I'm coaching my son's team this fall at the YMCA. He has never played before and I've never coached. It's 3rd and 4th graders. He's been playing soccer for years and is in a competitive league, but I guess basketball is a later sport? At least for us!

Any advice you can give? What is the measuring stick of success? W/L? Did they all have fun? etc.

Goal is having fun. But it's a lot more fun when you win.

Fun: Make sure they have those tear away pants to wear for warm ups and while on the bench. I assume those are still a thing?? When I was that age, I felt like such a badass when I got to rip those things off like the college and pro guys.

For real: Focus on fundamentals. Team defense, rebounding, ball movement, etc. I know it's not the most fun things, but they are really important at that age. There are lots of videos out there with fun drills and practice intervals that help teach the fundamentals. At that age, really good team defense and some semblance of organized offense (roles on fast break and half court) will win a lot of games.

Having fun is important, and playing well as a structured team is fun.

OP, just channel your inner Bobby Knight.

Bounce passes
Screens
Have your best 3 kids do a bunch of movement at the top of the key
Have 1 play for the worst kid on your team and run it a couple of times per game

Success at that age for a coach is if the kids play basketball again next season. Good on you for caring enough to not only volunteer, but investigate how to do it well. Good luck and have fun!

Any special defensive rules? Like half court only, man to man…

Defense must play half court man to man and no double teams

Defense. This is a basic position here:



My preference is for the hands to be pressed towards the man with the ball but my point is showing this is that you can build drills around this that are good for their skills and for their strength. Weight on the toes, shuffling side to side and front to back. Teach them to keep their body in front of the man they're guarding. Defense is played with the feet not the hands.

I coached basketball for that age when I was a student and still have a couple of families as friends from those teams. I know a couple of those kids even now that still call me coach. It's a fun age for sure.

Whoever said to make sure the worst kid gets a shot is spot on. We went all season with everyone scoring but two kids and I couldn't even get those two a take a shot during a game. Finally in the next to last game one of them got the ball all alone in the paint and looked around like he didn't know what to do so I yelled SHOOT IT! When it went in he looked like he'd just met Santa Claus. Later than same game he shot again without me yelling and it went in too which got fist pumps all the way back down the court. In the last game the other finally got a shot off and scored as well. 28 years later those are the things they will remember.

My dad had never played before he coached my team so he went and bought a John Wooden book. Maybe start with the best and go from there?

But actually, work on layup drills multiple times every single practice. Most of the shots in 3rd grade will be right around the basket and if you have kids that can make it from there, you'll be ahead of the game.

BackRoad Dan said:

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Defense must play half court man to man and no double teams

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It'll depend on the the 4th grade talent but I suspect most teams will be running high ball screens and trying to get their ball handler to the basket for layups.

4th graders are capable of heaving up shots from outside but they're generally very low percentage. 3rd graders are typically still a layup league.

If they're allowed to switch on screens defensively then that's additional item to try and teach but generally getting them to understand half court only and man to man is more challenging than it sounds.

I'm coaching my sons YMCA soccer team in the DFW burbs this year (1st/2nd graders)...Maybe you are like me - you received the emails stating volunteer coaches needed. You probably felt a bit guilty when you got the second email about needing a coach. You thought to yourself, I got this! Bond with your kid, help out the team, etc.
My sport was baseball and was lucky enough to play with the Blue Jays in their minor league system..I played soccer from 3 to age 12 so I had some knowledge...Thus, I said I got this! Anyway, this season ( I think we are 4 weeks in now) has had it all
Here are my tips. NOTE: This is specific to YMCA. I've coached competitive baseball for 10-12yr olds and it is completely different when there is money invested into something.

1) Get your parents contact #s from the Playerspace site and send a group text to everyone introducing yourself. State that you will be setting up a GroupMe App account and ask them to all download the App. Once you've created the group, let them know the name of it. You can add them manually or you can send them the link in text. Communication is absolutely KEY.
2) Set a practice date and time ASAP. You can go back and forth with the parents on good dates, but I wouldn't. Set a time/date that works for you. If you want, take a poll of the top two best options. Then make sure you have your location set. Get that squared away ASAP.
3) Communicate Communicate Communicate - Even though the schedules are on Playerspace, doesn't matter. Send out game info before each game. Even though you have practice same time and dates every week...doesn't matter, send out practice reminders every time.
4) Request to know who will be at each game and practice. You can create events in the App where the parents will say if they will be there. Be warned though...even if they say they'll be at a game or practice, flip a coin. I've had parents tell me they'll be at a game and not show up 10 hours later...without any notice.
5) You'll have to manage playing time for everyone. You will have a range of good players and players that are there to simply have fun. You won't know until day one practice what you have. YMCA leagues are meant to be fun, developmental league...Put in your rotations that has a good mix and make sure everyone plays atleast half the game.
6) Be prepared to be happy, mad, losing your mind, having fun, etc...
7) You'll have parents want to help, etc. Be careful who you use if you do. Make sure you are in full control of the team with as little parent involvement as possible. You do not want/need sideline coaches in practices or games.

Beyond the above, I have enjoyed coaching the kids and my team is pretty decent. Again, communicate to the parents more than you think you need to.

Have them consistently moving. Work on the type of passes and layups. I also recommend ball wrestling. Teach them to be aggressive and physical.

I have coached my daughter's team since she was in kindergarten. We are now 4th graders, and have a good little team that has been together for a couple of seasons. We told them at the first of the year we wanted them to do three things: play hard, get better, and have fun. So far so good.

Teach them the fundamentals, and encourage them to pass the ball. Keep good spacing. Encourage them to play hard, and let them be excited when they win. When they lose, don't make a big deal out of it. Make practices fun, but keep them moving as much as possible so they stay engaged.

It's a lot of fun to see them get better as the season goes on.

When I was in high school, I coached 3rd & 4th grade Upwards teams 2 years in a row & went undefeated because of two things: fundamentals & conditioning.

Dribbling & passing. We would have WAY less turnovers than other teams because we could handle to ball without traveling or throwing the ball away.

Rebounding. All 5 guys crashing in for rebounds. On O & D. No second chance shots for the other team & lots of put backs when we were on O.

Conditioning. I ran the heck out of those kids. Every practice. But not as punishment, make it fun. Add in little games. Sprinkle in conditioning throughout practice & then do some sprints or horses at the end too. I'd run with them too. When we got to the games, we were in such better shape than everyone else. End of the game, the other teams would be dragging & we'd still be hustling up & down the court.

Of course we did lots of fun stuff in practice too and the goal is to have fun & get them a good foundation to build on & want to continue to play.

What is more fun than winning every game & being the team that everyone wants to beat?!

Great insight! A couple of follow up questions:

How do you teach them to not travel? Do you blow the whistle constantly at practice to correct them? Only one kid on our team has ever played before so I'm worried!

What's your go to rebounding drill?

Love the conditioning comment. I'm all over that!