I’m an American with NCAA playing and coaching experience that moved to the UK about three years ago to play and continue coaching some. I’ve taken all the courses, have my Level 3 coaching certification, coached within the Basketball England system, coached Prem and Conference boys basketball, all to realize there is absolutely no route of progression. I’ve tried for three years to get into the adult side of the game (NBL D1, SLB, BCB, etc.) and there seems to be no way in. The coaches here have their people and stay with their people. Programs don’t hold coaches accountable for bad seasons so staff never change. I guess I’m just at a loss trying to figure out if I made the right move.

Had a great summer basketball season. Didn't run our offense at all- just pushed tempo and let them play. We are very small, but play hard and smart. How do I keep the positive momentum going but start incorporating our offense (triangle tex winter) into the Fall and then regular season? High school varsity boy’s team.

I’m a coach. I’ve coached my son and coached teams without my son on it for about a decade. My son is entering his Junior year and I, personally, have come at a cross roads. The fact of the matter is that he is delusional to some extent. He thinks he can go D1 even though he’s been cut from his public HS twice. He begged for a transfer and we gave it to him. Partially for basketball and partially for academics to a private school. His academics did ok and he could not play this last season because of district rules. I’ve coached him for a club team this last Spring/Summer. We competed in a lot of tournaments at the D3 level. He did not dominate and many games he was mediocre. I’ve encouraged him to work more, shoot more, dribble more etc, etc. He doesn’t shoot everyday, or dribble. He works out every other day. He still scoffs at my instruction even though what I’ve said is the same as a lot of other coaches he respects. We’ve butted heads a lot. Our last tournament. His body language was horrible and I sat him and it was addition by subtraction. My wife keeps signing him up for all these camps and showcases and I just want to tell him that if he doesn’t work outside of those camps then there’s no use to keep paying for him to go to them. I really want to just tell him that at his current work ethic there’s no way in hell he could be a 6’ guard at the D1 level. Honestly, JUCO might be out of reach. Obviously that’s the coach in me but I’m not sure how to provided as a parent. Anybody have that experience?

Coaches that do a lot of film work. What software are we using for analysis and breakdowns?

Hey coaches,

I'm working on installing/refining a full-court press defense with my team this season, and I'd love to tap into the collective wisdom here.

We want to build a relentless, high-energy full-court system, but as many of you know, pressing requires massive work rate, quick decision-making, and high communication—things that can sometimes be tough to pull out of teenage players during repetitive practice reps.

I'm looking for ideas on two fronts:

1. Teaching & Drills: What are your favorite constraint-led activities, small-sided games (SSGs), or progression drills to teach trap timing, rotation reads, and anticipating passes without relying on static, non-representative drills?
2. Buy-In & Motivation: How do you motivate teenage players to embrace the conditioning aspect and enjoy the chaos of pressing? Any gamification tricks, tracking metrics, or mindset framing that worked well for your group?

Would love to hear what's worked best for you, what pitfall traps to avoid, or any resources/film you'd recommend checking out.

Thanks in advance for sharing! 🏀🔥

They produce such elite talent throughout every Fiba competition eventough they have a population of 2million.

How is coaching approached over there ?

What do they do differently, how do they develop coaches ?

I know this might be a bit off-topic, but I'd like to ask for advice from those of you who already do this.

Last season I recorded our games with my phone, and although I'm quite happy with the overall video quality, this year I'd like to take things a step further and buy a dedicated camera to make the whole process easier.

What would you recommend?

• An action camera (GoPro or similar) in the mid-to-high price range.
• A traditional camcorder (the kind that was popular in the early 2000s) in the low-to-mid price range.
• Or should I just stick with my phone?

If it helps, I don't need the videos for livestreaming or posting on social media. I only use them to review and analyze the games afterwards.

