Ideas to Increase Youth Basketball Participation during Summer
I spoke with Winthrop High School girls basketball coach Joe Lowe recently. What always stood out for me about Coach Lowe is two things. First, his positive demeanor. The way he spoke to players at practice was exactly how he spoke to them in games. Players generally react the same way as their coach, and when games got close, Coach Lowe’s teams always remained calm. Second, he wants to grow as a coach. He would always spend time at my practices and the boys varsity practices even though he did not have to. I asked him a variety of questions the other day. One of them pertained to youth basketball. He had a unique take on increasing youth basketball participation during the summer season.
High School Varsity Players Are the Coaches
The middle school and elementary school players almost always have a respect that borders on admiration for the varsity players in a community. As Coach Lowe, summarized it to me, if your best player says hello and calls the younger player by her name, it means the world to a kid. These players are traditionally coached in the winter by their parents. Often this arrangement works fine, but there are many well-documented flaws. Bias with regards to lineups and playing time, conflict between parents and child, etc. Getting a coach that is not directly connected to the politics gives families and the players a fresh start.
The high school players will also benefit from this arrangement. As two-time national champion coach Jay Wright and others have said, the game is simple. It does not matter the level that you are coaching. Fundamentals are essential. By seeing the mistakes of the younger players, the essentials of fundamentals get reinforced for their own game at a time of year where player development is in full bloom. By becoming a coach, these players can grow in how they communicate the game and will be thrusted into a leadership position.
Games Are Not 5 on 5
One common issue in the summer is having enough players to play. The competition for scheduling a game is fierce. The beach, vacation, other summer sports, and of course Fortnite. By shrinking the expectation of a game needing 10 players down to 8 or even 6 players, makes it possible for more teams to be in the league.
Eight players on the court also means that the amount of shots a player takes increases by 25% and so do the number of touches. Driving lanes open up, transition opportunities increase, and offensive rebounds are more frequent. Golfers have the one great golf shot that keeps them coming back. Young players (as much as we would love them to) do not find joy in boxing out. They find joy in making a play in the open court or scoring a bucket. A more open court creates more such opportunities.
The Head Coach Refs
If the head coach is referee, he or she can see the upcoming players. They demonstrate their commitment to the entire program. It also gives them the opportunity to hold their high school players accountable to be good role models and coaches to their teams. Older players mentoring younger players only works well if they get feedback.High schoolers have a tendency to go on their phones or engage only with their friends who are also helping. There are some older players that are mature enough to mentor immediately, but not all of them well.
Dracut Coach Brian Myers on Youth Connections
I constantly try to pick coaches brains for one or two nuggets of information. Brian Myers made two really great points. First, he tells high school players that help with youth clinics to know every kid’s name. Taking an action step to hold high school players accountable should assure you that the high school team is taking an active role in helping. Second, Coach Myers told me he focuses not on the quantity of young players, but the quality of the experience for those young players. Similar to his “all that matters is today” philosophy with the high school team, Coach Myers understands that there might be bigger and more well-known camps. He is going to celebrate the growth of the Dracut program’s camps.
After just two seasons on the job, Coach Myers has seen significant signs of progress at all levels. Coach Myers ran clinics in February, April, and during the summer for the youth players. The number of young players attending home games increased in year two. It is apparent that the young players aspire to be the current high school players.
