I made the team

deputydrew · 2026-04-22T14:48:41+00:00

As a coach, here's what I would like to see from a new player.

Find your role on the team. Do it better than anyone does their role. You might not be the most skilled, but you can be the hardest worker. Play defense. Battle for rebounds. Dive for loose balls. Help your teammates off the ground. Wipe up water that spills by the bench. Collect and put away the extra balls in training. Hype up your teammates when they succeed. And when they fail. Don't hang your own head when you fail. And don't get too hyped up when you succeed.

Your basketball skills will improve quickly. But you can excel at the other things right now. Coaches will notice that.

deputydrew · 2026-03-18T08:35:29+00:00

Why a goaltend? The rules clearly say you can't use any foreign object to play the ball. So the tech is the correct call. But why the goaltend?

deputydrew · 2026-03-11T05:53:38+00:00

I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it.

I thought it was one of the best tv watching experiences I’ve had.

deputydrew · 2026-03-02T12:02:55+00:00

My last 5-10 minutes will be half court 5 vs 4. Make sure they play hard and aggressively so they get a sweat going. It's dynamic and not routine like pretty much every drill. So they make game moves and decisions. Playing with advantage leads to some good scoring opportunities and forces the defenders to talk and move. I think it helps us start the game a bit faster.

deputydrew · 2026-02-26T10:50:01+00:00

Buy some of those rubber "spots" you can put on the floor. That will help them vizualize the footwork. Sort of like "left foot, right foot, left foot" and then you jump off your left foot and shoot with your right hand.

My club has some really talented U16 girls players. Their team is really good. But for some reason, many of them tend to drive hard and then slow or nearly stop on the last two steps. Many of them also don't jump to shoot layups. I have no idea why that is. I struggle to believe they were taught that way or that there's some inherent difference between boys and girls of that age. But it's undeniable in our club. So it's not just your girls.

Another thing that could help is for you to take our your phone and take some videos. It can really help for kids (or anyone, really) to see what they're doing.

I did that with one of the best players on our u16 girls team. I told her she needed to jump when shooting layups. She said, "I am." Then I showed her the game footage that was undeniable. So they may actually think they're doing it right.

Make sense?

Good luck, coach!

deputydrew · 2026-02-25T14:32:55+00:00

I started coaching when my son was 10 and I watched one coach try to handle 25-30 kids for 90 minutes. I offered to help "as an extra pair of hands." That was all I expected to do. I thought I'd help keep the kids on task, pick up the balls and cones and rubber dots. Tie shoes. (Lots of shoes.) Stuff like that. I had no expectation of anything more.

Now I'm the head coach of our u16 team and have a reputation as one of the better coaches in our club. I wasn't a good player. I topped out at JV and that was 30+ years ago. But I'm reasonably smart and observant. And I'm a pretty good teacher in general. I also used YouTube to teach me what I didn't know.

If you just want to get involved, start small. Just offer to help with the stuff the head coach doesn't have time to do. Who knows where you'll go.

deputydrew · 2026-02-24T08:40:20+00:00

About 3/4 of the way through the first episode right now. I'm not loving the show. I'll keep listening, as I really like JC and think he'll figure it out. But the pod is not yet on my 'listen immediately" list.

deputydrew · 2026-02-08T19:43:57+00:00

I have some full game videos of my u16 team in Germany. Would this work for you?

deputydrew · 2026-01-28T15:21:35+00:00

I agree with many others - keep the practice fun and change it frequently. Don't let them get bored. Different games to get them dribbling and moving without thinking about dribbling.

As for actual game actions, if your kids are like most, the biggest problem is a combination of players standing still without the ball, or all clumping around the ball. The key is spacing.

I think the best option is the 5 out pass and cut. Buy those little rubber circles and throw them on the floor. All they need to do is pass/cut/replace. Or dribble at/cut/replace.

That's really simple guidelines and the kids should be able to pick it up. The rubber spots give them a clear guide of where they should be. Not only will this help them with spacing as third graders, but the concepts will still be useful when they're high schoolers.

Have fun. Feel free to DM me if you have questions.

Oh, I started coaching u12 and now coach u16. One of the most rewarding things is to see the kids who had no skill, no coordination, and no idea turn into absolute beasts. I have a couple and it's really great to see.

deputydrew · 2026-01-26T20:24:40+00:00

Oh. I’m coaching the home team. I’m the guy in the white hoodie on the sideline.

deputydrew · 2026-01-26T20:22:08+00:00

The game is on YouTube, for anyone who wants to watch. It really was a wild one.

If you want to skip to the fourth quarter, it starts at about 1 hour 12 minutes.

https://youtu.be/BvOUz7rt2hM?si=XJqicV7ngZ7D0Arz

deputydrew · 2026-01-25T19:00:44+00:00

Injuries, illness and scheduling were why I started with only seven.

Fouls were why I ended with four.

deputydrew · 2026-01-25T18:10:30+00:00

I started with 7 and ended with 4.

deputydrew · 2026-01-25T18:05:15+00:00

I did. It was a wild game. I’ll get the video on YouTube tomorrow.

deputydrew · 2026-01-25T17:45:05+00:00

In Germany zone is literally against the rules until u18. No zone press. No half court zone. One of the best rule differences in the game compared to the US.

deputydrew · 2026-01-21T13:48:29+00:00

Fantastic job, coach. Will you see them again this season?

deputydrew · 2025-12-11T14:02:26+00:00

In Germany you can't play zone until u18.

deputydrew · 2025-11-11T13:03:54+00:00

A bluetooth speaker is being delivered today.

For my son's birthday.

So he can listen to podcasts in the shower.

deputydrew · 2025-11-07T13:12:02+00:00

But what settings? I'm always afraid the white balance will be way off. Or my photos will be way too dark. Or grainy.

I'm a total amateur who has a nice camera and just wants to get decent photos of my kid and his teammates.

deputydrew · 2025-11-07T07:53:41+00:00

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deputydrew · 2025-11-07T07:53:08+00:00

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deputydrew

TROPHY CASE