Keys to Winning Basketball Games

I have been coaching youth basketball for a very long time and I like to tell my team what I expect from them at the beginning of the year.  One of the things I like to tell them on the first day of practice are what my 4 keys to success are.  These 4 items are what I look for from my team during a game.  If they excel in these 4 areas then we are in good shape.  If not then we will be in trouble.

The 4 areas for success are:
  1. Take more shots in the paint than the opposition.
  2. Force more turnovers than you commit.
  3. Contest every shot.
  4. Rebound the ball.
As mentioned earlier, I like to introduce the 4 points during the very first practice and then reinforce the topic each and every practice.  We do this by repeating it at every practice and by making sure that we cover the 4 topics every day in practice also.  So how do we incorporate the 4 areas into practice?  We do it by including the following into our scheme:
  1. Aggressive offense that has an inside out flow to it.  We always want to break down the defense and then make decisions from there.
  2. Push the ball up the floor as quickly as possible.  Easy baskets before the defense gets back and set is important.  An easy secondary break is not a bad idea to teach kids as young as 5th grade.
  3. Play aggressive man to man.  This will allow your team to force turnovers and hopefully get some easy baskets.
  4. Close out on every shot.  Always challenge your team to close out on every shot.  Make this a game inside the game.  Tell them that every uncontested shot will cost them a sprint at practice.  Make this a point of emphasis.
  5. Box out your man.  Securing the rebound after you have fought hard to stop the other team is of vital importance.  What good is tough defense if you give up an easy put back off a rebound afterwards.
So there you have it, the 4 areas of success.  I firmly believe that by pursuing control of these areas will help increase the chances of success for your team.

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