5th grade school basketball team coaching philosophy

[General Tso]

I'm helping coach my son's 5th grade school basketball team this year. Currently 13 kids are signed up to play. I'd say about half the kids will also be playing some sort of traveling basketball simultaneously while this will be the only team for the other half of the kids. The other person I'm coaching with wants to focus on winning, playing time second. So essentially wants to create lineups where the better kids play more and the other kids play less, unless the game gets out of hand one way or the other. My thinking is spread playing time evenly since the traveling kids will get plenty of playing time on their other teams and this will be the only team for the remaining kids.

What's been your experience?

 

[THE_DEVIL]

That coach should be removed immediately.

 

[QChawks]

I've coached a 5/6 grade school basketball team the last 3 years and I do it exactly like you said. First team plays 65%, second team 30% and the last couple of kids get maybe a few minutes per game.

I tell the parents this at the first practice and I'm open about where their sons lies on the depth chart.

It's works fine.

 

[Mayland]

Any way you could do 6 quarter games? Basically 4 quarters where there’s a little more emphasis on winning, although it’s still not the primary focus. Then 2 quarters where the lesser talented kids play and can work more on developing their skills. 13 kids is way too many on a team for that age group.

 

[seminole97]

 

[millah_22]

teach them cool trick shots

 

[stout1]

I use the Three Year Letterman twitter for all my coaching philosophy.

 

[SeaPA]

Any way you could do 6 quarter games? Basically 4 quarters where there’s a little more emphasis on winning, although it’s still not the primary focus. Then 2 quarters where the lesser talented kids play and can work more on developing their skills. 13 kids is way too many on a team for that age group.

I coached in a youth basketball league for a long time & this is exactly how it was always done (actually I started out playing in it when I was about 8 or 9, then when I came home from college I coached in it for years). Played a full, regular game what was competitive, then a "B game" (time was somewhat dependent on how many weaker players were on each team

 

[FAUlty Gator]

I'm helping coach my son's 5th grade school basketball team this year. Currently 13 kids are signed up to play. I'd say about half the kids will also be playing some sort of traveling basketball simultaneously while this will be the only team for the other half of the kids. The other person I'm coaching with wants to focus on winning, playing time second. So essentially wants to create lineups where the better kids play more and the other kids play less, unless the game gets out of hand one way or the other. My thinking is spread playing time evenly since the traveling kids will get plenty of playing time on their other teams and this will be the only team for the remaining kids.

What's been your experience?

You need to decide if you want mass substitutions or trickle in subs.

Mass subs you can split the talent and always have at least 3-4 fresh guys at all times which will make up for talent. Trickling them on you’re keeping more talent on but are wearing them out.

 

[Crafty Beaver]

Practice a lot. Compete in tournaments less. Focus almost entirely on fundamentals. Have intra-squad scrimmages with teams evenly matched. In tournaments, try & find the middle ground between the best players getting the lion's share of the PT & complete equity. In 5th grade, most games end up as blowouts, in my experience...so you can swing more towards equity in non-competetive games & more towards trying to win in the close games. Don't play zone.

 

[NDallasRuss]

I'm helping coach my son's 5th grade school basketball team this year. Currently 13 kids are signed up to play. I'd say about half the kids will also be playing some sort of traveling basketball simultaneously while this will be the only team for the other half of the kids. The other person I'm coaching with wants to focus on winning, playing time second. So essentially wants to create lineups where the better kids play more and the other kids play less, unless the game gets out of hand one way or the other. My thinking is spread playing time evenly since the traveling kids will get plenty of playing time on their other teams and this will be the only team for the remaining kids.

What's been your experience?

Shouldn't 5th grade sports be solely about skills development and learning teamwork? It shouldn't matter at all if they win, if they're developing a love for the sport, and learning the skills that they can carry forward. No one's going to ever remember what their 5th grade record was, or if they were some kind of 5th grade hoops all-star. They WILL remember that it's where they learned to love a sport that they continued playing and enjoying.

Disclaimer: The entirety of my coaching experience is filling in to coach one game of 13yo girls field hockey.

 

[Bearhawk0505]

13 will be very difficult to manage. I had a team with 10 once about that age and it was challenging. I don’t like the wholesale sub thing. At this age I do believe in playing everyone and developing all the kids. My advice would be to make sure you work everyone in early. If it ends up being close, go the last 5 minutes with your top 5. If not close, try to work everyone in evenly. I initially wanted 8, then had a difficult time telling families no, so ended up with 10. Once I hit 10, I told inquiring families the roster was full.

 

[Bearhawk0505]

As far of philosophy, drilling fundamentals is huge. I used 4 out 1 in offense and emphasized cutting after passing. I would not dissuade kids from shooting open shots. Only dissuade wild shots in traffic, instead encourage them to kick it out to an open teammate. For defense, a shell drill emphasizing be in a position to help on the weak side is important.

