Mailbag!

  Welcome to this week's mailbag edition! We’ve received some great questions and comments on our recent articles and content lately.  I hope you enjoy, and I’m wishing you and your families a great 2024!  NEW Coaching Articles, Plays, Drills & Videos (ALL Age Levels):  [Reduce Parent & Player Conflicts - 13 Tips For Midseason Interviews](  [3 Zoom Offense Drills - Improve Unselfishness and Ball Movement Off Dribble Penetration](  [A Breakdown of the No Middle Defense and Why It Works! How It Creates Easier Defensive Rotations and Forces Difficult Passes](  [A Common Mistake Coaches Make - Do Your Defensive Tactics Complement Each Other? Are They Synergistic?](  [Weird Defensive Tip To Keep Players Out Of The Paint - The Power Of Visual Aids For Defense](  [Iowa State Cyclones SLOB: Diagonal Screen > Fake DHO > Flare](  [Pistol Set Vs. Zoom Set - What’s the Difference?]( NEW YOUTH Coaching Articles, Drills, & Videos:  Note: Much of the advice and drills below can also be applied to teams with 14-22 year olds, except the first Q&A article. You just ignore some of the advice specific to young kids.  [Q&A Youth Basketball - Age-Appropriate Leagues, Zone Defense, Offensive Tips, Lack of Continuity, and More](  [2v2 and 3v3 Offense Drills For Dribble Drives and Movements Off the Ball](  [1v1 Foster Drill - A Dribbling Drill I Use Every Other Practice and Mistakes I Made That You Can Avoid](  [Youth Offense - This "Dribble Adjustment" Led To Big Offensive Improvements](  [15 Practice Drills For Youth Basketball (Older Teams Can Use Too)](   Shoutout - Coach Nate Steege’s Team Beats #1 Ranked Team On The Road By 27 Points!  Nate Steege’s team and [his Zoom offense]( continue to succeed at the highest level! They just knocked off the #1 ranked team in the state,on the road, 84-57. They have now won 8 in a row and are ranked #3 in the state.  It’s always great to see our Breakthrough Basketball teams succeeding, especially after seeing all the hard work Coach Steege put into not only developing his team but also sharing his knowledge with the rest of our community in [his new Zoom Offense training product.Â](   Today’s Mailbag  Subscriber Question About Keeping Players From Losing Interest:  What should I do if my 7-8th grade park and recreation basketball team is getting beat 40 points or more every game. The other teams are more skillful and taller than my team. We have 8 more games left for this season. It looks like they just give up after 20 points and they get angry and frustrated. We already incorporate some fun games at practice.Should I contact the parks and recreation and ask if they have a mercy rule? I need some ideas to keep the kids playing basketball and not quit. They look like they like practice more than the games.  Joe Haefner’s Response:  This is a tough one! And it does depend on your situation.   First, I would set mini goals.  Can we get 10 offensive rebounds a game?  Can we prevent the opponent from getting more than 5 offensive rebounds per game?  Can we have less than 15 turnovers?  Can we take 20 good shots per game?  Can we take 15 lay ups per game?  These are just a few examples. I would just pick a few that you can track and that are attainable. You do want them to be challenged, yet have the goals be attainable.  Second, check yourself. Are you getting frustrated?  I know that I’ve personally gotten frustrated in the past when we are losing.  The kids can sense this and start to get frustrated with themselves.  As a coach, we need to focus entirely on the process.  Are the kids playing hard? Praise effort!  Are the kids playing unselfishly? Are they trying to pass to open teammates?  Praise the fact that they’re trying to pass to somebody… even if it’s a turnover!  It might sound counter-intuitive, but I also want my players to be assertive and play with conviction, so I don’t care if they make mistakes. I know with time, they’ll make less and less mistakes if I encourage them to be aggressive.  This reduction of their “fear of failure” can be quite liberating and benefits them tremendously in the long run.  Third, I would contact the league administrator.  Tell them your concerns. You don’t want the kids to quit because they’re getting beat handily every single game. The league administrator should be concerned about this too! Less participants = less revenue for the program.  They should be open to discussions of potential solutions.  Maybe it just means turning off the scoreboard when you’re losing by 20+ points.  Now, to the coaching aspects of this.  If I have enough practice time, I’m spending a little extra time on [man-to-man defense]( I’m getting really good, so we can compete with these teams. If we’re shorter in stature, I might also pick them 3/4 court.   You might also try forcing the opposing team to team their left hand and implement a [Man Left Defense strategy like Rob Brost’s](.  Now, longtime subscribers might gasp when I say this, but you might also consider a 2-3 zone defense. This is one of those VERY FEW special situations where I might do this.  Personally, I feel like I could implement a good man to man defense and get my teams competing better. But I’ve also coached for 20+ seasons and spend most of my day immersed in coaching. And I have to recognize that not everybody has that same skill set or experience.  During practice, I’d still focus on man to man defense. You might spend 20 minutes implementing the 2-3 zone defense and 5-10 minutes reviewing each practice. Do the bare minimum… you don’t want this to get in the way of their development! However, in games, you might utilize it more to give your team a chance at some success. Getting beat every game by 20-40 points can be demoralizing no matter what you do.  I hope these ideas help! And if anybody has more ideas, please share and we’ll post them in the mailbag. Subscriber Question About Alternating Ball-Handlers:  I like to have the kids play keep away without dribbling as a way to teach them to cut, move off the ball, and look for teammates before you receive the ball. Would you recommend devoting any practice time to teaching specific cuts? To screening? I don't want to bore the kids with details. In our games, we play six periods - four minutes each. I think the league is run like that to ensure (relatively) equal playing time, which is great. A lot of teams seem to have one or two designated point guards, but I don't want to hold kids back from a chance to play point guard for some periods here and there if they're interested. What would you advise on this? I think it comes down to making it clear to the parents that we're doing that, and urging the point guards to look for teammates to pass to. I appreciate any feedback you can give me!  