Developing A Feeder System

I feel that much of my success in the past can be directly attributed to the coaches in the grade and junior high schools who have assumed the tremendous task of teaching basketball fundamentals to youngsters from the seventh through the ninth grades.

I also feel that if you intend to be a successful coach, you must organize the program in your particular community to fit your specific needs. If you can enlist the aid of the grade school, and junior high school coaches, and have them teach the basic fundamentals you believe in, you are well on your way to developing teams of championship caliber.

In our particular school system we have recently gone to the 6-3-3 arrangement. With this setup we decided to organize teams according to grade. Thus, we have a separate team for the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade boys. Taking into consideration the physical abilities of the different age groups we decided on a schedule of twelve games for the seventh grade, fourteen games for the eighth grade, and sixteen games for the ninth graders. All of the games are either after school, or on Saturday mornings. Since we have three junior high schools in town, we can play each other two or three times. This helps us considerably with our scheduling problems. The remainder of the games are scheduled with teams in a thirty-five-mile radius from Danville. This enables us to have a very fine schedule of games for all of the teams. The seventh and eighth grade teams in each school play on the same program. The seventh grade game is the preliminary game with the eighth grade game following. The ninth grade games are scheduled separately from the seventh or eighth grade games, and usually played on Saturday morning.

There are two coaches in each of our three junior high schools. They take care of three teams. One coach coaches the seventh grade team, while the second coaches the ninth grade team. They split the duties with the eighth grade team. The ninth grade coach is responsible to see that the desires of the varsity coach are carried out. I have monthly meetings with the ninth grade coaches at which time we evaluate the program, and discuss the progress of the different boys in our system. Each junior high coach evaluates the players in the other junior high schools. I have found it to be highly profitable to get the opinion of all of the junior high coaches regarding the abilities of the boys in the system. Between the three junior high coaches, my assistant, and myself, we usually get a pretty good idea of the individual talents of each boy.
All of the junior high practice sessions are held right after school. The seventh grade teams practice three days a week, one and one-half hours a day. We decided on this schedule for two reasons. One, we would rather not practice enough than to have too much parental criticism of "over emphasis." Some communities might very well feel it is justifiable to practice every day. Beginning with the eighth graders we practice two hours every day. This extends to the ninth grade team also.

Licensed officials are employed for all of our games. If  your budget can afford this expenditure I think the boys will benefit from the opportunity to play under the careful scrutiny of a "professional" official.

All of us have a normal desire to win. I do not, however, like to emphasize this too much to the coaches in the junior high school. I would much rather have the junior high school coaches play ten or fifteen boys a game giving them valuable game experience, than to stick with five or six and win an extra game or two. After all, we must remember the ultimate purpose of all this. We are interested in developing boys who will make good varsity players some day.

I want each of our junior high school players to grow up with one goal in mind: to some day become a member of the varsity team. My assistant at the high school and I attend all of the junior high games that we can possibly squeeze in. We make it a point to visit each dressing room after the game and discuss the game briefly with the players. We offer congratulations, constructive criticism, and engage them in casual conversation just to let them know that we are watching their progress and are looking forward to having them on our varsity squad at the high school. At the conclusion of each season we have a night at the high school when all of the junior high players and their parents are invited to the cafeteria for a sandwich and ice cream and cake treat. At this time all of the players and parents get an opportunity to meet the coaches in the high school, view some game movies of the varsity games, and mingle with the varsity players. This yearly "get-together" whets the youngsters' enthusiasm, as well as giving them a little reward for their efforts during the season.

If you are just starting a program of this kind, here are a few ideas that we use that might help you get started on the right path to a successful program.
 
One week before the first practice session is scheduled the junior high coaches issue a call for interested candidates for the three different teams. At this time the practice schedule is discussed, and the equipment needs are clearly explained to the boys. A printed form is then given to each boy which he must take home for his parents' signature. In this way we make certain that his parents fully consent to the boy's participation. Of course, every boy must have a medical exam on file with the coach signifying his physical fitness to participate, before he is ever allowed to practice. It is sheer folly not to make certain every boy is physically fit before he participates. If anything should ever happen you would never forgive yourself, and there is a strong possibility you would also be subject to legal action.

