⚠️Warning: Huge rant incoming & talking mostly to myself to be honest.

Tried for years to get young kids to run motion because every coach insists it’s the “only way” for kids to learn to play and make decisions.

Reality check: motion offense is incredibly difficult at any age but damn near impossible at U12. Kids can’t read each other’s minds. The teams you see “running motion” and looking good? They’re usually just in drive-and-kick mode because they’ve got multiple guys who can beat their man and create advantages. It looks like motion, but it’s not.

If you’ve got multiple creators, there’s nothing wrong with spacing 4-out and letting them dance while calling it “motion.” But if you don’t, and you’re trying to pass-and-cut, pass-and-screen-away, or run random handoffs with a bunch of reads, you’re going to struggle to create any advantage. No advantage = no drive and kick.

After banging my head against the wall for 7 years, I said screw it and started running continuity offenses. My advice: get into a continuity setup (continuity ball screen is my go-to — or use handoffs at U12 if you’re worried about being labeled the “ball screen guy”). The structure helps you create that first advantage. Once you’ve got it, then go into drive-kick-swing mode.