The final games are in the books, and the season is a wrap. Last weekend we played our final 2 basketball games for the 3/4th grade youth basketball. It was a struggle for a majority of the season, but I think the boys actually learned a little bit about how the game of basketball is supposed to be played.
I told them up front that I was not concerned as much with winning as I was with them learning some fundamentals of the game. Though winning is fun, and it is nice to instill that into the boys confidence, to me it is not the be all, end all.
The last 2 games I changed my focus for the kids. I really wanted to get them to understand the importance of Defense, and the proper way to play it. A lot of average offensive teams have won a ton of games by playing solid defense. I taught them to get down in a good defensive stance, and to keep their feet active. Defense is not meant to be played from a straight standing position. We really concentrated on it the last week and a half of practice.
Our first game was against Eddyville-Blakesburg. I had watched them play a couple times before and I had mixed feelings about them. In the first game I watched, they were completely blown out, but the second game I watched, they took it to the opponent. Our focus on Defense seemed to be working well in this game. We were up 12 - 6 at the half. We came out rolling in the second half and pulled away from them. We gave up a couple points at the end of the game, but ended up beating them 23-10.
The second game had us match up against Centerville again. I was really anticipating this game to see just how far we have come on the season. In the first week of games, we lost to Centerville 28-17, so I was anxious to see what we could do with a few more weeks of practice under our belt.
To say that this was a defensive struggle would be an understatement. neither team was letting each other get off too many good shots. We had a fair few good shots in the first half, but failed to get many of them to fall. We were down at the half 10-6. The second half was more of the same as each team struggled to get off many good shotswe trailed late in the game 12-8 before giving up an easy basket, and a foul to make the final 15-8. We ay not have won the game, but we really looked like an improved team this time around.
We finished 2-6 on the season, but had 3 other games that were pretty close. I think had we played defense the first 3 weeks like we did the last week, we would have finished 5-3, but that was not the case.
I had a lot of fun coaching the kids, and I look forward to doing it again next year.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Basketball - Week 3
Well, another week down, and another 2 losses. We played well this past weekend, but we came up on the short end of both games.
In the first game against Albia (White) I thought we really let some opportunities slip away. We match up well with this team, and I think on any given game, either team could win. We stayed right with them, and neither team had a lead bigger than 3 points. The halftime score had us trailing 12 - 10. We were a little shorthanded in that game with one boy that was sick, and another that got sick at the game. In the end, we weren't able to pull it out, and fell 20-17.
Our second game was against Albia (Blue). This is a pretty good team, that hasn't lost in league play yet. We really played hard against them. It was back and forth most of the the first quarter and a half. At that point, Jalen took a weird bouncing ball to the nose and had to exit the court . Midway through the second quarter, I had to go attend to Jalen since his nose bleed was not stopping. We were tied at half time 14-14 from what I was told. By the time we got Jalen's nose bleed under control, it was well into the 4th quarter and we were down 22-20 at that point. I think we simply ran out of gas. We were basically running the same 5 players all game and I know that had to wear those kids down. Final score 28-20.
This weekend we play our last 2 games of the year. First we play Eddyville-Blakesburg, then we finish up with Centerville. I look forward to the game against Centerville to see how much we have improved since the first week when we played them. Until next week.......
In the first game against Albia (White) I thought we really let some opportunities slip away. We match up well with this team, and I think on any given game, either team could win. We stayed right with them, and neither team had a lead bigger than 3 points. The halftime score had us trailing 12 - 10. We were a little shorthanded in that game with one boy that was sick, and another that got sick at the game. In the end, we weren't able to pull it out, and fell 20-17.
Our second game was against Albia (Blue). This is a pretty good team, that hasn't lost in league play yet. We really played hard against them. It was back and forth most of the the first quarter and a half. At that point, Jalen took a weird bouncing ball to the nose and had to exit the court . Midway through the second quarter, I had to go attend to Jalen since his nose bleed was not stopping. We were tied at half time 14-14 from what I was told. By the time we got Jalen's nose bleed under control, it was well into the 4th quarter and we were down 22-20 at that point. I think we simply ran out of gas. We were basically running the same 5 players all game and I know that had to wear those kids down. Final score 28-20.
