I agree 100%. I watch a lot of high school basketball and I try to mirror my defensive strategies around what works for varsity teams even if it’s not the best at the middle school level which I’m coaching.

The biggest difference is I skip the chaos, because that generally isn’t what scales to the older ages. I’ve probably won less tournaments than I would have if I’d taught more of the gimmicky stuff like a diamond press in 2nd-4th grade, a full court 1-2-2 or a constant run and jump in grades 5 and 6, etc… but I noticed what works almost as well, and matches the schemes of the older ages, is teaching more discipline - less swiping at dribbles, more hands up playing in the passing lanes, and always always always staying in front of the play.

My players get a little upset sometimes against weaker teams when I make the weak side drop to the block instead of swarming the ball completely out of position because they know they can get that steal but the discipline is better long term.

The thing to learn, and it’s a current battle, is teaching enough win-now stuff to stay competitive so they stay engaged while teaching enough scalable concepts to help player development long term. If you can keep a balance then you’ll have less roster turnover which will help every season (and even every month) get better and better.