Parents, you are usually your child’s first coach.
Whether you are rolling a ball to them, showing them how to shoot on your driveway goal, dribble on the sidewalk, you are most likely their first adult coach.
Regardless of the level, we think there are 3 steps to making your child a better basketball player.
They may be simplistic, but very effective.
1) First is Demonstration.
Show them what you want them to do.
This could be something simple as telling them to dribble with the pads of their fingers to their fingertips, shooting with their elbow inward, bending your knees, etc.
Just a quick demonstration, then let them perform.
2) Which leads us to the 2nd phase: Let them do!
We at Best Youth Hoops have a simple concept of Learning by Doing!
They may have all the knowledge about to perform a particular drill, but until they actually do it, their learning is not complete.
3) Provide Encouragement.
You do this by creating a positive environment where the players are encouraged to perform a particular drill, but also get better with repetition and increasing levels of difficulty.
Players are going to make mistakes. During drills, I want them to challenge themselves and make errors.
If they aren’t making any mistakes, they probably aren’t challenging themselves; therefore, very little growth in their basketball development.
If a player is struggling with a drill, go back to number one which is to demonstrate and start the short cycle over again.
Of course, if I wanted to add a 4th category, if would be Patience.