 

[Moral]

 

[General Tso]

13 will be very difficult to manage. I had a team with 10 once about that age and it was challenging. I don’t like the wholesale sub thing. At this age I do believe in playing everyone and developing all the kids. My advice would be to make sure you work everyone in early. If it ends up being close, go the last 5 minutes with your top 5. If not close, try to work everyone in evenly. I initially wanted 8, then had a difficult time telling families no, so ended up with 10. Once I hit 10, I told inquiring families the roster was full.

Agreed, 13 is about the worst number imaginable - too few for two teams, too many for one team. Because it's a school team, there are no roster limits.

 

[bunsen82]

13 will be very difficult to manage. I had a team with 10 once about that age and it was challenging. I don’t like the wholesale sub thing. At this age I do believe in playing everyone and developing all the kids. My advice would be to make sure you work everyone in early. If it ends up being close, go the last 5 minutes with your top 5. If not close, try to work everyone in evenly. I initially wanted 8, then had a difficult time telling families no, so ended up with 10. Once I hit 10, I told inquiring families the roster was full.

We did 13 last year for 4th grade, It was awful. 10 is the most I would do with the hockey style sub out of switching out the entire line up. Make sure you have 2 good ball handlers for each unit and 1 good post player, and it worked.

 

[ozzie8]

13 is waaaaaay too many

Also don’t use this:

 

[Tenacious E]

I'm helping coach my son's 5th grade school basketball team this year. Currently 13 kids are signed up to play. I'd say about half the kids will also be playing some sort of traveling basketball simultaneously while this will be the only team for the other half of the kids. The other person I'm coaching with wants to focus on winning, playing time second. So essentially wants to create lineups where the better kids play more and the other kids play less, unless the game gets out of hand one way or the other. My thinking is spread playing time evenly since the traveling kids will get plenty of playing time on their other teams and this will be the only team for the remaining kids.

What's been your experience?

Base all decisions on the mantra of Vince Lombardi: "Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser." Kidding, obviously. At that age, you know you were a successful coach if every kid on your team this year goes out for basketball next year.

 

[SSG T]

At that age, skill development, basic understanding of offense/defense and fun should come way before winning.

As for the playing time, the better kids playing more isn't horrible, if it's like starting 5 50%, other 8 50%. If it's starting 5 75%, next 5 20%, end of bench only in blowouts, in 5th grade, that's stupid.


I would also add, have at least on of the better players on the court with the lesser players. Tell them not to do all the scoring, but they can help get the other kids into position. And work a lesser player in with the better players. For pretty much the same reason.


I'd try to get my lower ability kids minutes on the court with my best players. Lessens the effect and (since the kids know who's better) it gives the lesser player a better feeling than always being stuck on the court with others of the same ability.

 

[ozzie8]

Split those teams up and have more parents step up and help coach

 

[kn288]

I just finished up my elementary basketball coaching career. We had 10 each of the past 2 years. The problem is that 2 of the kids didn't want to actually play. They were there to hang out with their friends. There's always a couple that don't show up to every practice. You want to reward the kids who put in the time and effort regardless of their ability. When deciding playing time during games I looked more at who has been at every practice, has a good attitude and plays hard. Having a parents meeting before the season starts to set those expectations helps with any parents griping about playing time once the season starts. If OP has 13 kids that show up to every practice, are good teammates and play hard then split the kids up into 2 teams.

 

[thewop]

I'm helping coach my son's 5th grade school basketball team this year. Currently 13 kids are signed up to play. I'd say about half the kids will also be playing some sort of traveling basketball simultaneously while this will be the only team for the other half of the kids. The other person I'm coaching with wants to focus on winning, playing time second. So essentially wants to create lineups where the better kids play more and the other kids play less, unless the game gets out of hand one way or the other. My thinking is spread playing time evenly since the traveling kids will get plenty of playing time on their other teams and this will be the only team for the remaining kids.

What's been your experience?

It's middle school now. Play to win.

The time for playing to give the kids a good experience and making them want to come back the next year passed when they graduated 5th grade, and it's time for transition to a more competitive mindset.

I have one son who is athletic, one who isn't. My older son was the worst player on his middle school team. He played in 3 games, max of 2.5 minutes each time, and I was totally fine with it.

He hated basketball and never wants to play again. He only went out because a couple of his friends did, and they both quit mid-season. We wouldn't let him. I'm proud of him for trying. He loves Karate and is very good at it, also loves drawing comics, playing musical instruments, and flying RC planes.

Basketball/sports aren't for everyone, and that's OK!! Sports ARE good for everyone to try.

 

[mthawkeyes]

Young kids, and especially good young kids dribble far too much.
In practice institute these two rules:
When practicing your press breaker, a two-dribble rule. They will learn how to use those dribbles to create passing lanes rather than putting their head down and dribbling into a double team.
When running half-court offense, a three-dribble rule. Same idea. Also, convince your best players that the easiest way to score isn't by being James Hardin. Pass, cut, and get the ball back in far better position. You will develop a culture of movement and sharing the ball.

 

[RollingBallofButcherKnives]

Run em til they puke….