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I'm coaching Middle School basketball this year-- advice?

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Sup y'all




I'm gonna be coaching a pretty cool group of 11-13 year olds from January-March. Already have run two tryouts, and our last one is gonna be this Monday.


I've never coached any team before (as I'm only 20 years of age) and I didn't play THAT much basketball growing up.



Just wanted to ask y'all if you have any sort of advice. I'd seriously appreciate it. Doesn't necessarily need to apply to basketball specifically-- are there certain things that your coaches did, that had a huge impact on you?


I'm definitely willing to do the best possible job for these kids. Some come from pretty unstable families so I want them to enjoy this 'exit' and learn lots.


Thanks in advance, does.
 
Congrats!... They finally are letting you around young boys again. does that mean your charges have been cleared?
 
I don't know how serious this league is or whatever, but with tryouts I guess that means it's for real. I'd just say, don't be afraid of tough love. I got thrown out of 3 or 4 practices and banned from the "playoffs" that we had that first year of Middle School for talking back to my coaches. It helped in subsequent years. I watched them lose our playoff game from the bleachers, and felt like a complete idiot.
 
Communicate with the players and parents. Especially make sure everyone (players and parents) understands what type of conduct is expected and what will happen if the expectations aren't met. Work on conditioning and defense first. That can lead to a lot of fast-break points.

Above all, watch Coach Carter.
 
Keep in mind that something which motivates one kid can demotivate another. Talk to each one individually, trying to figure out what they need to hear.
 
One Brow said:
Keep in mind that something which motivates one kid can demotivate another. Talk to each one individually, trying to figure out what they need to hear.
Click to expand...

c'mon onebrow....... basketball is about feelings... dont get all feely with them dal, teach fundamentals.

teach them the game and let them govern themselves a bit, this is how you find out who is real about it and who is not. remeber as a coach your job is to help them become better, not to suck the fun out of the sport. let them play their game (just like in glory road)
 
If one of the kids has a hot mom find reasons to have sit-down meetings with her or even offer to buy her a cup of coffee so you can discuss her child's potential/issues/how special they are, etc.
 
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That's BAWSE Dal.

Archie's suggestion of pressing if your guys have talent is a good one.

dat jazzfanz.com mobile app doe
 
dalamon said:
are there certain things that your coaches did, that had a huge impact on you?

I'm definitely willing to do the best possible job for these kids. Some come from pretty unstable families so I want them to enjoy this 'exit' and learn lots.
Click to expand...


My advice: make sure all kids have at least some playing time. I myself am a horrible basketball player. I only played church ball when I was a kid, and was probably one of the two worst players on our team. But our coach always made sure I got in for a few minutes each game. In hindsight I really appreciate that--it made me feel like a part of the team. I think that'll be even more important given the family environment you said some of the kids come from.

P.S. good for you for doing this!
 
Thanks for the contributions, and remarks!

It will be a huge time-commitment (on top of a full-course load, and various other extra-curricular work that I'm involved in) but I have always wanted to coach in some capacity, and I really do love working with and motivating young kids. One Brow's comment definitely sheds good insight, and I'm totally the type that will try to stay away from a cookie-cutter coaching approach.


Keep the advice coming!
 
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