Help needed for coach trying to deal with parents

I coach a young girls basketball team. All my girls are super sweet
and love to play with great attitudes, but we have lost nearly every
game for two straight seasons. I only have two girls that can really
dribble the ball well enough to get far enough down the court in an
attempt to pass or shoot, so naturally they are the girls that get to
bring the balld own every quarter. A couple of the parents want me to
give their daughters a chance to bring the ball down even though their
daughters either can't dribble at all when faced with a defender or
they can't pass or shoot so they end up dribbling and dribbling until
they either dribble out of bounds or the ball is stolen.

I understand that the girls can't get better without the experience,
but if they can't even make it to half court, how are the other girls
supposed to get a chance to get experience too?

I didn't volunteer to coach because I wanted to win (although that
would be nice), so I want to make these parents happy, but I would also
like for my girls to have a chance to win one to help them feel proud
of themselves for a change.

How would some of you deal with this situation?

I will say one thing... the lack of an offense has made my girls
awesome at defense! :-)

On 14 Jul 2005 13:13:30 -0700, "Ninja67" wrote:

I understand that the girls can't get better without the experience,
but if they can't even make it to half court, how are the other girls
supposed to get a chance to get experience too?

What do you do at practice?


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

On 14 Jul 2005 13:13:30 -0700, "Ninja67" wrote:

I coach a young girls basketball team. All my girls are super sweet
and love to play with great attitudes, but we have lost nearly every
game for two straight seasons. I only have two girls that can really
dribble the ball well enough to get far enough down the court in an
attempt to pass or shoot, so naturally they are the girls that get to
bring the balld own every quarter. A couple of the parents want me to
give their daughters a chance to bring the ball down even though their
daughters either can't dribble at all when faced with a defender or
they can't pass or shoot so they end up dribbling and dribbling until
they either dribble out of bounds or the ball is stolen.

I understand that the girls can't get better without the experience,
but if they can't even make it to half court, how are the other girls
supposed to get a chance to get experience too?

I didn't volunteer to coach because I wanted to win (although that
would be nice), so I want to make these parents happy, but I would also
like for my girls to have a chance to win one to help them feel proud
of themselves for a change.

How would some of you deal with this situation?

I will say one thing... the lack of an offense has made my girls
awesome at defense! :-)

Do you not have a rule about everyone gettingat leat one full quarter
of playing time (or the equivalent) at that age.

Barb

Ninja67 wrote:
I coach a young girls basketball team. All my girls are super sweet
and love to play with great attitudes, but we have lost nearly every
game for two straight seasons. I only have two girls that can really
dribble the ball well enough to get far enough down the court in an
attempt to pass or shoot, so naturally they are the girls that get to
bring the balld own every quarter. A couple of the parents want me to
give their daughters a chance to bring the ball down even though their
daughters either can't dribble at all when faced with a defender or
they can't pass or shoot so they end up dribbling and dribbling until
they either dribble out of bounds or the ball is stolen.

I understand that the girls can't get better without the experience,
but if they can't even make it to half court, how are the other girls
supposed to get a chance to get experience too?

Does the team have practices? If so, you should definitely have the
weaker girls driving the ball downcourt at practice. They may surprise
you. One could barely dribble two feet his first year in basketball;
he was one of the stronger kids his second year. And even if they
don't surprise you, they're getting a chance.

In One's league, if the ball is inbounded in the other team's side,
you're free until half-court. So you could allow the weaker kids to
inbound and drive to half-court, passing to a stronger team member
before the line.

You could also alternate. Your two strongest girls could take the ball
downcourt more often, while still giving the other girls the
opporutnity.

Finally, you could ask the girls how they feel about it. It may be
that some of the weaker girls don't want this role, no matter how their
parents feel. In One's softball league, for example, there's a rule
about all kids rotating through all positions. But some of the kids
were frightened about playing first or catcher. What's the point of
forcing them?

