Game Management

At the higher levels, your game coaching is often dictated by what you have achieved in your training sessions. With juniors, a great deal of teaching and learning is achieved through the actual game. We will discuss various aspects of coaching a junior basketball game.

Referees & Scorers Table

Be aware that many referees on these games, particularly at the lower levels, are just starting out and, not unlike your players, are bound to make mistakes! As a coach you have to be aware of the bigger picture; taking advantage of beginner referees with intimidation is very unethical, remonstrating with them takes your attention away from what you are there for (to facilitate a fun, learning experience for the players) and openly criticizing them will continue to drive referees away from the game - no referees = no game! Regardless of what level we play at, everybody makes mistakes; players, coaches and officials. If you have a genuine complaint, address it through the appropriate channels (ref supervisors, court controllers, committees, etc). If not, concentrate on what you have control over - yourself and the behavior and performance of your athletes.

The scorers bench is often manned by parents, siblings or other players who, not unlike you, are there to help the players. Treat them with respect, instruct your players to do the same. Ask politely for subs and time-out. Again if an error has been made, jumping up and down is unlikely to help your cause!

Practice to Play

Make sure there is a clear link from practice to the game. Identify what you have been working on in practice prior to the start of the game, reinforce the "why of the how", so if and when that situation arises in the game, it may cue the correct reaction e.g. "Remember at practice we worked on protecting the ball, so if they are trying to get the ball off you, keep one foot still and pivot."

Avenues of Learning

Talk to the substitutions about why events are happening so they can learn from observing. Berating players will not necessarily stop them from committing the same mistake again and again. Establish that they realize what happened was incorrect and provide a solution. If the situation arises and they show progress, acknowledge it with positive feedback. Allow players to make decisions. If you coach every action, they won't develop their 'game sense'. Facilitate this with questions and opportunities to improve.

It is very important that when we coach that we let our own personality dictate how we behave. No doubt we have all observed the variety of coaches in our NCAA/NBA/WNBA coaches, don't imitate them, be yourself and be aware that you are coaching very different athletes to them! Stay active throughout, again regardless of the score and always remember you are coaching a game - provide a positive and fun learning environment!

Special Situation Preparation

Close games become a way of life for coaches and teams on all levels. Successful teams are prepared for end of the game situations. It is often this five or ten minutes a day which coaches spend on end of the game situations that makes the difference between a district title, a berth in the state tournament or a disappointing trip home. It is very important to not assume that your players know what to do! Try to work on special situations every day. Then when those "special situations" come up in a game they are not so "special" - but are routine.

Here are some questions all coaches should ask themselves. The answers will vary according to your personal philosophy and your team’s strengths.

• Do you push the ball and play or call a timeout to set up the last shot? How do you intentionally miss a free throw?
• With a three-point lead, do you want to foul before a three-point shot is taken?
• Do your players know when to foul?
• Do you have a sign or call so your players know to foul without alerting the other team?
• When do you start taking 3’s in order to catch up?
• Do you have a hurry- up offense designed to get you quality shots in less time?
• Do you save your timeouts or do you use them early to keep your kids in the game?
• Do you have last second plays for each time and score?
• Do you have your list of special situation plays on the bench with you so you can refer to them in pressure situations?

When Your Team Is Shooting

1) Be as far UP in your rebounding lane as allowed so you are as far AWAY from the player blocking you out as possible.

2) If the player blocking you out steps straight in - try to ride him under the basket

3) If the player steps at an angle or into you - fake middle and swim to the outside, going behind the block out and try to get beside the block out.

4) The two offensive rebounders can also try to employ a "crossing action". This may allow them to avoid a good block out and create some confusion or congestion that makes blocking out difficult. That slight edge may enable the offensive rebounder to get possession, or at least get a hand on the ball.

5) With the relatively recent change to only allowing TWO offensive rebounders (which I really don’t like) don’t simply waste your other two players and have them simply stand back. Instead, involve them in a possession strategy. Have them on the 3pt line on either side of the FT shooter. If an opponent stands by ONE player, then that player rotates deep and the other player stays on the 3 pt line. If the rebounders cannot secure an offensive rebound then try to tip to their teammate for a shot or a regained possession.