I have prepared a syllabus for use by each of the junior high school coaches. In this syllabus I have outlined the teaching that I want done during the three years the boys spend in the junior high system. Most of the syllabus deals with the basic fundamentals as I want them taught at the
different grade levels. Much care has to be given to the teaching of fundamentals, especially at the lower age levels. It is absolutely necessary that the boys be taught properly while in the junior high, but caution has to be used so that the fundamental drills do not become drudgery for the boys. A number of drills should be used and varied so that the boys don't lose interest.

The fundamentals must be meaningful, but also fun so the boys' interest can be maintained at a high level.

Some of the drills that we use on the Junior High School level follow.

PASSING DRILLS

1. Two line passing drill. Divide the team into groups of ten or twelve boys, then have them get in two columns facing each other. At the whistle the boys pass the ball and it goes rapidly up and down the line. A variety of passes may be thrown, with the coaches going around offering constructive criticism. As in all of our drills this drill can be made competitive so as to keep interest at a high pitch. Insist that the boys move the ball rapidly then see which group can complete the most passes without making a mistake. Eliminate the groups that make the errors until only one group remains.
   
2. Bull in the ring. In this drill we put the boys around each circle on the court. We put 12 to 15 boys in each circle then have one boy be the "bull in the ring." The boy in the center of the circle tries to deflect the pass as it is thrown from one boy to the other. We do not let the boys pass to the man next to them. If a bad pass is thrown, or if the boy in the center of the circle deflects the pass, the violator takes his place in the center of the circle.
   
   
   
   
3. Ball handling drill. We use this drill to develop ball handling in football, and it has proven to be very valuable in developing ball handling in our basketball players, too. We divide the boys into several teams of eight to ten boys. The teams are then divided into four to five boys and they face the other half in two lines twelve to fifteen feet apart. On the coach's whistle the first member in line passes to the first member of the other line then moves on the run to the end of the opposite line. The first receiver in turn passes, on the dead run, to the second boy in the opposite line and moves to the end of that line. The boys should always stay to their right, so they won't collide. A variety of passes can be used.
   
4. Two ball drill. This is an excellent reaction drill. We give one boy a ball and put him out in front and facing three or four other boys. The end boy in this group also has a ball. On the signal the boy out front directs his pass to the boy in the line next to the boy with the ball. He in turn receives a pass from the boy with the ball. The passes must be sharp and not delayed or this will result in the front boy getting both balls passed to him at the same time.
   The ball continues up and down the line two or three times, then another boy takes the place of the front boy and he goes into the line. Each boy should take two or three turns out front.
   
5. The three man, and five man weave is also used in the junior high system. The seventh and eighth grades use the three man weave and the ninth grade uses the five man weave. After the boys get proficient at doing this we make them repeat the drill if any errors are made.

 

DRIBBLING

The goal we hope to achieve in the junior high system is to develop the boys sufficiently so they can dribble well with their dominant hand and passably well with the other hand without looking at the ball as they dribble.

1. Blindfold or "blackout glasses" dribble. Get a half dozen blindfolds or buy some "black-out glasses." With concentrated effort the boys will learn to dribble by touch alone.
2. Direction dribble. Have eight to ten boys each with a ball line up facing you. Using hand signals have the boys slide right, left, up and back, while continually dribbling. You will soon pick out the boys who must watch the ball as they will be slow in reacting to the visual signals.
3. Multiple drill. This drill has been very effective, in that it combines several important fundamentals in learning the art of the dribble. They learn to stop and go, and use both hands in dribbling.
   
   Group the boys in two columns of six or eight at one end of the floor. On the whistle they start toward you with a rapid dribble. On the whistle they stop their forward progress but continue dribbling. On the next whistle they begin their rapid dribble again, this time with their other hand.
   
