Mailbag: Common coaching challenges, Camps, and other FAQs

  Welcome to the mailbag! We’ve received some great questions and comments on our recent articles and content lately.  I hope you enjoy and find this newsletter useful as you continue your coaching journey!   NEW Coaching Articles, Plays, Drills & Videos (ALL Age Levels):  [Shot Selection - Increase Your Shooting Percentage By 14% Without Practice](  [Are You Coaching a Team or Leading a Program?](  [5 DEFENSIVE Special Situations To Consider Down The Stretch](  [Why NOW Is The Time For Player 1 on 1's - 12 Tips For Midseason Player Interviews](  [10 Keys For Early Attack Offense - Transition Offense After Misses](  [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](   NEW YOUTH Coaching Articles, Drills, & Videos:  [How To Teach The Most Important Skills In Youth Basketball]( (Part 1)  [How To Teach Dribbling]( (Part 2)  [4 Great Dribbling Games To Use At Next Practice]( (Part 3)  [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]( Shoutout to Coach Nate Steege: 16 Game Winning Streak and Winning By 27 PPG!  Coach Nate Steege is zooming along with his [Zoom Offense](  Coach Steege and his Waverly Shell Rock basketball team are currently on a 16 game winning streak while averaging 78 PPG with his [Zoom Offense](  During this win streak, they’ve been winning by an average of 27 points. So they’re winning with great defense as well.  This even includes a 84-57 victory over the #1 team in the state! Shoutout - Jake Hilmer is on the Trevor Hudgins Award Watchlist!  Exciting news from the Breakthrough Community! Jake Hilmer who is the son of Mike Hilmer (Creator of the very popular [Relentless Pressure System]( is up for the Trevor Hudgins Award. Trevor Hudgins is also a former [Breakthrough Basketball Camper](. Small world!  The first-ever Trevor Hudgins Award will be presented annually to the senior who has had the finest overall four-year career within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be overall career statistics and achievements, team achievements, awards, and personal character. The player must have played his entire career at the small college level. This will be the highest award given to a four-year player within Small College Basketball.  There are quite literally too many shoutouts from this season to mention in this mailbag, so be sure to stay tuned for more to come! Today’s Mailbag  Subscriber Question #1: Should youth coaches stick to zone defense?  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 look like they just give up after 20 points and they angry and frustrated. We already incorporate some fun games at practice.Should I contact the parks and recreation and ask if they have 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.  - Coach Latoya 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! Subscriber Comment About [2v2 and 3v3 Offense Drills For Dribble Drives and Movements Off the Ball](  I love the tips and drills.  I am coaching a girls varsity in a small rural area. 7 of my 10 players are freshman or sophomores. I have very good athletes, but not basketball players yet. They are even more inexperienced than they are young. One thing they do is play hard!  My struggle is teaching them IQ. I give them concepts, but until they get experience they react slowly because it's not second nature. Our league is tough, so getting beat up every night is mentally a challenge.  For now, I've told them we will focus on what we did well each game and build on it.   Thanks again, Coach Scot   Subscriber Comment About [This Article on 5 Defensive “Special Situations” Down the Stretch](  Thanks for this, really insightful and informative email. Even if using the trapping strategy once or twice a game, I'm a big believer in every play matters. I've read books and articles from coaches of other sports like Dave Brailsford & his marginal gains concept, so know every little bit helps...it all adds up! Cheers, Dan Subscriber Comment In Response to Coach Mark Brase’s Email About the Challenges of Youth Coaching  I am so thankful for the content that you provide! As a young coach (28 - 5th year of coaching on my own) it is encouraging to know that I am doing it the right way, even if the wins aren't always there, and the parents don't always believe in what I am doing.  