court D- we run a 1-3-1 trapping defense most of the time and when we have the right 5 in there we do well. We struggle hard when we don't. We've implemented the box-and-one a few times this year as well as most teams usually have one stud and shutting him down does well. Other than that it's been a standard 2-3. We also have briefly introduced a full court press. Not a lot of man defense played in this league. Coaches have already started adjusting to our 1-3-1 by setting a bunch of high screens. I didn't even think of this really, so my kids aren't prepared for it at all. I don't know what to do to defend against it and still play a 1-3-1 trap. Do I just put them in something else once teams start to set the high screens?
Strengths:
Transition offense- Our 11 yr old, the best player in league, finishes at a much higher % on a fast break than most kids in league. We also have a few others that can finish and get down the court well. We really do have the absolute best offense in transition and are the most athletic team when we have our top 5 in.
Perimeter shooting - We have 3-4 kids that are good behind the 3-point line, which is rare in this league.
Our personell:
SP (Star Player) - best player in league. Long, athletic, can finish. Okay at creating his own shot, but teams have started to double team him once he gets inside the 3 point line.
PG1 - Solid ball handler, good shooter. Slower than anyone on our team, though. Can't create and tends to turn the ball over with ambitious passes a bit too much.
LM1 (little man 1) - Fast as ***. Doesn't handle the ball well, meh shooter. Is legit a terror on D when we put on the box-and-one and have him guard the other teams best player even though he's always outsized.
LM2 (little man 2) - A bit slower than LM1, but same concept. Shoots much better, similar ball handling ability though. Kind of liability having them both in at same time
BW (beast wing) - kid is a top 10 talent in league (took him 10th overall). He shoots really well, handles ball well in transition (not so much in the half court). Plays good D, but a little overaggressive which leads to foul trouble now and then. Rebounds well when he's around the paint, but he's usually not.
BM1 (big man 1) - tall, decent hands. Doesn't have good footwork, doesn't finish well unless he gets the ball in the perfect spot (right side where we can use the glass). Pretty athletic for his size and rebounds okay when he gets physical (rarely does).
BM2 (big man 2) - tall, much better hands/footwork. Still struggles to finish around the basket.. Decent outside shot, but very timid on offense. Okay rebounder.
AIDS - not much here with this kid. We've taught him how to box out and he actually does it pretty well. Probably turns the ball over on 50% of his touches. Doesn't shoot well at all. Flys around on D like a chicken with his head cut off, but doesn't have the speed/athleticism to recover.
That's our team. Most teams have 1-2 studs, 3-4 okay dudes, and 2 duds. We only have one dud, so there's that.
Substitution rules of league (this is where I think I struggle, optimizing my lineups):
4, 8 minute quarters.
Subs come in (must CLEAR BENCH, so 3 subs in and 3 guys out) every 4 minutes until start of 4th (even after half). 4th is Free Sub and you can do whatever you want from the beginning of the quarter. You don't have to clear bench from last 4 mins of 3rd to start 4th and you can play whoever you want the entire quarter (although sitting a kid out the entire 4th would look bad).
Every player must sit at least one 4-minute block.
So, hack my team. What style offense are you running? What defense? How can I optimize my lineup (what lineup should I NEVER have out there?)? Any general advice.
I'm going to be disappointed in myself if we can't win this championship as I think we have the most talent of all the teams.