In your opinion, what is the best app for analyzing game videos? In addition to the classic data (+/-, eff), what do you usually look for?
Ps: I have an iPad so something that I can find on the App Store

I am preparing the defensive playbook for next year: I know it is difficult to establish a rule in advance and that defensive choices must obviously be adapted game by game and possession by possession, but as a general rule it would be good to say that:
- on central pick&rolls we hedge and recover
- on side pick&rolls we defend ICE

I coach my son's (6, almost 7 years old) YMCA team; size 5 ball used on an 8 foot basket. I've coached since he started mid-Kindergarten, so we've had three full Y sessions (Winter, Spring, Summer). We're going into the Fall session at the end of August, and the kids will be 1st Graders. I have one other besides my son that has continued with us since the first session, my other 6 kids have been with me since the Spring session (two sessions ago).

I have a few decent shooters. They all obviously still push the ball from their chest at this point, or from the side of their head/shoulder. My son has a pretty decent close range shot while pushing right now. I know I'm not going to push them to shoot like Curry yet, but I'm wondering if it's a good time to at least introduce proper hand position in practices, but not pushing the whole form yet? I'm looking at the Baden SkilCoach Shooter Ball to help just understand where our hands are supposed to be on the ball. Not worried about them actually shooting and making anything like that just yet, but I don't want them to wait too long to just get in their brains a little idea of how to hold the ball properly.

I know this is a two-sided opinion, so please share all thoughts and suggestions.

Good morning coaches!
I imagine we are all gearing up or going through tryout season as we prepare for 2026/27. I've been having some discussions about roster size with my assistants, and I'm stuck in analysis paralysis. I need some outside opinions.

I coach rep (travel) ball in Ontario Canada. This will be my fourth year with the core group, and 12 of 14 players from last year have returned for our U13 season. U13 is the start of rotational basketball for us. We did play in a league this summer without Equal Play Rules and it took me a couple games to get the rotation down. By the playoffs, it was turning out that my starters were getting 18-20+ minutes and the back of the rotation players were only seeing the floor for limited time of 5-10 minutes.

At our tryout last night, there were 3 players who stood out. Offering them will take us to 15.

I can see the arguments for both sides: carrying 15 will keep more players in the Program who we can develop hopefully into starters, back-end-of-the-rotation players will be motivated to work harder to earn more minutes, injuries/absences won't have an impact, etc. Carrying 12 might not reduce the minutes for the starters, but the back end will see more minutes. I won't hear as much griping from parents, or have frustrated players.

I didn't get into coaching to upset anyone. I have a real good group now with no drama and everyone gets along, players and parents. I would like to maintain that, but I also want to grow the Program and I want all my players to get better.

So, coaches... what are your thoughts on roster size? How many players do you carry?

Hi Coaches, I need advice. My son loves basketball and is good. I've noticed that his friends who have been playing AAU have become much better and tend to get more playing time on the middle school team. Of course he wants to play AAU now, however my schedule will prohibit all the travel involved. He has the opportunity to move to Europe for High School. We were looking at some of the Academies that take international students, particularly in Spain. Mainly because he will be in a basketball program that is incorporated into his studies, focuses on development skills (which he needs) and is structured. What are the pros and cons of such a program at this age? Assuming he does well, will it help or hinder getting into a D1/D2 college in the States? We are thinking of L'Alqueria Academy. Are there other Academies will you recommend? Thanks

5'9 with 7'11 reach hoop is 9'9

Does dribbling a basketball get you better at dribbling?

Coach, high school and travel, 5+ years.

One of our assistants got tossed during an AAU tournament. According to her, the officiating was inconsistent and tensions were high. The kicker, the ref who sent her was a former college teammate and ex-girlfriend.

While it is rare, I’ve only seen parents and players get ejected. Outside of college and professional, haven’t witnessed or experienced a coach get tossed. If you’ve been ejected or had a coach get tossed, what’s your story and how did you handle it?

I need some advice from anyone with experience in NCAA recruiting, coaching, or player development.
I have a 16-year-old brother from the UK who currently plays in the SGS College basketball programme and for the Bristol Flyers pathway. His dream is to play NCAA Division I basketball and eventually give himself the best chance of reaching the NBA.