This weekend we play our last 2 games of the year. First we play Eddyville-Blakesburg, then we finish up with Centerville. I look forward to the game against Centerville to see how much we have improved since the first week when we played them. Until next week.......
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Basketball results -- Week 2
Well, we did manage to get ourselves in the win column this morning, but we just didn't seem to be into the games this morning.
Our first game was against the Moravia Mohawks. You could tell from the beginning that we were the better team athletically. Moravia was not very big, and they struggled to get too many shots up on the rim. This was a game that we should have won by 25 or more points. We did a lot of things that make a coach want to pull his hair out. We didn't take care of the basketball well, and we made some dumb turnovers at bad times. We did manage to win the game 20-7, but it could have been much worse. We need to learn to take care of the ball, and to finish shots around the rim.
The second game, against Chariton, was U-G-L-Y!!!! We started out well, and held a 1 point lead after the first quarter, but after that we fell apart. Chariton really put it to us. They shot the ball until they made it. We failed to even try to rebound the basketball. We never got back on defense, and they would simply fast break us to death. I think that my boys were completely intimidated by them. Too many times I heard the kids talk about how big they were, and that they were all 4th graders. When we have that kind of attitude going in, it makes it even tougher to instill any confidence in the kids. The final score was 48-9, and frankly it could have been worse.
We know what we need to work on at this point, and we will get through it. All I want to see from the kids is improvement from this point on. Until next weekend...........Go Blue!!!!
Our first game was against the Moravia Mohawks. You could tell from the beginning that we were the better team athletically. Moravia was not very big, and they struggled to get too many shots up on the rim. This was a game that we should have won by 25 or more points. We did a lot of things that make a coach want to pull his hair out. We didn't take care of the basketball well, and we made some dumb turnovers at bad times. We did manage to win the game 20-7, but it could have been much worse. We need to learn to take care of the ball, and to finish shots around the rim.
The second game, against Chariton, was U-G-L-Y!!!! We started out well, and held a 1 point lead after the first quarter, but after that we fell apart. Chariton really put it to us. They shot the ball until they made it. We failed to even try to rebound the basketball. We never got back on defense, and they would simply fast break us to death. I think that my boys were completely intimidated by them. Too many times I heard the kids talk about how big they were, and that they were all 4th graders. When we have that kind of attitude going in, it makes it even tougher to instill any confidence in the kids. The final score was 48-9, and frankly it could have been worse.
We know what we need to work on at this point, and we will get through it. All I want to see from the kids is improvement from this point on. Until next weekend...........Go Blue!!!!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
First week of basketball down...
Clearly there is more to coaching basketball than meets the eye. After 3 weeks of practice, my 3rd/4th grade team hit the court for our first set of games last Saturday. To say it wasn't the best of results would be an understatement. We dropped both games over the weekend. It also didn't help when my starting point guard called me at 7:30 am on Saturday, and was sick, but those are the breaks.
In our first game, against Pleasantville, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from my team. I was working with the backup point guard, and that forced me to play a couple other boys out of position. I give the boys credit, they stayed in the game the whole way. We trailed 16-11 in the second half when I made a switch. I moved one of my forwards to the point and let him run things. We rattled off 6 straight points and took a 17-16 lead late in the game. A defensive breakdown lead to an easy basket for the Trojans, and we were unable to score down the stretch, losing 18-17.
In our Second game, we squared off against Centerville. This game wasn't near as close as the first one. We fell behind early, and seemed intimidated. We weren't running the offense, we weren't playing good defense at all, and we couldn't rebound to save our lives. We went into Halftime trailing 16-4. I was very disappointed, not with the score, but with how the boys were playing. Mike, my assisstant coach, and I got on them over halftime, and stressed that they needed to play better defense, and they really needed to rebound. Our pep talk must have done some good, because within the first 3 minutes of the second half, the boys played some of the best ball I have seen played by a team that age. we scored the first 6 points of the second half to close to within 16-10, but we had really dug ourselves too deep of a hole. We played much better in the second half though, which was encouraging, but still lost the game 28-17.