Joe Haefner’s Response:  I like your thinking with this.  We might even play in the same league. That sounds a lot like Upward Sports.  Personally, I alternate ball handlers all of the time. I want everybody handling the ball. For my weaker/less confident players, that means getting them to take a few dribbles down the court and pass to a better ball handler prior to half court, that’s a WIN!  I also communicate this ahead of time to parents. I tell them my focus is on development, not winning. I said the player will play to win, but I will coach to develop. That means we won’t win by as much and we’ll lose a few more games… and that’s okay!  As for cutting and offense, I teach this at first:  - Spacing: Cut to open space. The more space you have, the more area the defense has to cover. I will also visually show them this on the court to drive home this concept. When you’re together, one defender can guard both of you and there are fewer gaps to drive.  - Pass and move: I teach cutting at first, but I allow them to screen if they’d like.  I will add the caveat, it is also to pass and stand still if it’s wide open.  Defender steps near 3-point line, cut backdoor. I don’t want my players hovering. And I don’t want them drifting to half court.. No more than a few feet past the 3-point line.  A defender shows the back of their jersey or head to you, cut backdoor to basket.  If the ball handler is dribbling towards you, cut backdoor.  From there, I might teach some about screening. However, in our shortened season, I don’t bother. You can only do so much.  Now, it still is chaotic and messy, but just keep reminding them those concepts and they’ll figure it out.  These articles (also listed at top of email) cover this in more detail:  [Youth Offense - This "Dribble Adjustment" Led To Big Offensive Improvements](  [1v1 Foster Drill - A Dribbling Drill I Use Every Other Practice and Mistakes I Made That You Can Avoid](  [2v2 and 3v3 Offense Drills For Dribble Drives and Movements Off the Ball](  Subscriber Comment About [This Article on “Dribble Adjustments” for 8-11 year olds](   This article was just what I needed! I coach a 3rd grade boys team, and about half the kids have never played basketball before. The other teams in our league pick up the defense right at half court, and we have a hard time getting anything started, for the reasons discussed in this article (not strong enough to make the pass, not skilled enough at ballhanding to even see the open guy, etc). I will try having the wing basket cut and fill to the opposite side, as suggested, and get the kids to aggressively drive to the hoop.  Subscribe Comment About [This Article on Midseason Player Interviews](  This is a very helpful article. We are often on the back foot when players request a meeting and go straight to the stats sheet to prove by numbers. I also find it helpful to have players bring their script, if they find it hard to talk as in a discussion, they may feel comfortable reading their thoughts. If a player wants to bring a parent I allow them to bring one but only as an advocate with strict rules about who speaks. It can feel like stepping into the abyss for a young coach but like any skill it takes practice and it is constructive and rewarding for both player and coach. Players want trust and honesty. Many thanks for this!  Breakthrough Basketball Camp Update - First Summer Camp Already Sold Out!  Last week, we officially launched our [2024 Spring & Summer Breakthrough Basketball camps,]( and we’ve already had the most amount of sign-ups ever during the first week of the announcement!  In fact, our first summer camp of the 2024 season recently sold out in Mansfield, Pennsylvania!  So if you want to make sure you secure a spot before any other camps sell out, [click here to register]( for one of our 400+ camps all across North America.  Recent Product Reviews & Feedback Below are a few recent reviews we’ve received on a number of our most popular products. You can click on each individual product for more information if you’d like!  [The Outer ⅓ Defense With Coach Nick LoGalbo:]( “I really like the shell defensive drill. The way he breaks it down and the way he stops and shows how to correct. I was hesitant to purchase this video but it's one of the best videos I've purchased. I'm implementing this defense with my varsity girls basketball team and they love it.”--Steve R.  [Coach Nate Sanderson’s Game-Based Training System:]( “Very well done-adaptable to fit all situations. PDF book that came with it is great.”--Michael S.  [Coach Rob Brost’s Get Comfortable Playing Offense At An Uncomfortable Pace:Â]( “I like the clarity of the drills and the explanations. I love the fact that an ebook is accompanied with the product. I also enjoyed the fact that Coach gave his contact information if I needed extra explanation. Like always... Breakthrough Basketball delivers again!”--Luc P.  Closing Notes  Thanks so much for reading this edition of the Breakthrough Basketball Mailbag! Stay tuned for upcoming editions, featuring more of your questions and comments. We value your input and look forward to helping you on your journey to success.  If you have any thoughts on the type of content you’d like to see more of in upcoming mailings, please feel free to shoot us a reply and let us know!  All the best, Joe Haefner Breakthrough Basketball  This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you indicated that you'd like to receive emails and updates from Breakthrough Basketball on 2016-12-16 05:42:39. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please [Change Your Email Preferences]( or [Unsubscribe All]( Copyright © Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. All rights reserved. Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. | 5001 1st Ave. SE, Ste 105 #254 | Cedar Rapids | IA | 52402 [email.gif] . It’s our mission to build a strong community centered around basketball, personal development and most importantly - fun! We love to create extraordinary and useful products and share them with you! 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