How to Fix Youth Basketball

Notice how the title didn't say, "How to fix AAU or High School basketball?" I believe the issues that many people have with the "less skilled and lower IQ" basketball player start at the very bottom of the youth levels. Those same issues continue throughout their players later teens. How do we fix it?

Let Them Play
Most people will read that and completely disregard everything I am about to write, but hear me out. Kids in the US don't "know how to play." I'm not just talking about basketball either. How many times do you see kids at the local park just "playing?" I would say, very few or never.  Kids can't figure things out for themselves because they aren't allowed to by their parents.  Every disagreement has to be figured out by an adult, there is zero problem solving, there is zero give and take, and there are only winners (9th place trophies).

At a certain point we, as adults, have to let them figure it out. Will there be disagreements? Will there be fights? Will there be a bad foul call on game point? Will there be one basketball for all the people playing and then the one person with the ball has to leave? The answer to all of these questions is YES. And what happens? You figure out a way to make things work.

Now let's talk basketball.  I personally feel these ideas would help solve some issues with the lack of understanding and skill of our youth players. Small sided games.  What I mean by this is have the kids play a lot of 3 on 3 and 4 on 4 in the half court. By doing this, it teaches the kids proper spacing, how to get open, and how to set/read screens. And to throw a wrench into the mix by not letting them dribble. I think the first instinct youth players (and adult players for that matter) have is to dribble the ball after the catch.  The players are forced to share the ball, rely on teammates, and "think the game" rather than rely on athleticism all the time. These type of small sided games force the kids to learn "how to play" because if they don't, they don't win.

Play Multiple Sports
Too many kids these days (yep, I sound old) are focusing on just one sport at a very early age. This eventually leads to burnout and also overuse injuries.  Kids need to play multiple sports. Why? It forces your body to adjust to different things (believe it or not, this happens all the time in basketball), you use different muscles, and you get to experience different people and coaches.

There are a lot of sports that have very similar concepts and/or movements that will help with basketball performance. Some of these sports include ALL OF THEM.  Hockey, soccer, and lacrosse all have relatively similar games. Tennis and soccer would be great for footwork. Swimming is great to take the stress off your joints. Track and Field is great for speed, endurance, and explosiveness (my wife would kill me if I didn't include it).  I could go on and on.

One thing parents need to think about is that college coaches LOVE having guys or girls that have played multiple sports at the youth/high school level. Why? They know that your best basketball (or any other sport) is ahead of you.  Focusing on a sport at age 12 is a lot different for development than focusing on one at 18.

Too Many Games Not Enough Practice
You can look at the structure of youth basketball (travel level) and AAU as a very similar system. Teams will practice (maybe) twice a week and then play four to six games a weekend. Do the kids learn a lot from the games? Absolutely, but there isn't enough time to truly teach them in practice.

Imagine if you flipped those numbers around. Kids would hate it until it became the norm. Coaches should love it because now they actually get to teach and get to throw their kids into different situations at practice.  I do understand that some coaches are "gamers" just like their kids are and the practice over play concept wouldn't work.  Those are the coaches that don't need to be involved in any program.

One thing to keep in mind in MN is that HS coaches generally have two weeks to work with their players before their first game for the high school season. That's not enough time to instill many basic principles that each coach wants to install, especially if you got hired after July.  I know my Dad has about a month before his first game in NY.  Huge difference from state to state.

I know there are more issues to fix, but let's start with these in hopes of making basketball better.