Basketball for Parents or Youth ?

At what point does parental involvement become too much? We have all heard or seen that parent who screams and yells at kids games. I am not referring to that parent who screams and cheers for their team but rather that parent who insists on criticizing the refs for everything they do. And I mean seeing this scenario at a game where kids are only 8 and 9 years old. There are multiple advertisements and pamphlets which remind us that the game is for the youth and for them to have fun. Now these scenes can be dismissed as a crazy parent but when parental involvement starts to go on behind the scene then I believe it has gone too far.


I can recall instances where parents have complained that their child did not get enough playing time and this was after the first game of the season and they players were if the fine age of 10 years old. Now unfortunately this continues to happen all through the playing career of a youngster. I have even recently heard of a case where a coach in university basketball was forced to leave their job because the parents complained their child was not getting enough floor time. This last instance makes we wonder at what point do we just let the kids play !!!!!!!

I urge all parents to sit back, watch enjoy and just let kids of all ages just be kids.

Building Confidence

Confidence .. What is it ?


How do we instill and nurture it ? At what age does it becomes a non-factor ?who is responsible for it self, parent or coach ? Is it possible to have too much ?

Webster’s dictionary defines it as the following:

Main Entry: 1con•fi•dence

Pronunciation: \ˈkän-fə-dən(t)s, -ˌden(t)s\

Function: noun

Date: 14th century

1 a : a feeling or consciousness of one's powers or of reliance on one's circumstances b : faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way

2 : the quality or state of being certain :



In the game of basketball it can be boiled down to the simple definition of willingness to shoot the ball. But many times it goes way beyond being willing to shoot as it can affect the way a player plays the game. Are they passive on the court or do they play aggressively ? Unfortunately something that is so fragile in many is often very hard to not only recognize when a player has it and also very easy to destroy.

As a coach one of my main goals is to not only instill confidence in my players but also nurture it throughout the season. I do not claim to have any special secrets but I have found that communication is definitely a key to this character building in a person. As a teacher we quite often let our students know where they made a mistake and help them to correct their errors. I have seen far too often where a player is substituted or even finished a game and never are they informed of where their errors were made and worse there is not corrective measures put in place. As a coach I strive to give my players feedback in both manners not only when they don’t do well but also when they do something very well. A simple “ nice screen” can go a long way in letting a player know they are doing alright. In education we use the term of praise sandwich, a strategy that be used in many areas of life. Basically provide positive feedback then some constructive criticism then one more piece of positivity . This method can work wonders for getting along with others.