A guide for volunteer basketball coaches — especially those coaching girls in 4th – 8th grades — provides an easy-to-follow approach to coaching and managing your team.
O’Halloran’s “Never Forget They’re Kids” philosophy places an emphasis on learning, having fun, and creating memorable experiences for players. 128 pages with photos, play diagrams, and the “Driveway Workout.”
The book covers important fundamental basketball topics like defensive and offensive skills, rebounding know-how, shooting technique (including the 2 most common shooting flaws for this age group and how to address them), your coaching approach on the bench, and practice preparation.
For young basketball players, it’s not all about Xs and Os. What sets this apart from other basketball coaching books are topics like:
· 30 ideas to keep kids interested in basketball — From a “Rock n’ Roll” practice to a “Slam Dunk Photo Session,” you’ll learn some proven concepts to keep your players engaged during the season. Kids will look forward to practices as much as games.
· A detailed explanation of how to handle your first player meeting and your first parent meeting. A sample introductory email to parents is included.
· An inexpensive and simple way to create a team website and how to use your camcorder to make the most of the basketball season.
· Team nickname ideas and slogan suggestions like “There’s no traffic on the extra mile” and “Teamwork makes the Dream work.”
NOTE: Except for a couple of practice ideas that might not appeal to boys, e.g., “Wacky Hair Day,” the entire book is relevant for boys teams in 4th – 8th grades.
Book Excerpt
“Keys to My Approach
• Be positive. Kids accomplish the most when they feel confident.
• Break down complicated activities into bite-size chunks.
• Encourage a risk-taking environment. The effort needs to be rewarded even if the result is lacking.
• Empower players to think on their own.
• Never forget they’re kids.”
What people are saying about Never Forget They’re Kids.
“This is a great book in a lot of ways, the least of which is the basketball stuff, which is pretty helpful, by the way, and very appropriate for the age level of youth athletes the author is writing about. The best part of this book is the advice the author gives concerning dealing with the parents of the players.
I wish I had a copy of this book when I started coaching all too many years ago. This section of the book alone makes it worth the purchase price to me. It also has good information on an organization for a youth sports team as well as positive suggestions for a philosophical approach to coaching young athletes.”
–Kevin Sivils – author of Game Strategy and Tactics for Basketball
KEY BENEFITS — Never Forget They’re Kids — Ideas for Coaching Your Daughter’s 4th-8th Grade Basketball Team
• Increase your basketball coaching knowledge. You’ll learn successful strategies and tactics to use for your team on offense and defense to make your team more competitive.
• Make it fun and engaging for your players. It’s not all about winning for players. Learn 30 different ideas for keeping things interesting for players, including a slam dunk photo session and a rock-and-roll practice.
• Generate enthusiasm from players and their parents. A guide for setting team objectives, running your first meeting with players, and your first meeting with parents. Includes a template for your first email to parents.
• Know what to do from the bench during games. You’ll learn tips on having the right philosophy and mindset as you’re teaching and coaching from the bench during games.
• Create a memorable season for your players. Suggestions on how to create a team website easily, incorporate film sessions for your team, and more.
When you purchase this ebook, you’ll be immediately sent a link to a site that will enable you to download the PDF file to your computer. The PDF file works on PCs and Macs.
Reg.: $14.99