   
4. Obstacle drill. Using the entire length of the floor, group the boys into three or four lines, with each boy spacing himself about six feet directly behind the man in front of him. The end boy in each line has a ball. On the whistle the boys begin weaving in and out of the line. To teach them to keep the body between the defensive man and the ball we let the boys in the line slap at the ball as the dribbler continues weaving in and out of the line. When the dribbler reaches the end of the line, the end boy takes his place. On the next whistle he goes and so on until each boy has taken his turn.
5. Dribble tag. We use this drill on all levels. The boy with the ball is "it." He must control his dribble while chasing someone to tag. We will put two dribblers and ten or twelve boys in a half court and let them go.. This is a good conditioner as well as a "fun" drill.

SHOOTING DRILLS

In all of our shooting drills we are careful to constantly check the hand position on the ball. We want the index finger of the shooting hand resting in the center of the ball. We also make certain the ball is resting on the fingertips and not the palm of the hand.

1. The lay up, jump shot drill. Group the boys in two lines, one at each side of the court. Keep the lines out at center court. As the shooter cuts toward the basket at top speed he receives an easy float pass, chest high, which he lays into the basket. We emphasize the high jump on the lay up, and laying the ball in off the board. After several turns the layup is taken from the other side.
   
   After a few minutes of layups have the boys stop and shoot twelve to fifteen foot jump shots instead of driving all the way into the basket. We add a defensive man in this drill who waves a hand at the jump shooter in an attempt to distract him.
   
   
2. Spot shooting. Group twelve to fifteen boys in a semicircle around the basket. Two boys stay under the basket as rebounders. After two or three minutes the line rotates two men clockwise, the two end men becoming rebounders and the rebounders become shooters. The drill continues until all the boys have had a turn at each of the spots.
   
   
3. Long and short or "27." Divide the boys into teams of two. Have four or five teams engage in competition. On the whistle, the first boy attempts a shot from fifteen to twenty feet. A successful attempt is worth two points. He retrieves the ball and shoots a layup worth one point. He then quickly returns the ball to his teammate who repeats the procedure. The first team to score twenty-one points wins the game.
   
   
4. Basketball golf. Nine spots are designated on the floor. Each team goes through the "course." The team making the most successful shots wins the game.

I feel that a lot of time spent on pattern play in the seventh and eighth grade levels is wasted effort. Our coaches teach only the simple "pass and cut" off a single post. Since the varsity uses a single post offense most of the time, it is important to me to have the boys beginning to get used to playing the post position early in their basket ball careers.

On the ninth grade level the boys are introduced for the first time, to some of the basic parts of the varsity offense. Strictly regimented play is still frowned upon however, We want the boys to feel somewhat free to develop their own individual moves. The fast break is introduced and stressed on the ninth grade level. This is one phase of the game I want emphasized. This is the system that is used by the varsity and I want the ball handling habits that are so necessary for a successful execution of the fast break developed at this time.
A man to man defense is used by the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade teams. A zone defense is never used. Good defensive habits are stressed, with emphasis on the development of personal pride in individual defense—the prime goal of the coach. Beginning with the ninth grade, our
junior high teams use a pressing man to man defense, full court, for the entire game. It is our belief that it is a tremendously valuable experience for the big boy in the junior high school to be forced "out on the floor" to defense his man instead of staying under the basket. We emphasize personal pride in defensive play, and make an attempt to play a straight man for man defense. If the junior high teams meet a team that runs a tight screening offense they are of course allowed to switch.

When a boy makes any squad in the junior high school, a folder is started on him, and his progress carefully noted. Statistics of all types are kept and recorded at the end of the year, along with a comment by the coach on the  strength and weaknesses of the boy and other pertinent remarks.*

When the boys enter high school the folder is passed along to the high school coaches and they continue the folder through the completion of the boy's high school career. This folder enables me to very closely follow the progress of every boy in the junior high school system.

AN ADDED HINT

Be certain that you carefully counsel your Junior High coaches about the importance of carefully cutting the squad. If possible this disagreeable task should be postponed until at least the ninth grade. The thin clumsy boy is worthy of a lot of attention. Some day he might take yon to the State Championship.

*This is the folder we keep on each boy beginning in the seventh grade and continuing through high school.

THE END