Barbara

Barbara Bomberger wrote:
On 14 Jul 2005 13:13:30 -0700, "Ninja67" wrote:

I coach a young girls basketball team. All my girls are super sweet
and love to play with great attitudes, but we have lost nearly every
game for two straight seasons. I only have two girls that can really
dribble the ball well enough to get far enough down the court in an
attempt to pass or shoot, so naturally they are the girls that get to
bring the balld own every quarter. A couple of the parents want me to
give their daughters a chance to bring the ball down even though their
daughters either can't dribble at all when faced with a defender or
they can't pass or shoot so they end up dribbling and dribbling until
they either dribble out of bounds or the ball is stolen.

I understand that the girls can't get better without the experience,
but if they can't even make it to half court, how are the other girls
supposed to get a chance to get experience too?

I didn't volunteer to coach because I wanted to win (although that
would be nice), so I want to make these parents happy, but I would also
like for my girls to have a chance to win one to help them feel proud
of themselves for a change.

How would some of you deal with this situation?

I will say one thing... the lack of an offense has made my girls
awesome at defense! :-)

Do you not have a rule about everyone gettingat leat one full quarter
of playing time (or the equivalent) at that age.

Barb

Yes. Every girl plays a minimum of 2 quarters. I have 9 girls, so
there are always 2 that play 3 quarters. Although the rules state that
I could always pick two of my best girls to play those 3 quarters, I do
not believe that is fair. I rotate each game so that all the girls get
to play 3 quarters at least a couple of times during the season.

Barbara wrote:
Ninja67 wrote:
I coach a young girls basketball team. All my girls are super sweet
and love to play with great attitudes, but we have lost nearly every
game for two straight seasons. I only have two girls that can really
dribble the ball well enough to get far enough down the court in an
attempt to pass or shoot, so naturally they are the girls that get to
bring the balld own every quarter. A couple of the parents want me to
give their daughters a chance to bring the ball down even though their
daughters either can't dribble at all when faced with a defender or
they can't pass or shoot so they end up dribbling and dribbling until
they either dribble out of bounds or the ball is stolen.

I understand that the girls can't get better without the experience,
but if they can't even make it to half court, how are the other girls
supposed to get a chance to get experience too?

Does the team have practices? If so, you should definitely have the
weaker girls driving the ball downcourt at practice. They may surprise

We have two games per week and only one practice. The practice is 50
minutes long and often my weakest players arrive late or not at all. I
don't spend a lot of focused time on dribbling. I believe that my job
is to teach the girls the game of basketball, to give them team playing
experience, get them to improve themselves, and above all to have a
good time. So far all of the girls have expressed that they love it
even the ones that are totally clueless on the court. If a child (or
their parent) wants to have the ball handling skills that it takes to
be a point guard, they will probably have to practice quite a bit on
their own. These are 1st and 2nd graders and 5 of the 9 have never
played basketball before.

you. One could barely dribble two feet his first year in basketball;
he was one of the stronger kids his second year. And even if they
don't surprise you, they're getting a chance.

I have seen all the girls improve greatly through the season, but not
necessarily enough to be a point guard. Like football, all the kids
get better, but that doesn't mean they are all ready to be a
quarterback. This is our second season (for 4 of the girls). The two
girls that bring the ball down NEVER brought the ball down last season
because they weren't ready. I lost the two girls that brought it down
last season due to their ages (had to move up to a higher league).
Fortunately, an entire season of playing and practice prepared two of
the other girls for the point position. It's no coincidence that those
are also the players whose dads play ball with them in the driveway on
a frequent basis.


In One's league, if the ball is inbounded in the other team's side,
you're free until half-court. So you could allow the weaker kids to
inbound and drive to half-court, passing to a stronger team member
before the line.

You could also alternate. Your two strongest girls could take the ball
downcourt more often, while still giving the other girls the
opporutnity.

