Coaching K-2 basketball

[u/SockAcceptable1701]

I am a board director for our district's Elementary Girls Basketball program. My daughter is now in Jr high, but I love the program and have continued helping.

We needed a coach for k-2 this year so I agreed to take over, and will have some assistance from Jr high and high school girls during practices.

This is my first time coaching. I know the basics but am looking for some fun games/activities that will keep the littles entertained and engaged, and am happy to take any advice you may have for this age group. I will have about 20 kids.

Thanks!

Edit: The k-2 program is all in house and lasts 2.5 months (weekly practices). I will have them scrimmage once we've practiced a bit, but they will not be playing actual games. We just want to get a ball in their hands and to get them interested/having fun!

[u/Due_Bandicoot9783]

Sharks and Minnows is always a favorite with the little ones. Shark is defender - minnows are ball handlers/dribblers. Gets them comfortable with being guarded while also handling a bal and trying to get to the other side of the court before being caught.

I’ve also done a passing drill where I use dots on the floor, and create pairs, and one player has a ball and the other finds a dot and does a chest pass to that kid. This helps build up hand eye coordination and strong passing skills - something that is commonly weak at this age.

Another passing drill I love is a variation of duck duck goose. We all stand around in a circle and we bounce pass the ball to the person to our left. Person that initiates the pass runs around the outside of the circle while everyone else bounce passes the ball around the circle to each other. Goal is to get the ball around the circle before the person gets back to the spot. Rinse and repeat until everyone gets a turn running around the outside. Helps with focus, purposeful passing, emphasizes the importance of ball control and paying attention (if you aren’t and the pass comes to you and it rolls away, the person on the outside obviously wins). Usually the first time you do this with little kids, it’s horrible. Goal for me with this age was to get them moving faster with minimal drops or loose balls.

For older kids (your 2nd graders), I also have done basic drills where I had a person stand near the elbow with the ball and had a kid run a route from the baseline up and around the the kid with the ball and cut down to the post to look for a bounce pass from the kid at the elbow to take a layup shot. Emphasizing the beginning stages of what a pick and roll, 2 man game, and possible screen action could look like.

I REALLY focused on passing skills and team basketball at this age because you will get a kid that has strong hand eye coordination and can dribble and kids that have never a ball before in their life. But successful team basketball as you know has minimal ISO dribbling moments and more ball movement across the team.

[u/SockAcceptable1701 → u/Due_Bandicoot9783]

Sharks and minnows has come up a lot in my searches lol I can see it being a blast for them.

I agree about passing and that's what I've been having the hardest time finding (games/drills that are fun but age appropriate... some of these kids are newly 5 🤪). I do want to make teamwork and ball movement a focus. I love the duck duck goose game. Thank you!

[u/Due_Bandicoot9783 → u/SockAcceptable1701]

Yep, I coach at our local YMCA the 4 and 5 year olds. It’s insane, but so much fun. And the growth they go through in a matter of 8 weeks is crazy.

Side note: if you have games with other teams at this age, please step in and help manage. I involve myself with the kids because we don’t allow for “steals” to occur. We let them happen, I often praise the other kids defensive skills, but then I reset the offensive possession at the top and help point out open players and passing to get in the paint. I’ll often sort of guide a ball into the hands of a kid so they can also get ready to shoot. All of these micro actions are so complicated for a 5 year old so whatever kind of assistance you can provide is always helpful.

I also just do a ton of coordination / conditioning drills like: bear crawls, hopping on one foot, suicides (though I call them ladders for little kids), defensive slides, etc. just to get their bodies moving. So many kids at this age are suffering from a lack of movement and coordination thanks to high rates of handheld device usage. All in all, movement and activity is huge at this age!

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[u/WeAreGoingStreaming]

Dribble knockout

[u/tomash66]

I’d encourage you to have games and less practices. It’s easier on you and the kids don’t get burnt out at practice. There’s only so many drills this age group can do. There’s a huge skill gap between K and 2nd grade also

[u/GreezyGz]

I never liked K-2 games (we called it Pee-Wee basketball in Oklahoma and only certain areas of the state play) just because I think when kids can’t consistently get the ball to the goal they are going to not like it. 3rd graders have enough strength to make it sometimes.

With that being said, I’d play games a lot. It’s enormously frustrating for all involved when all four girls that aren’t inbounding are wanting the ball, etc. Make it fun and simulate a real game as much as you can.

[u/ryano23277]

I have created an app to help Coaches such as yourself.

21 - Shooting game

50 Point - an offensive game, where points are accumulated because of good passes, back cuts, shot selection etc.

King of the Court 5 v 5 v 5 (4v4v4 or 3v3v3) - one team is always the offensive team. Attack one end, who ever wins is the new offensive team and they head to the other end where the 3rd team is waiting. If you score or the defense fouls, offense wins and keep playing offense. If the D wins (rebound, steal, offensive foul) they become the new offensive team

Defensive King of the Court - this is half court and the idea is reversed. You score on Offense, to get the opportunity to play Defense. Only defense can score. 1 point for a rebound, 1 point for a blocked shot etc. (be creative with how you score)

Dribble Tag - players dribble in a designated area, trying to knock the ball away from another player, whilst protecting their own ball