Best Youth Hoops

Doing a bit of reverse engineering today.

Where we are today… 2,516 players have participated in our program since 2010.

Happy about this, but it could be even better.

Doubling that number within one year.

I know of a few coaches who only want to make extra money via summer camps while others work camps and clinics throughout the year.

Then, there a few who do this Full Time, meaning, there must be an event, class, workout every day.

Monday through Friday, there are classes held after school at local elementary schools with homeschoolers in private and public gyms.

Yes, homeschooler students are a market to consider.

Saturdays, there small group workouts for players who want to reach the next level.

Here’s the list of each of groups we train

• Homeschoolers
• After school programs at elementary schools
• Summer camps
• Spring Break camps
• Parks and Rec classes
• Saturday workouts
• Clinics on public school holidays
• Private workouts (limited)

Each of these I will write in-depth posts.

Remember, if you are part or full time, you will spend most of your time engaging the public.

Any other ideas?  Feel free to share.

Taking the first step is the easiest.

Recognize this is a business.  You have to produce income if you want to go full time or even part time.

What I did to start was to contact the club where I was coaching and asked them to email their list and tell them I was offering a FREE workout.

They agreed.

Here’s the key: Each player had to registered via email.  We created a database to send youth basketball updates, videos, news, tips and ideas.  75 players said they would attend.

What happened next was 60 of the 75 players showed up in 90 degree heat for the event.

There was nothing special offered. An hour for 3 age groups such as:

•  9-10am for 6-8 year olds
• 10-11am for 9-11 year olds
• 11am – 12pm for 12-14 year olds

We worked on fundamentals of dribbling, passing, shooting, and footwork.

Yes, it was fast and furious and everything was timed to the tee.

At the end of each session, we gave each player a sheet with a list of workouts completed so they could practice on their own.

Also, we included a flyer for extra workouts ranging from from 4-8 weeks for a fee.

8 players registered for the extra sessions paying $30 per hour.  They could choose packages ranging from 4 weeks to 8 weeks.

No gym rental was needed because we used a local outdoor court.  The courts weren’t being used as we started at 9am until 10am.

For 8 weeks we got lucky with the weather (no rain) and ran them for 8 weeks.  Halfway through the sessions, we start offering extended packages.  During the entire time we were marketing to our list of 75 names.

How did I get started coaching is the most common question asked?

I will then rephrase the question to why I got started coaching.

Most of you know the story behind the reason why I started coaching basketball.

If not, read the related story here

The reason I started training and developing players was because players were coming to my teams without ever touching a basketball.

Instead of teaching the game and rules, I had to spend time teaching basic dribbling, passing, and shooting skills.  Imagine having one hour and 15 minutes for practice (once a week), and 3 of the 8 players lack the skills to dribbling to half court without losing the ball.

Plus, they had to learn the rules of the game, such traveling, were to stand in the free throw lane, how to cut to the basket, Out of bounds play, and much more.

Whew!!

Here’s what I did:

• Every player participated in skill development drills ( I noticed some coaches didn’t bother to do this)
• Every part of practice was timed
• Simplified the game.  No offensive plays.  One rule: if you pass the ball you had to cut to basket.
• Removed all zone defense.  Guard the man and stick with them.  We will learn help defense along the way.
• Concentrated on moving the ball.  Players would get multiple touches.  The best players still found a way to score.

Record-wise we ended up with some very good teams, bad teams, and middle of the road teams.

But, all the players had the chance to learn the skills.

A couple of years down the road, another coach and I talked about skill development and he mentioned the problem was movement.

Players who had development some basketball skills, still had issues with footwork.

To make a long story short, we started Best Youth Hoops as agility training company using basketball as the avenue.

Tomorrow, I will write about what we did to get players.

Enjoy and share.

How did you get Started?

 

 

 

 

Hey guys.  Thanks for viewing my page.

This a new twist on the blog.  It is for coaches who want to run clinics, classes, camps, events, etc.

There will be little in the way of videos showing drills.  Pretty much there are no secrets out there for youth basketball development.

You can find all the drills you need on Youtube and other mediums.

If you want watch videos of our players performing, click Here

This is my daily journey from 0 players to 2,509 who have attend our events or the past 6-7 years.

Where ever you live, you can start from scratch and build a business. (Part time or Full Time)

Also, feel free to input and offer your insight into what you are doing so we can learn together.

Again, I wont be holding back on any information.  Hopefully, we can help each other prosper.

See you tomorrow.

Also, let me know what topics you like to discuss.

Yes, I am big on basketball fundamentals.

But...it's not the big game changer.

If you player struggles to run, change directions, lack strength and stamina, then all the learning of basketball basics go down the drain.

In every sport, players must have a reasonable level of fitness.

Start with pushups and squats.

If you cant do 10, do 5.  If not 5, do one (1).

Here are a couple of short videos with kids performing 

1) Pushups

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv10F2eCv34

2) Squats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R_17mEoIgw

And yes, I do this at least 4 times a week.

Is your player struggling to score?

Losing confidence?

Passing up good shots?

Let’s see if we can change this course.

1) Good shooting form is key. Without this shots are haphazard. Also, don’t forget the footwork.

2) Use the same shooting form on every shot.

3) Take lots of shots within your shooting range

4) Once you start making more, start having a defender put pressure on them.

5) Using the above, practice at game speed.

 

Two days ago, I wrote about how players love to compete and scrimmage.

Can we agree this is the most fun part of playing basketball?

Players can also have a great time learning to pass, dribble, shoot, and working on footwork.

The above list are the fundamentals of the sport. Without these, scrimmaging and games become difficult.

This is why we begin with the basics and each of those categories listed have their own list of basics. For example, when we work on dribbling, players must learn to dribble:

* With their heads up

* Fingers spread wide in the number 5 position at all times

* Knees bent, back straight, chin up

* With both hands

* and so on

Players compete working on the fundamentals to make them fun to do.

Also, there is a reason why you may not see improvement during the year.

Coaches have up to 90 minutes each week to cover offense, defense, the rules of the game, etc.

How much time do they have to teach the basics?

Most conversations regarding basketball camps and clinics are based upon what players learn. On the other hand, I learn just as much from them as they do from the coaches.

Here are 5 things I learned at the most recent camp:

1. Players love competing.

2. Players want to be challenged.

3. Free play is a big deal.

4. The Drills teach learning by doing.

5. Players organically rout for each other.

We notice players lack energy during workouts.
Jamie Gels, a renown youth basketball coach, has written a brief article on what your players should eat before and after workouts and games.
Here’s the link to read and share: http://www.coachesclipboard.net/WhatToEat.html

Great time to start working on making more shots.

All young players want to score.

This builds confidence and keeps them playing the game longer.

Here are 5 tips.

1) Every time your player catches the ball, make sure his body is facing the basket.
This what we call squaring up. Some coaches call this “nose to the basket”

2) Keep your eyes on the target. Players have a tendency to look at the floor to make sure their final dribble doesn’t get away from them.

3) Jump and land in the same spot.

4) Make sure the shooting elbow is facing the basket.

5) Don’t block your vision with the ball.

There are many other tips, but these are some quick ones to remember.