This week we have games in Moravia against Moravia, and Chariton. I look for use to win the game against Moravia, but I haven't seen Chariton play yet, so I am not sure what to expect from them.
In our first game, against Pleasantville, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from my team. I was working with the backup point guard, and that forced me to play a couple other boys out of position. I give the boys credit, they stayed in the game the whole way. We trailed 16-11 in the second half when I made a switch. I moved one of my forwards to the point and let him run things. We rattled off 6 straight points and took a 17-16 lead late in the game. A defensive breakdown lead to an easy basket for the Trojans, and we were unable to score down the stretch, losing 18-17.
In our Second game, we squared off against Centerville. This game wasn't near as close as the first one. We fell behind early, and seemed intimidated. We weren't running the offense, we weren't playing good defense at all, and we couldn't rebound to save our lives. We went into Halftime trailing 16-4. I was very disappointed, not with the score, but with how the boys were playing. Mike, my assisstant coach, and I got on them over halftime, and stressed that they needed to play better defense, and they really needed to rebound. Our pep talk must have done some good, because within the first 3 minutes of the second half, the boys played some of the best ball I have seen played by a team that age. we scored the first 6 points of the second half to close to within 16-10, but we had really dug ourselves too deep of a hole. We played much better in the second half though, which was encouraging, but still lost the game 28-17.
This week we have games in Moravia against Moravia, and Chariton. I look for use to win the game against Moravia, but I haven't seen Chariton play yet, so I am not sure what to expect from them.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Youth Basketball
Any one that knows me, knows that one of the things I enjoy most in life is coaching youth sports. I have coached soccer for the past 6 years, I have also coached flag football, Baseball, and now I am coaching basketball.
I started coaching basketball this year, as an assistant for a 3rd/4th grade team in a church league. I never considered basketball to be one of my strong points, as far as coaching went. I didn't really play much organized basketball when I was younger. Probably due to the fact that I was not all that tall, and didn't have the luxury of having a great spot to shoot hoops around the farm.
After the first couple of practices with the church team, I said to myself that I can do this. I have watched enough basketball in my life to know how to put together a simple motion offense. I understand the High post pick & roll, and I understand that the best scoring opportunities are to get the ball low on the block to your big men, and let them have free reign at the basket.
I requested a team for the City league we have and I was given the opportunity to coach for the first time. We have had 5 practices thus far, and I honestly think the boys are understanding what I am trying to teach them. At this age, it's really about the fundamentals, and understanding the flow of an offense, and where to be. We are not running anything too complicated, and we are basically working on getting the first steps down of each play. I have yet to get too deep in the plays. The boys understand the first movements, and the basic concept of where they are going. I think once the first games are done, we will know more about what we need to work on, and I will incorporate some further progressions to each play. Don't want to throw too much at them too quick.
We play our first games in the morning, and I am looking forward to getting them out there under fire, so to speak. I will try to update here on our progress over the next few weeks.
I started coaching basketball this year, as an assistant for a 3rd/4th grade team in a church league. I never considered basketball to be one of my strong points, as far as coaching went. I didn't really play much organized basketball when I was younger. Probably due to the fact that I was not all that tall, and didn't have the luxury of having a great spot to shoot hoops around the farm.
After the first couple of practices with the church team, I said to myself that I can do this. I have watched enough basketball in my life to know how to put together a simple motion offense. I understand the High post pick & roll, and I understand that the best scoring opportunities are to get the ball low on the block to your big men, and let them have free reign at the basket.
I requested a team for the City league we have and I was given the opportunity to coach for the first time. We have had 5 practices thus far, and I honestly think the boys are understanding what I am trying to teach them. At this age, it's really about the fundamentals, and understanding the flow of an offense, and where to be. We are not running anything too complicated, and we are basically working on getting the first steps down of each play. I have yet to get too deep in the plays. The boys understand the first movements, and the basic concept of where they are going. I think once the first games are done, we will know more about what we need to work on, and I will incorporate some further progressions to each play. Don't want to throw too much at them too quick.
We play our first games in the morning, and I am looking forward to getting them out there under fire, so to speak. I will try to update here on our progress over the next few weeks.
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