Coming From Behind Late in the Game

There comes a time in a game when you look up at the scoreboard and realize that the score has gotten so out of hand that you need to do something different to close the gap. How drastic a team must alter their style of play when trailing late in the game is determined by a number of factors including the deficit, your rate of scoring, whether there is a shot clock, and time left on the clock, among others. It is important to play good basketball rather than simply playing faster and taking quicker bad shots. Regardless of the above circumstances, the single most important aspect is to PLAY DEFENSE!


Comebacks are fueled by getting stops on defense. It is tough to narrow the score when you simply trade baskets. All of these methods need to be practiced, along with any special last minute plays, so that the players are prepared for the situation. This preparation will also give the players the confidence that they have the ability to comeback, even against the longest of odds.

Save Time on Offense

When you are behind late in the contest, you need to be thinking of ways to extend the game. To do that use strategies to create more possessions. You may need to play a little faster than usual. This does not mean that you play out of control, but rather with a greater sense of urgency. Every second that you save may be the crucial second that you need to make that last second shot. You should pass or dribble up the court quickly, rather than walking the basketball up the floor. It is not always necessary to take quick perimeter shots. Instead, drive to the basket and make the opponent defend. Their coach has probably been telling them not to foul. You may get quick and easy scores and if they do foul, you can put points on the board while the clock is stopped.



After made baskets by the opponent, get the ball back inbounds quickly. On throw-ins when the clock is stopped, if there is no defense, let the ball roll up the court (since the clock does not start until the ball is touched). The more often that you can stop the clock the better. Score and call time out. Substitute after your free throws to set your defense. When the opponent is taking their time getting the ball in, coaches can use time outs after made baskets to stop the clock.

Create More Possessions on Offense

Crash the offensive boards. Turn up the heat defensively. Force them to play a quicker pace with your defense. Depending upon the point differential, you may need to just get a few stops or you may need to create some turnovers and gamble for some steals. Either way, remember it is usually defense that triggers a comeback.

Late Game "Foul Mode"

If the other team has a poor free throw shooter, think about fouling to force them to shoot from the line in hopes that they miss. Even if they make both, you are in the same boat as if they had scored, but you have at least saved the time of the whole possession. This stage should not be entered too soon, but at some point you will recognize that the opponent is taking too much time during their possessions to allow you enough time to come back.

Once you are in this "foul mode" and you are going to foul anyway, so don’t wait for too much time to run off of the clock. If you score give your pressure defense a chance to steal a pass or two, and then foul. Once it gets really late in the game and every second matters, then foul immediately upon the inbounds pass. At this stage in the game when your team misses a shot go for every offensive rebound with the intent to get the rebound at all costs. If you foul, you were going to do that anyway and you’ll stop the clock immediately. You’ll be surprised at how many offensive rebounds the team gets and the official does not call the foul.

Calling Plays

Basketball is not rocket science, but as coaches we need to take our teaching of our chosen subject matter much more seriously if we expect the game to continue to grow. Instead, due to the "willy nilly" approach that many take, we have players running around with no respect for the basketball, turning the ball over and taking bad shots that lead to the type of offensive performances that we are seeing in the NBA today. Clearly, no one in education ( which all coaches are) can argue that if there is some "organization" to calling a play it will be easier to remember than if the call has no "rhyme or reason". Hence all the memorization strategies that teachers go thru to help their students learn in a variety of subjects. Acronyms, rhymes, mnemonic devices, etc. are all methods of memorizing.

Develop a consistent method to calling offensive plays and defensive attacks. Use colors, numbers, hand signals, or names - but make them make sense to the player. Random mascots, colleges or animals are difficult to remember and differentiate one play from another. Whether you choose names, colors or numbers to signal in plays you should attempt to make them consistent and meaningful. Choose names that are descriptive or symbolic of the play, such as "split" for a play that "splits the post", "4 Out" for a play that has four players out on the perimeter", or "Red" for a stall offense that slows you down or stops early shots. Come up with a system that HELPS the player remember, not just one that they have to remember.

As players get older and become more serious about being the best that they can be, I think that we need to follow baseball’s lead. I’m convinced that the increased offensive performance has more to do with the "Science of Hitting" than it does with the more popular theories of: diluted pitching, corked bats, "juiced" baseballs, or performance enhancing drugs.

In basketball, we need to take the same approach with respect to fundamentals, techniques, spacing, passing angles, defensive coverage, scouting, and play calls if we expect our game to thrive in the 21st century.