I think I may have a solution. First, I'm holding a special practice
this weekend with only 4 of the girls so that I can give more attention
to the weaker players. I will have them dribble pretty much the whole
time and then put a defender on them. Most girls can dribble well
enough when no one is trying to steal the ball, but as soon as you put
someone in front of them, many crumble. When game time comes, I will
allow my normal strong players to bring the ball down. Nearly every
team has its share of weaker players, so the coach will see which
players of mine do not seem to be a factor. Then the next quarter that
I play those weaker players whose parents want to bring the ball down,
I will let them do it. Hopefully, the other coach will have matched
his weaker players against mine which should give my girls a bit more
of a chance to actually successfully bring the ball down.

I do have some mixed feelings about this though. If the girls get the
ball stolen or throw it away every time how will that help their
self-esteem? I have 4 other girls on the court that probably won't
ever get to play offense if the ball is always stolen. How will that
help them improve? And I'll have the parents and grandparents of 8
other children in the bleachers wondering what in God's name I am
doing. And lastly, I already volunteer 3 of my nights each week for
these girls. I don't want to spend every one of my weekends focused on
other people's children and neglecting my own. These parents need to
work with their own children if they want them to become team leaders.

Finally, you could ask the girls how they feel about it. It may be
that some of the weaker girls don't want this role, no matter how their
parents feel. In One's softball league, for example, there's a rule
about all kids rotating through all positions. But some of the kids
were frightened about playing first or catcher. What's the point of
forcing them?

I have talked to them. One of the girls would bring it down every time
if I let her. In fact, she often brings it down even when I tell her
not to. Unfortunately the ball is always stolen from her or she
dribbles out of bounds. She refuses to pass it or shoot it. The other
2 girls don't talk. They are just the type of girls that are so timid
that they never utter a word. Even when I force them to acknowledge
that they heard what I said, they barely speak above a whisper. They
play the same way... afraid of the ball and the other girls.

Right now I'm really envious of soccer coaches. There's not just one
lead position in soccer... put a bunch of girls in the game and tell
them to all kick the ball. That sure sounds a lot easier than
basketball. :-)

Hi --

I'm compiling advice based on the good (and not so good) coaches that my
boys had for various sports in 1st and 2nd grades. The general theme is
that the coaches who paid attention to doing well in the conventional
sense (sinking baskets, scoring goals) struck me as not being great
coaches; the ones who sought out each child's strengths and built a
complete player from what was often a tiny beginning had happy teams
which improved over time. That said ...

I'd ignore the parents completely, but also rotate ALL the girls through
all the positions. Also, I'd keep the positions simpler: offense and
defense, NOTHING else for 1st and 2nd graders.

After each practice and game, tell each girl what she did well, or what
skill is improving. That's the way to keep up self-esteem! Sinking
baskets doesn't have to be the only important thing the team does!
Also, have each girl assigned a teamate to COMPLIMENT. So Sarah has to
look out for something good that Jane does, and Jane has to look for
something good that Zoe does, etc. This is especially important when
the girls are rotated out during play.

Practices, even just once a week, are very important for
skill-building. Do relay races, partner games, etc. that focus on basic
skills.

FInally, if you have girls who are routinely late to or absent for
practices, talk with their parents! The parents need to know that it's
not fair TO THE GIRLS (just as missing games is unfair to the team).
But don't penalize the girls for not getting there, even though their
skills aren't so hot.

You might also talk with other coaches about how they approach the
Keystone Kops playing skills of 6 and 7 year olds.

My two cents,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

Ninja67 wrote:

We have two games per week and only one practice. The practice is 50
minutes long and often my weakest players arrive late or not at all. I
don't spend a lot of focused time on dribbling. I believe that my job
is to teach the girls the game of basketball, to give them team playing
experience, get them to improve themselves, and above all to have a
good time. So far all of the girls have expressed that they love it
even the ones that are totally clueless on the court. If a child (or
their parent) wants to have the ball handling skills that it takes to
be a point guard, they will probably have to practice quite a bit on
their own. These are 1st and 2nd graders and 5 of the 9 have never
played basketball before.

