indicolt

I took my daughter to a girls college softball game last year and she is wanting to learn to pitch. My question is can a child be too young to start pitching and maybe hurt the arm as in teaching the over arm curveball too young. Is the windmill pitching movement stressfull on the arm. My daughter is 9 years old and I would like to help her but not if it can cause arm problems.

I do not think you are out of line to use disipline if the kids are not paying attention and are just goofing off. I also only get the gym 2 days a week and that does'nt give you alot of time, but I try and get some fun time every once in a while. What I have found with my girls (5th and 6th grade) is that they love to compete with each other, so I use that as fun time. You can do relay races that helps build skills, like dribbling around a series of chairs then end with a lay-up. We play knock-out and other basketball based games also. I'm not saying the whole practice is like this but every once in a while use 15 or 20 min. to let them compete, they will enjoy it.

If you go to www.guidetocoachingbasketball.com it has articles on the 1-2-1-1 zone, man-to-man, and the1-3-1 3/4 court presses. This is a site that is very detailed. It starts by saying which type of player should play each position in the press then states each responibility and finally diagrams it. I think you will find this site very helpfull.

The situation you discussed is a problem best solved with numbers. If possible the number of players on each team should be between 8 and 10. I have been lucky enough the past 2 years to have 9 one year and 8 this year. The difference between 9 and 8 even makes it alot easier. I start rotating in the first quarter by subing in 2 at a time and my assistant keeps track of the amount of time each player plays. In the heat of the game it does'nt always come out totally equal but if you track it you can make it up the next game. I don't like to sub more than 2 at a time because I fill it throws the team off too much. With 8 kids rotated it should come out to each kid plays 15 min. of a 24 min. game. It never comes out exactly right but if you keep track at least you can see where the playing time goes. You can keep a competitive team on the floor in this manor. Tell your daughter to work extra hard on defense and going after rebounds and loose balls. A coach does'nt mind bring in a kid that does this but if they don't play defense he will be reluctent to play them.

I also would consider a combination man/zone like the box and 1 but prepare your players for screens. If the other coach sees the box and 1 and the star player is all he has he will probably run a series of screens to free him up. It could be a long hard day for the defender on him, maybe you can split that duty. If your team can stay in this kids face at all times, stress playing him tight when he does'nt have the ball, you may take him out of the game.

I'm not sure about how to match-up because I don't know your team but you said " if we make our lay-ups" and one point you might stress is to follow up the fast break looking to rebound the missed lay-up. I started noticing this opportunity in our league and now have a couple girls hustling down the court behind the fast break instead of just watching.

I am coaching 5th grade girls and have been talking to them about jumping for rebounds. I have been trying to find a good drill that will promote this skill, but in games and scrimmages I still see all the girls just standing with their arms up trying to rebound. We work on blocking out and some of the girls understand the concept but there still are times when a good timed jump would secure the rebound. With this in mind I have been watching the upper level girls(junior high and high school) and I don't see that much jumping going on, compared to the boys there is a noticable difference. Any drills would be appreciated.

I am coaching a 4th and 5th grade girls team that in the league it is man to man defense only. It is early in the season and the problem I am having is when the gaurds bring the ball up to make the first pass they are having trouble with their timing. With a defender on them they are either late with the pass(and it gets stolen) or they pick up their dribble. We haven't played a game yet and I see us turning the ball over alot in these situations. We are running a 2-1-2 wheel offense that we will give and go, pass and screen away, etc. That first pass is so important and I would like to see all the girls be able to make it(not just the one or two naturals) I know that reputition is the answer but was just looking for some drills and advice that that may make the girls a little more comfortable in this skill.

I'm not sure about the drill you described but would like to offer you a great conditioning drill that envolves the fast break. The drill starts with 2 defenders on the free-throw line corners facing the basket and 2 offensive players on the baseline facing the defenders , the rest of the team in lines behind the offensive players and the coach with basketballs between the defenders. The coach will pass the ball to either offensive player and they will push the ball upcourt, the defender on the ball side must run up and touch the baseline before trying to defend and the other defender runs back passed half court to defend the 2 on 1. What you end up with is a 2 on 1 fastbreak with a trailing defender. After that group gets past the half court line get the next 4 players in position and start them. Make sure each group after one shot gets off the court and runs back to the lines outside the court so they don't get in the way of the next group. With 12 to 14 players this drill works well.