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Lexington Youth Basketball Association Coach's Handbook

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Lexington Youth Basketball Association Coach’s Handbook Welcome Coaching youth basketball is a rich, rewarding experience, and a lot of fun. That being said, teaching both the fundamental individual skills and team strategies can be quite challenging, particularly with young players. Hence, this coach handbook was developed. Many thanks to the LHS coaching staff for partnering with the LYBA board to pull together the drills and concepts you will find here. It is our hope that you will use this guide throughout the season to plan your practices and prepare your team for games. We recognize the time and commitment coaching requires, and we greatly appreciate your willingness to invest in our players. Welcome to the LYBA and best of luck for a great season. The LYBA Coach Handbook is divided into the following sections Introduction: Includes coach guidelines, gameplay rules, and overall goals for player development. How to Plan a Practice: Planning your practice is essential to the success of your season and the overall experience of your players. A solid practice should be balanced between individual offense and defense skills, and then team offense and defense. The practice planner includes each of these key sections with the associated drills to select from. The sections are color coded to help you balance out the practice. Every practice should include form shooting at the beginning and scrimmage (often with structure or a particular focus) at the end. Each drill listed in the practice planner is described in depth in the specific sections below. Individual Offense: Drills to promote the development of fundamental skills, including passing, footwork, dribbling, shooting, and pivoting. Team Offense: Learning the basics of a motion offense, not set plays, is the best strategy for overall basketball development. Much of the team offense section is devoted to teaching motion offense fundamentals. In the 6th-8th grades, teams will also face a variety of zones, so zone offense is covered as well. Out of bounds plays, transition concepts and press breakers are also included. Individual Defense: Drills to teach fundamental techniques for defense and rebounding. Team Defense: In general, teams should primarily play man-to-man defense much of the game. (Mandatory for 5th grade) Options for full court presses are covered in this section. Appendices: More in depth coverage of offense and defense principles and sets for your reference. www.lexhoops.com also contains some useful coaching links for drills and concepts. INTRODUCTION Overall Objectives Coaching Guidelines Middlesex League Rules Managing the Season Overall Objectives Above all, we want the kids to develop a love for the game of basketball. Your team will be a success if the kids learn the key fundamentals, have fun, and want to play again next season. Playing basketball well requires the consistent practice and execution of fundamental skills; shooting, passing, ball handling, playing defense, boxing out, etc. Individual skill development should be integrated into unselfish team play. These two concepts form the basis of coaching basketball and are essential for the development of your players and team. LYBA players should be recognized for… Being Great Teammates Unselfish Play Tough Defense Outstanding Shooting Strong Fundamental Skills Aggressive Transition Offense Great Practice Effort Intensity and Toughness Execution under Pressure Good Sportsmanship Skill Objectives Strategy • Develop correct shooting form • Include form shooting in every (Balance-Eyes-Elbow-Follow practice Through-BEEF) • Praise good shot selection, help • Learn to shoot off the dribble and your players know and Shooting pass potentially expand their range • Good shot selection • Practice free throws consistently • Correctly execute lay-ups on both • Measure Field goal percentage, sides of the basket free throw percentage • Consistently make free throws • Learn to execute a bounce pass • Incorporate passing drills and chest pass consistently in your practice Passing • Learn to move to make yourself • Track assists during the game available and catch a pass properly • Highlight assists as equally • Develop ability to see the court to important as scoring make correct pass • Dribble smoothly with both hands • Incorporate ball -handling drills • Dribble quickly while maintaining consistently in your practice control • Encourage your players to work • Execute a crossover, in and out, on their dribbling at home and behind the back and other • Correct players when they dribble moves dribble too much or at the wrong Ball Handling • Develop ability to change pace times while dribbling • Insist they use their weak hand • Know when to and when not to • Measure turnovers related to dribble – e.g. don’t try to dribble ball handling through a zone press. • Consistently box out man after • Teach the fundamentals of how each shot – establish contact to box out • Aggressively seeks the ball • Consistently recognize good Rebounding • Makes consistent outlet pass after rebounding by your team defensive rebound • Track rebounds per game • Aggressively attacks basket after offensive rebound • Develop proper defensive • Emphasize the importance of positioning and technique defense – both individual and • Learn to anticipate and react to team defense – in every practice passes/ screens and game • Learn help side defense and team • Consistently include defensive Defense defense concepts drills in your practice • Develop skills to defend pick and • The majority of time your players roll, and execute traps should be in man –to- man defense • Track steals and the number of times you cause the other team to turn the ball over • Learn motion offense principles • Emphasize the fundamentals of • Learn to set and properly use motion offense- proper spacing, screens the use of screens, solid passing, • Learn proper spacing basket cuts, etc. • Learn to execute V cuts and • Teach a press breaker and backdoor cuts practice frequently Team Offense • Learn to move purposefully • Vary your scrimmages by without the ball introducing rules or scenarios • Learn to make the right pass and take the good shot • Consistently seek opportunities for the fast break • Develop ability to break a press Finally, your attitude will have the biggest impact on the experience the boys have with the LYBA program this season. Be upbeat, positive, supportive, and encouraging. Seek teachable moments but find the right time to point out opportunities for improvement. On behalf of LYBA, thank you for volunteering to coach this winter. The following objectives break down the skills by grade: SKILL 5th Gra de 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade Ball Handling Learn basic Improve basic Improve basic Improve all (Guards and dribbling, R/L, dribbling. Learn moves. Add spin, moves. Perfect Posts) eyes up, in place basic moves BTB, in-and-out. one change of and moving. (cross over, back- Eyes up. direction and one up, stutter step) change of speed w/ eyes up. move. Passing, Catching, Learn 1) to pivot Improve earlier Improve skills Add double teams Pivoting R/L, 2) bounce, skills. Add push under tough D (passer) and chest, and pass, ball fakes, pressure. Improve passing off the overhead passes, step-arounds (w/ timing and dribble. Improve 3) lead pass to dummy D). Learn precision of timing and moving V/L cuts. Work on passes/cuts. precision of teammate. timing. passes/cuts. Shooting Learn proper Learn rhythm Improve rhythm Improve rhythm shooting form shooting. 10-12 shots. Learn jump and jump shots (BEEF). 8-10 feet. feet. shots w/ 1-2 step off dribble and and jump stop.. screens. 15-19 Learn shooting off feet, 3 pointers. dribble. 12-15 feet. Lay -Ups Learn stride Improve R/L Improve R/L Improve all layups layup. Focus on stride layups. Add stride/power under tough D. footwork R/L, but R/L power layups. layups with stress dominant defensive hand early in the pressure. year, weaker hand at end. Rebounding Learn making and Reinforce Learn team Improve team keeping contact making/keeping rebounding, i.e., rebounding. (box out). contact, then to box out as a Encourage going to get ball. team. tenacious rebounding. Individ ual Learn Improve Improve clo se - Become expert, Defense containment, containment, outs. Add tenacious mirroring, mirroring, defending screens defenders, w/ cushion. Learn cushion, off -ball (2 ways). constant off-ball “help” “help” communication. positioning. Learn positioning, sliding and drop sliding and drop steps. steps. Add close- outs and work on angles. Individual Learn how to get Improve L /V cuts. Improve Learn read and Offense open (L and V Add back-door V/L/backdoor react concept. cuts). Learn cuts. Improve cuts. Add using a Practice using spacing, not to timing and both screen (Use, screens, taking bring your D to verbal/non-verbal Refuse, Curl). what D gives you, the ball. signals. New New footwork: and reading Footwork: layups, footwork: reverse drop steps. angles. Improve jump stop, pivots. pivots, jab steps, all footwork. up fakes. Team Defense Learn basic D: on - Improve basic D. Learn spacing on Improve spacing the-ball, deny, Add 3v3 with 4v4 shell drill. on 4v4. Add 5v5 help w/ 3v3 shell cuts. Learn to stay Add rotations w/ shell. Learn D for drill. between girl and UCLA cuts. Learn off-ball screens. basket while 3 ways to D ball watching ball, screens. without hugging. Team Offense Learn movement Improve Improve timing. Improve screens w/out the ball. movement w/out Learn setting a both on/off the the ball. Learn screen. Practice ball. Improve fast timing and “hands read and react break spacing. up” (as targets). (holes in D). Want the ball. Add fast break. Talking “ball” “deny” “cutter” “I’m “screen” Constant Non -stop chatter “help” Words of back” “got ball” chatter. on court. encouragement. “shot” Coaching Guidelines League Philosophy LYBA is a developmental program. Our goals are to instruct and guide players in the development of their basketball skills and to ensure that each player has a fun, educational and competitive experience.
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