What’s up with winter versus spring AAU-type basketball?

[Anonymous]

What i have seen (my kid usually plays the 3) is coaches fight to get the really tall, athletic kids on their team and then do nothing to develop them. They are there ONLY to support the guards, not get better at basketball. Then their parents get frustrated and get wooed by another coach/team, who promises that the kid will get to touch the ball. Then same thing happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What i have seen (my kid usually plays the 3) is coaches fight to get the really tall, athletic kids on their team and then do nothing to develop them. They are there ONLY to support the guards, not get better at basketball. Then their parents get frustrated and get wooed by another coach/team, who promises that the kid will get to touch the ball. Then same thing happens.

Yes, I have seen this happen several times as well. Being tall for basketball almost can be a disadvantage for these kids. A friend took her son to multiple tryouts to make sure he WASN'T the tallest kid on a team before accepting an offer.

[Anonymous]

I really have not experienced this as the parent of a tall kid who plays by the basket. Yes, the coach has a short kid who plays guard but they rarely make any baskets and while this doesn't matter in 4th and 5th grade--I have to believe it will start to matter in 8th and 9th grade. You have to get the baskets in. Being short isn't that advantageous in basketball. That said, I hear everyone loud and clear on the need to develop court IQ. I will keep encourageing my child to excel at shooting and defense and rebounds and work on dribbling. Opportunities will open for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yep, a lot of coaches view the other players as just there to help their own kid (ALWAYS the point guard) get better, score baskets, etc. My dc's friend was tall but also a good ball handler/shooter--he went to play travel and the coach told him he wasn't allowed to shoot (unless it was right under the basket) or dribble the ball. His job was to get rebounds and pass them back to the coach's son. Then the coach would post on social media about how many points his kid scored every game.

Bruh, who's kid should he be talking about on his social media page other than his own kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep, a lot of coaches view the other players as just there to help their own kid (ALWAYS the point guard) get better, score baskets, etc. My dc's friend was tall but also a good ball handler/shooter--he went to play travel and the coach told him he wasn't allowed to shoot (unless it was right under the basket) or dribble the ball. His job was to get rebounds and pass them back to the coach's son. Then the coach would post on social media about how many points his kid scored every game.

Bruh, who's kid should he be talking about on his social media page other than his own kid?

I’m a coach and every kid on the team is “my kid”. When you run into a coach who is not allowing a kid to develop, find a new coach. Also being short is that big of a disadvantage for a kid in basketball as long as the kid can put the ball in the basket. If a kid can shoot and find a way to score, the will do well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really have not experienced this as the parent of a tall kid who plays by the basket. Yes, the coach has a short kid who plays guard but they rarely make any baskets and while this doesn't matter in 4th and 5th grade--I have to believe it will start to matter in 8th and 9th grade. You have to get the baskets in. Being short isn't that advantageous in basketball. That said, I hear everyone loud and clear on the need to develop court IQ. I will keep encourageing my child to excel at shooting and defense and rebounds and work on dribbling. Opportunities will open for them.

If your kid is only in 4th or 5th grade, you haven't seen much yet. If his coach sticks him by the basket every game, he won't develop his basketball skills. Season after season, he will get worse as everyone else gets better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really have not experienced this as the parent of a tall kid who plays by the basket. Yes, the coach has a short kid who plays guard but they rarely make any baskets and while this doesn't matter in 4th and 5th grade--I have to believe it will start to matter in 8th and 9th grade. You have to get the baskets in. Being short isn't that advantageous in basketball. That said, I hear everyone loud and clear on the need to develop court IQ. I will keep encourageing my child to excel at shooting and defense and rebounds and work on dribbling. Opportunities will open for them.

A coach who makes kids play the same positions every game (his son is always the PG, your kid is the center) in 4th/5th grade is a bad coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really have not experienced this as the parent of a tall kid who plays by the basket. Yes, the coach has a short kid who plays guard but they rarely make any baskets and while this doesn't matter in 4th and 5th grade--I have to believe it will start to matter in 8th and 9th grade. You have to get the baskets in. Being short isn't that advantageous in basketball. That said, I hear everyone loud and clear on the need to develop court IQ. I will keep encourageing my child to excel at shooting and defense and rebounds and work on dribbling. Opportunities will open for them.

A coach who makes kids play the same positions every game (his son is always the PG, your kid is the center) in 4th/5th grade is a bad coach.

Don’t get me wrong, you want the game to be competitive and there are some kids who just can’t handle the ball and can’t pass. They will immediately get it taken and throw the ball to the other team. Those kids should not play PG because they can’t get their teammates involved and they hurt the team. Now, these kids should be able to work on their skills, but not to the point they are hurting the team.