I think that working on skills is *most* important
when they're beginners! They can't learn to function as a team
well if they have to focus all their concentration on individual
skills. In my experience (as a parent of kids who've been beginners
in a few different sports), the approach around here that seems
pretty successful is focus on skills in the beginning, and make
the gameplay easier by having a limited set of rules. As the kids
get older and more experienced, more of the rules and teamplay
comes into focus, both in the games and in practices. Without
the skills, though, there's nowhere to go.

I think I may have a solution. First, I'm holding a special practice
this weekend with only 4 of the girls so that I can give more attention
to the weaker players.

Whoa, I think that's likely to backfire on you. I doubt you
have *any* team members who wouldn't improve with a bit of practice,
and singling out these four players shines a big ol' light on their
lack of skills. Plus, you want them working *with* the kids with
better skills, so they have a good example to follow that is closer
to their ability level.

I do have some mixed feelings about this though. If the girls get the
ball stolen or throw it away every time how will that help their
self-esteem?

If they practice their skills, they will get *better* and
that will improve their self-esteem. If they are practicing their
skills and not getting better, then you need some new tactics for
teaching them.

I have 4 other girls on the court that probably won't
ever get to play offense if the ball is always stolen. How will that
help them improve? And I'll have the parents and grandparents of 8
other children in the bleachers wondering what in God's name I am
doing. And lastly, I already volunteer 3 of my nights each week for
these girls. I don't want to spend every one of my weekends focused on
other people's children and neglecting my own.

Perhaps you can get more mileage out of the practice you
have by tweaking how and where you spend your time. Perhaps you
could get in a few extra minutes of practicing by meeting a bit
ahead of the games and doing some warm-ups and drills without
having to call and additional separate practice. (And frankly,
two games with only one practice sounds a bit excessive to me,
but I imagine you don't have any control over that. Our youth
basketball doesn't move to multiple games per week until the
kids are several years older.)

These parents need to
work with their own children if they want them to become team leaders.

If you want to encourage a bit more practice on their own,
give them some drills they can do on their own to improve their
skills. Offer up a challenge--e.g., one of our boy's soccer coach
had a prize for any kid who could bounce the ball foot-knee-head-knee.

Right now I'm really envious of soccer coaches. There's not just one
lead position in soccer... put a bunch of girls in the game and tell
them to all kick the ball. That sure sounds a lot easier than
basketball. :-)

Nah, there are similar issues with soccer too.

Best wishes,
Ericka

On 15 Jul 2005 08:39:46 -0700, "Ninja67" wrote:

Right now I'm really envious of soccer coaches. There's not just one
lead position in soccer... put a bunch of girls in the game and tell
them to all kick the ball. That sure sounds a lot easier than
basketball. :-)

Obviously, you have never coached soccer.

It's no easier than basketball and ball handling drills with feet
may be harder than using hands to do this.

You don't teach soccer by putting the girls in and telling them to
kick the ball anymore than you can teach basketball by putting
girls in and telling them to dribble and shoot the ball.

You do need to have the kids do some drills during practice to
get their confidence up that they can dribble as well as teaching
them that guarding and rebounding are as important as bringing
the ball down and shooting baskets.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 13:08:51 -0400, Ericka Kammerer
wrote:

These parents need to
work with their own children if they want them to become team leaders.

If you want to encourage a bit more practice on their own,
give them some drills they can do on their own to improve their
skills. Offer up a challenge--e.g., one of our boy's soccer coach
had a prize for any kid who could bounce the ball foot-knee-head-knee

My sons soccer camp had a prize for being able to juggle the ball the
most times as well.

For basketball it could be for bouncing the ball without dropping it
a certain number of times, I would think.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits