"Ball-Hogging" in Basketball - where do you side on this?

[Anonymous]

He's practicing a lot.....alone. He needs to start practicing how to be a team player. He's got a real skill deficit. Put it to him like that.

[Anonymous]

A ball hog can be a good player, but he will never be a team leader. At this age, learning about team work is more important than winning.

He needs to be playing his position and running the plays, not always running for the ball. The coach should be dealing with this.

[Anonymous]

I think both sides have something to learn. With the more passive one, I'd be trying to get him to be more aggressive at sports and for the ball hogger I'd be teaching him to be a better team player. Neither is ideal, and sports will help both.

[Anonymous]

My 10 year old plays AAU and we still have point guards that keep the ball too often but it's clearly a coaching issue at this level. As others have said, your son would benefit from a more competitive league. On thing that hasn't been touched on is how challenging it is for a competitive kid like son 1 to make the pass when he knows there is an 80% chance that the kid passes to will turn the ball over. It's a lot to ask for your son to do that regularly. Great if he can, but difficult to get there if he's really that much better than teammates. Move to AAU and he'll have teammates at his level. If he doesn't, keep looking for the right team until he does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Boy 1 plays aggressively and goes for the ball at every opportunity. He also scores a lot of points for the team. He is still learning the team aspect of the game, for example, how to better evaluate his position on the court and know when to pass when someone else could take a better shot. But he is still accused of being a "ball hog," which is apparently the worst criticism a 10 year old boy can give another boy on the team.

Is Boy 1 actually working on those skills? Or is he counting on being the winner, and thus doesn't need to learn to pass, evaluate openings, play as a member of a team instead of hot dogging? If you want your kid to become a better teammate, remind him that the fastest way to get the ball down court and into the basket is by passing. He can pass to a teammate, cut to the basket, and take the pass if the teammate can make it, or be ready to rebound if the teammate chose to try the shot. At young ages, a team with one good player can do well. The older the kids get the less that works. He should be learning how to be a team player. You can help him by giving him ideas for how to practice his weak areas.

Anonymous wrote:
Boy 2 has someone just like his brother on his team. When I watch those games, I see how annoying it is to the other kids when the "star" takes over and seemingly limits the others' ability to participate. But they all want to win, so they reluctantly adapt. Other parents have made snide comments about this kid and his "ball hogging," (there it is again) even though their sons (mine included in this case) are clearly inferior players.

The ball hog isn't seemingly limiting the other team members participation, he is limiting the others participation. It's a shame they've been taught that winning is important enough that they're willing to not play like they'd desire. They're sacrificing their learning and the ball hog is taking it from them. The ball hog is also limiting his ability to learn the game. The coach shouldn't allow it.

Inferior players are allowed to play. Sometimes the inferior players become the superior players the next year. That only happens if they're allowed to play and learn the skills.

My DS went from being one of the weaker players on his team when he was young to eventually wanting a higher level of play. He joined a team that required try-outs. He gets to play at a higher level. He is continuing learning how to play on a team as a teammate. But if a child chooses to continue playing on recreation level teams, that child agrees to play as a member of that team whether he's the best player or not. There are always ways to challenge even the best player in a field of mediocre players.

Anonymous wrote:
I get that the purpose of these leagues is for everyone to learn to play the game, but I also think that at 10/ 11 they are at the point where the skills of the better and more dedicated players are going to start coming through. And that should be encouraged, right?

One of the best players on my DS's first team actually helped him increase his skills. By mid-season the other teams had all figured that DS never touched the ball and wasn't a threat. The coach set up some plays between DS and this other kid which helped get the heat off the other kid and free him up for better shots, and helped my DS feel more comfortable catching and passing the ball. Occasionally even making shots. The kid knew he'd get the ball - he was the best player of course the kids on his team would throw him the ball. Increasing the ability of the team only made it a better game for everyone. That is how you encourage skills, not by letting someone try to win the game single-handedly.

If winning is everything, recreation leagues are not where your children should be playing. Recreation leagues should be more focused on developing good sportsmanship and the love of the sport, no matter how bad a player is.

You need to talk to Boy 1. He's being a poor teammate. And you need to encourage Boy 2 to play as hard as he can and not depend on the ball hog on his team; if he thinks he has a shot he should take it and not give it away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When a child becomes the "best player on the team" it is time for that player to move up to a team with similarly skilled players.

He will benefit from having to work himself up to the position of "best player on the team" and the kids on his current team will benefit from need to step up to the plate.

If only the travel coaches would us this litmus test. Sigh. It is way to easy for my kid and we want him to have the competition.

[Anonymous]

OP here, and thank you for the responses and comments. This is all new to us as these are our oldest kids, so starting to learn more about how all of these sports leagues work. The AAU idea is a good one that I hadn't thought of, although I can say that if it involves travel too far out of town, it's a no go. I cannot see driving 10 year olds all over creation just to play basketball!

I agree that this is primarily a coaching issue. If the coach thinks either of these situations is a problem, it's up to him to deal with it. I'm speaking as the parent who is sitting in the stands and interacting with other parents about how the kids are playing.

Also, I'm wondering if this is more of a mom issue than a dad issue? I know my DH's line: It's an aggressive world, and an aggressive sport and the kids who work the hardest will see the most ball time. That's the way it works, so get used to it.

[Anonymous]

Coach issue.

Not a peanut gallery issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, and thank you for the responses and comments. This is all new to us as these are our oldest kids, so starting to learn more about how all of these sports leagues work. The AAU idea is a good one that I hadn't thought of, although I can say that if it involves travel too far out of town, it's a no go. I cannot see driving 10 year olds all over creation just to play basketball!

I agree that this is primarily a coaching issue. If the coach thinks either of these situations is a problem, it's up to him to deal with it. I'm speaking as the parent who is sitting in the stands and interacting with other parents about how the kids are playing.

Also, I'm wondering if this is more of a mom issue than a dad issue? I know my DH's line: It's an aggressive world, and an aggressive sport and the kids who work the hardest will see the most ball time. That's the way it works, so get used to it.

Sure it's a coaching issue but you are on a rec team which means the coach probably is a volunteer and most likely sucks.

Your H is right, if you suck the kids will not pass the ball to you. But if you are a ball hog the players also won't pass you the ball because they know they won't get it back. It will also cause social issues for the ball hog because the kids won't like him. But it is an aggressive world out there and something your son will have to learn to deal with.

As for the travel situation, you may need to get out of your comfort zone. If he is average (in the AAU definition of average), travel will be minimal. If he is really good, travel will be more and farther.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When a child becomes the "best player on the team" it is time for that player to move up to a team with similarly skilled players.

He will benefit from having to work himself up to the position of "best player on the team" and the kids on his current team will benefit from need to step up to the plate.

If only the travel coaches would us this litmus test. Sigh. It is way to easy for my kid and we want him to have the competition.

Try out for a different team.

[Anonymous]

If you belong to a catholic church, you can also join the CYO league. They have an "A", "B", and "C" team divided up by skill level.

[Anonymous]

If they aren't playing travel, then they aren't on "competitive" teams. They are on rec teams.

[Anonymous]

Am I the only one who thinks OP completely fabricated the laid-back twin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think both sides have something to learn. With the more passive one, I'd be trying to get him to be more aggressive at sports and for the ball hogger I'd be teaching him to be a better team player. Neither is ideal, and sports will help both.

SAY WHAT???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who thinks OP completely fabricated the laid-back twin?

OP here, and sorry, he's as real as you are and FWIW, more like me. That's part of what is hard about this for me, because I'm more comfortable with his speed!