Mismatch Etiquette

Coaches should try to schedule games against teams that will present somewhat of a challenge. While padding the schedule with wins may seem attractive, playing teams of inferior talent will actually hinder a teams development. However, many times in preseason tournaments obvious mismatches between two teams occur. The tough thing for coaches in this situation is figuring out a way for their team to get everything out of the game that they can, without humiliating the opponent.

Coaches, in the 1st half - do your thing, play your game, anything goes. If the lead starts to get real big, your regulars may not be benefiting anyway, so play your substitutes a little more. Mix up some lineups and play a couple of subs with the starters. You may find a diamond in the rough. Try a player at a different position. You may get a pleasant surprise.

If the team you're playing against is not as talented, it's still important to play your best. Do not drop your level of play simply to defeat the opponent. Encourage your team to constantly compete against their personal best every time out on the court. In the second half of the game (or at least the 4th quarter) play everyone and don’t press. What kind of work are you really getting against that type of inferior competition?

Don’t get steals and shoot uncontested layups. Do that in layup lines. Pull it out and work on some sort of continuity that will help you run out the last possession of a game when you have a one point lead. Or better yet imagine that it’s tied with 35 seconds to go and you want to take the last shot.

Play a tight zone as if you need to stop some big post player or a team that can’t shoot outside. Don’t deny passes and get steals in the half court either. Play a tight defense demand a block out and rebound - then WALK IT UP!

It is great to win by 15-20. It is a safe enough lead not to blow it in the last couple of minutes and big enough to get all subs in the game. It does not demoralize the opponent and lets you work on the parts of the game that you need to improve to beat the good teams. Who cares what you do against the bad ones, you’ll beat them anyway! Practice what you need to do to beat the best.

When You Are Shooting Free Throws

1) Be as far UP in your individual rebounding lane as allowed so you are as CLOSE to the next rebounder as possible.

2) Start with your feet very close together and your knees bent. This will allow you to take the farthest step possible into the lane.

3) We start with our hands down and raise them as the shooter shoots so we are consistent with our rule "shot goes up - hands go up"

4) Step with the foot closest to the shooter directly at the midpoint of the FT line. Create some space between you and the basket, make and maintain contact with the opponent that you are assigned to block out. Too many players step straight in and end up with a bad rebounding angle. Keep your hands up with your upper arms parallel with the floor. This will make you big, wide and hard to get around.

5) Make sure that you account for the free throw shooter and block him out, as well.

6) If a player in the 3rd spot up the lane does not have anyone to block out, he should then move DOWN the rebounding lane and be as CLOSE as possible to the player below him. When the shot goes up that player can then "pinch down", along with his underneath teammate who is blocking out the offensive rebounder.

The Free Throw Blockout -A Possession Strategy

The free throw lane (key) is divided by a number hash marks that mark where players are allowed to stand. the mark closest to the basket is a larger rectangle called the "block". Free throw rebounding rules are different by level. Some levels allow the 1st rebounder to be above the block, some may be on the block, while some levels require the rebounder to be below the block. The team not shooting must fill the 1st position and the teams are allowed to alternate, every other player, until it reaches the number of rebounders allowed per level of play. The trend is to limit the number of players and move them up the lane to minimize the physical play on rebounds. Different levels designate when the rebounders are to enter the lane, some when the ball leaves the shooters hand and others when the ball hits the rim. It is imperative to be aware of the specific rules at your level of play. In any case, there are certain strategies that can be employed to allow your team to secure the rebound, regardless of whether your team is shooting or not.

Substitutions

The more you become aware of your players strengths, look to make sure you have a balanced group on the court at all times, basically have a player who can secure possession (a defender/s and/or rebounders) and someone who can get the ball down the floor safely (a handler and/or scorer). Leaving weaker players on the floor with nobody to help them will not help your team or those players.

Give players feedback before and after subbing. Again the sandwich technique; a constructive criticism wrapped between two positive feedback statements, is good for this, e.g. "Nice effort Danielle, try and work on keeping your head up, it will be easier to pass because you can see your teammates and where the defense is coming from. When you did that you threw some great passes! Well done, have a rest and a drink now."

Court Time

If they all pay the same amount of money and train the same amount of time, then they all get the same court time! Players notice everything so rotate the starting five from game to game. Give different players a chance in the jump ball (for some reason this is important to them!), carrying the ball, in-bounding, etc. Rotate the five that finish games.