The first thing that comes to mind when most parents begin training their child is shooting the basketball. This is not a surprise since shooting the basketball is fun, and everybody loves to score. There are, however, several skills that you can teach to your son or daughter that will make them stand out from other players. Here is the real secret. Your child does not have to be the tallest, fastest, or most talented player on the court to gain this edge. Whether I am watching a 4th-grade girls game or a varsity boys game, I consistently see players that have yet to master these skills that anyone can obtain through good focus and a solid work ethic.
- Ball Handling
Ball handling in basketball is as fundamental as a human being walking. If your child is confident with the ball and can handle it under pressure with both hands, the amount of playing time that they receive will increase. The best part about becoming a great ball handler is that it can be done alone. There are hundreds of different drills that will build this skill for your child. I would have your child devote 20 minutes a day to working on their ball handling. It will make a huge difference in their game ((Learn more about dementia at March 17 event at Douglas …. https://www.echopress.com/community/events/4991937-Learn-more-about-dementia-at-March-17-event-at-Douglas-County-Library)).
2. Passing
Passing is a skill that many parents do not place a focus on. When my daughters were very young, we spent time working the basics: Chest Pass, Bounce Pass, Overhead Pass, and the One-Handed Baseball Pass. I have always emphasized to them to deliver the pass on a line with some zip. With them working together, they also received practice catching the ball.
One talent that is sorely lacking at the youth ages and in the high school game is the ability to deliver a solid pass to a teammate that is posting up on the block. It does not matter how good the team’s post player is if their teammates cannot deliver the ball to them. I love the bounce pass in this situation since it is more difficult for the defender to intercept.
Youth players need to get solid instruction and repetition learning how to pass.
3. Pivoting
Pivoting is another essential skill that needs to be developed at a young age. Knowing how to pivot both forward and reverse will allow your child to avoid having the ball taken away from them during a game. While they are pivoting, proper attention must be placed on the position of the ball. It should never be held out in front of the player’s body. It should be tucked away from the defender, typically at the player’s hip. When pivoting, the ball should be moved across the body, either very high or very low. The pivot should be done quickly and aggressively.
4. No Free Cuts!
Not allowing “free cuts” is a “little thing” that can improve your child’s defense in a big way. When playing defense, a defender should never allow the offensive player that they are defending to cut across the lane freely. The player should anticipate the cut and get directly in the way of the player that is cutting. They should attempt to have the offensive player run into their chest and then try and force them to cut behind them rather than across their face.
5. Boxing Out the Defender on a Shot
Many times the outcome of a game comes down to the number of offensive possessions that a team has throughout the game. The inability of a team to box out their opponents can quite literally cost them a win. It does not matter if the person that you are defending is in the paint or behind the three-point arc. The player still needs to screen the person away from getting the ball. Of course, one of my favorite parts of the game is offensive rebounding. I have always told my children that they could score an additional four to six points a game if they became a relentless offensive rebounder. Many days they would come home and tell me that their teammates are not passing them the ball. I would always respond by saying to them to get the ball themselves by rebounding their teammates missed shots. Coaches love players that get offensive rebounds.
6. Closing Out as a Defender
The ball moves around the court quickly during a game. Many times, when playing defense away from the ball, a player is in a “help” position in or toward the middle of the lane. When the ball gets swung around to the player that they are guarding, he or she would need to hurry out to defend the player that now has the ball. There is a specific technique that needs to be deployed by a player to ensure that the person that they are defending does not blow right by them to the basket. It is called closing out. The proper technique is for the defender to move quickly toward the ball and then chop their feet, breaking down into a defensive stance. The chopping of the feet allows them to react swiftly if the defender makes a move toward the basket. This is a crucial defensive principle that will assist in making your child a better defender.
7. Talk
It seems easy enough. It is an ability that nearly every young basketball player has. Astonishingly, this is another “little thing” that not every basketball player does. When I taught team defense to my 5th-grade team, I would have them yell out their assignment every time the ball moved using such critical terms as Deny, Help, and Ball. This promoted good team play and upped the energy on the court. Another essential place to talk is when a player sees that their teammate is getting backed screened by an opponent. There must be good talk in this situation, or your child’s teammate may get hurt by the screen.
There is simply no excuse not to talk loudly and often while playing this game.
8. Setting Up a Screen
This is a personal pet peeve of mine. I have had many players come up to me during games and tell me that their teammates are not setting good screens. 95% of the time the screen is not the problem, but it is the fact that the player did not properly set up their screen. A player must take their defender to the screen and then run off the shoulder of the screener. If a player does this properly, they will have a number options that will likely set up a scoring opportunity for themselves (Curl, Flair, & Slip Screen). It is just a basic fundamental that many players and coaches do not give consistent attention to.
9. Always Look Eye!
Many of the readers of a certain age will recognize the title of this section from a popular 80’s movie called The Karate Kid. I have always instructed my children that anytime a coach is speaking, they should look them directly in the eyes. This is especially true if the coach is yelling at them. When my daughter was in 5th grade, the club director was coaching their team. The game was close, but we were up by 5 points with a minute to go. The other team was pressing. My daughter threw a long pass that was not a good idea. It was picked off, and the other team scored. At a time out, our coach got into my daughter’s face and yelled at her concerning this pass. She looked him dead in the eyes and nodded her head ((The forbidden Princess Chapter 1, an avatar: last …. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11556211/1/The-forbidden-Princess)). After the game, the coach came up to me and said how impressed he was that she looked directly at him during the heated situation. This is a terrific lesson to teach to your kids.
10. Sprint Back on Defense
Does this need to be discussed? I will answer my question. YES! The speed at which your child transitions from offense to defense is one of those “little things” that a coach does not typically provide praise for, but will get angry with if it is not done. I would work to build the habit with your child to sprint back hard every time no matter if the other team is pushing the ball up or not. This is a fundamental part of the game.
Conclusion
Placing a focus on these ten items can take your child’s game to a new level, whether they are a 4th grader or a senior in high school. I am offering a special reward for subscribing to my site. Once you subscribe below, please send an email to me at youthbasketballparent@gmail.com, requesting a video highlighting the items discussed in this post. Thank you again for reading.