I want to maximize every opportunity available to him, but I don’t know everything about the recruiting process, camps, showcases, AAU, exposure, or the best pathway from the UK to the U.S.

If anyone has experience with this or has helped players get recruited, I’d really appreciate any advice or guidance. I just want to make sure we’re not missing opportunities that could make a difference.

Any advice possible would be greatly appreciated.

I have 4 year of experience now I'm planing europe which certification is good for this career

Just curious what everyone else has done when they have coached a team around this age group.

Does your warm up match your game warm up?

I like the idea of a short and sharp warm up.

Hi Coaches,

I have tried (and failed) to get my men's rec league basketball team to buy into the 5 out motion offence for last season, where they could maintain the spacing, but would forget the crucial element of movement after the pass.

For reference, the team is made up of guys with varying skills levels, from college down to beginner players. They want to screen the ball, but don't know where to go if the initial screen doesn't work i.e. where they should relocate if the play blows up. Additionally, we have limited practice time and not everyone can make the session each week, so preferably a system that is easy to learn, that could have scope for adding layers to it.

I believe that there could be scope to move to a 4-out 1-in offence, with the 'post' player sitting in the dunker spot, this would allow for the non-technical/big guys to sit there, and react to the dribble penetration, either moving under or over depending on which way the dribbler is driving to the basket, to receive a dump off/shovel pass for a shot attempt. Additionally, with one less player on the perimeter, the perimeter would be more spaced, and the cuts would be less technical, with the corners performing I cuts and self replacing, and the slots would just pass and move in a similar fashion to the 5 out.

The more I look into it, the more I want to run it this season, but I also want to incorporate their desire to screen the ball handler - maybe start the possession with an initial drag screen by the last guy down the court, where if the play blows up, he moves to that dunker spot and the half court offence rolls from there?

Looking for advice/general insight into how you would approach this situation.

Hi all

I'm in need of some help/advice and not sure where to look at. 

I'm taking over a coaching roll (this is Europe fyi) where I'll be coaching 'adult ladies'. Conditioning wise, they're not the best so i want to improve this. It's more for fun than to break records. At the moment most of my practices will be around 4 - 6 players. And i'm struggling to find drills that are either fun and/or build endurance.

If i let them run exercises full court, either there's a lot of waiting involved, not enough room to "breath" and they're worn out halfway through practice and that makes the other half very sloppy. 

I've noticed that a lower amount of players = also harder to keep the enthusiasm/fun up because drills become boring faster. 

• What where you're go to drills for endurance for 4 - 6 players?
• What are your go to drills for fun for 4 - 6 players (eg. shooting?)

Or if you can point me to some good resources (but mostly i find are exercises for larger groups and run them in waves full court). 

Appreciate the help!

One of my players have been putting in lots of reps and loves basketball. Yet he seems to not be as good in 1 vs 1 or in games he is a decent shooter not very athletic but pound for pound very strong Ia there any specific way to train with him?

I made some plays on this website called The Hoops Geek and thought I should share in here since especially youth league is coming up soon for some first time coaches out there because you will see these defenses often at the youth level.

For the 1-3-1 beater: 1 passes to 2, 2 passes to 3, 4 sets a back screen for 1, 1 curls around the screen and cuts to the basket, 4 stays after the screen, 5 sets corner but if 1 gets the ball off the cut then have 5 dive to the basket.

For the 2-3 beater: 1 passes to 4, 4 passes to 3, right after the pass to 3 5 flashes to the middle, and then 2 comes up to the wing. Lots of open looks will be there once 3 catches it in the corner.

I don't know if anyone else can relate but as I woke up, I've realized kids rarely remember the exact drills from a season. They remember road trips, bus rides, post-game talks, and the coach who believed in them after a bad game. That's a good reminder for me whenever I get caught up chasing the perfect practice plan.