Thank you!!! Nick  Coach Mark Brase’s Original Email Re-printed: Hey there, I want to talk about my own experience coaching youth basketball and offer some tips. When I first started working with the youngsters, they were in 3rd grade. And to be honest, they were definitely behind in skill level compared to some of the teams we played. Some parents felt we should be winning more than we were. But I believed in the process and trusted the process. Why? Because I knew that long-term development is what matters in youth basketball. So instead of panicking and trying to get wins by: - Playing zone defense - Using full court pressure - Implementing trapping strategies - Developing the offense around our 1-2 best players We played the long game and focused on the fundamentals and developing all kids. Our team followed the same principles of Coach Huber’s Youth Coaching System, like: - Great player movement and spacing - Reducing turnovers by making smart decisions and becoming more skilled - Developing a strong shooting foundation to eventually become great shooters and scorers - Mastering man-to-man defensive techniques (on ball and off ball) - Honing teamwork and communication skills And even though the results weren’t instantaneous… The end result was that this group went to the State Tournament their Junior and Senior years - knocking off higher ranked opponents every step of the way! So, ironically, by not focusing on wins/losses as much when they were young, they developed a winning mentality by developing their skills and basketball IQ. That's why Coach Huber’s Youth Coaching Programs work so well. These foolproof, plug and play systems save you tons of time, give you way more success on the court, and actually help your players reach their full potential step-by-step! Of course, I’m not saying this system is a guaranteed “fix all” right away. A lot of your success as a youth coach depends on whether you implement the system and your communication skills. But this program WILL give you the tools to become one of the best youth coaches in your area and see significant improvement in your players both now and in the long-term! So if you’re interested, you can check them out at the links below [Coach Huber’s Beginner Basketball System (for coaching ages 5-9)]( [Coach Huber’s Youth Coaching System (for coaching ages 9-14)]( All the best,  Mark Brase Breakthrough Basketball Breakthrough Basketball Camp Update - Most Sign Ups Ever!  We recently launched our [2024 Spring & Summer Breakthrough Basketball camps,]( and we’ve already had the most amount of sign-ups ever during the first month of sign-ups!  In fact, summer camps are already selling out!  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.  Remember, we have a wide variety of camps that focus on everything basketball-related. You’ll find plenty of camps that focus on overall skill development, as well as more niche camps that focus on specific skills like Shooting & Ball-Handling.  You’ll also find new “Littles” camps specifically for youth players in 1st to 5th grade and Overnight camps for 7th-12th grade players.  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 Youth Coaching System With Coach Jim Huber:]( “My only regret is waiting months to finally invest in this program. I fully expected to ask for a refund because I wasn't sure it would be worth $200 but I'm sold--this program has been invaluable and I'm happy to support Huber for his excellent product. I coach 3rd graders and this has it all: appropriate progressions for skill development, motion-offense, man-to-man defense, and an emphasis on game-like drills that are fun and maximize practice time. Jim's reminders for facing up, ball toughness, shooting, and more will take years for my players to fully absorb but I'm already seeing results: they have fewer turnovers, are passing more, and are more aggressive with the ball and willing to drive against players. For 3rd grade, this is amazing. I am SO GRATEFUL to have a blueprint that will carry my players through the next few years, at minimum. You rock, Jim!”--G Blue  [Coaching Beginner Basketball For Ages 5-9 With Jim Huber]( “It covers everything that the age group can handle and nothing is above there ability.”--Justin C.  [The Zoom Offense With Coach Nate Steege:]( “It was very informative and easily applicable to to my team. So much information for the price. I would highly recommend the product to anyone wanting to learn the zoom offense.”--Josh B.  [How to Run Championship Practices With Coach Ryan Schultz]( “This is one of the 2 or3 best coaching videos I have ever seen and I have been coaching for 35 yrs. There are so many things to garner: organization, pace, relationships with kids, use of staff..etc. I would pay good money to watch more of Ryan’s practices especially perhaps a video outlining all the great drills and competitive situations he puts his kids in. Easy to see why he has had such success.”--William D.  [The Hybrid Attack Offense With Coach Ryan Schultz]( “Very well organized and easy to follow. Product was fantastic!  Breakthrough is awesome. I have learned a lot from the various videos I have watched through this company. All the videos are well thought out and broken down into easy to understand steps. The videos make things easy to implement and use with your own team!”--Mike H.  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] . 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