Any kid who can dribble, pass, and shoot should not be stuck by the basket all game. He does all the work and the coaches favorite is the only one getting better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really have not experienced this as the parent of a tall kid who plays by the basket. Yes, the coach has a short kid who plays guard but they rarely make any baskets and while this doesn't matter in 4th and 5th grade--I have to believe it will start to matter in 8th and 9th grade. You have to get the baskets in. Being short isn't that advantageous in basketball. That said, I hear everyone loud and clear on the need to develop court IQ. I will keep encourageing my child to excel at shooting and defense and rebounds and work on dribbling. Opportunities will open for them.

This makes me think of my kid and another kid on his team who were both tall kids who stood under the basket in 5th grade.

My kid became obsessed with the idea of playing high school varsity ball at a very competitive school. He worked on shooting, defense and jumping (obsessively).

By 9th grade my kid was hitting threes, getting assists, blocking shots, jumping over kids for rebounds, and getting above the rim to tip in putbacks. The other kid was still standing under the basket boxing out for rebounds. My kid was a lot more successful, but as a sophomore had to spend hours and hours and hours learning to handle the ball better in order to keep progressing.

Don’t accept that your tall kid can’t be athletic. Don’t let your tall kid avoid learning to pass and handle the ball. Don’t let them avoid learning good shooting form.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really have not experienced this as the parent of a tall kid who plays by the basket. Yes, the coach has a short kid who plays guard but they rarely make any baskets and while this doesn't matter in 4th and 5th grade--I have to believe it will start to matter in 8th and 9th grade. You have to get the baskets in. Being short isn't that advantageous in basketball. That said, I hear everyone loud and clear on the need to develop court IQ. I will keep encourageing my child to excel at shooting and defense and rebounds and work on dribbling. Opportunities will open for them.

This makes me think of my kid and another kid on his team who were both tall kids who stood under the basket in 5th grade.

My kid became obsessed with the idea of playing high school varsity ball at a very competitive school. He worked on shooting, defense and jumping (obsessively).

By 9th grade my kid was hitting threes, getting assists, blocking shots, jumping over kids for rebounds, and getting above the rim to tip in putbacks. The other kid was still standing under the basket boxing out for rebounds. My kid was a lot more successful, but as a sophomore had to spend hours and hours and hours learning to handle the ball better in order to keep progressing.

Don’t accept that your tall kid can’t be athletic. Don’t let your tall kid avoid learning to pass and handle the ball. Don’t let them avoid learning good shooting form.

My kid is on a team where the coaches kid runs the point. He’s a good ball handler and shooter, but that’s about it. He won’t try to rebound and has the shoot first mentality. If another kid who is capable of pushing the ball in transition has it, this coach yells to give it to his son. When a kid who can score gets the ball by the basket, he yells to kick it out. And this kid plays absolutely no defense. None.

I understand this conversation too well. My sons team is living it this season. We will find a different team after this season.

[Anonymous]

My kid's team this season has a tall boy who is very skilled but slower than the other kids (the way boys often are before they hit puberty). The coach won't let him handle the ball on the court or shoot from the outside and insists he get the rebound/steal and immediately pass it off to the PG (his son! of course). Feel bad for that kid. Basketball isn't fun if you don't get to actually do any of the fun parts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid's team this season has a tall boy who is very skilled but slower than the other kids (the way boys often are before they hit puberty). The coach won't let him handle the ball on the court or shoot from the outside and insists he get the rebound/steal and immediately pass it off to the PG (his son! of course). Feel bad for that kid. Basketball isn't fun if you don't get to actually do any of the fun parts.

He needs to work on his speed obviously. You can't be slow in basketball. He's lucky he made the team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid's team this season has a tall boy who is very skilled but slower than the other kids (the way boys often are before they hit puberty). The coach won't let him handle the ball on the court or shoot from the outside and insists he get the rebound/steal and immediately pass it off to the PG (his son! of course). Feel bad for that kid. Basketball isn't fun if you don't get to actually do any of the fun parts.

He needs to work on his speed obviously. You can't be slow in basketball. He's lucky he made the team.

I have three teen boys and have coached for many years. Before they hit 12 or so, the taller, sturdier boys are slower. Those are the laws of physics and their kid level of muscle mass can't move their weight through space as quickly as the tiny skinny kids. Is there an insanely athletic kid who can be the exception to this rule? sure, of course. but In the pre-teen years its unfair to expect the same exact speed from a 5'5, 120 pound 10 year old as a 4'5, 60 pound 10 year old.