A better day coaching

After our 7- and 8-year-old basketball kids were pelted in their first game by a group of kids who looked closer to 9 and who played closer to 14, I was a little fearful that my first foray into coaching had been a mistake. More so for the kids than for myself.

We'd missed our weekly practice because of snow and frigid weather on the 14th, so we went in without proper knowledge. This led me to a vigorous practice on the 21st where I explained proper guarding techniques. Most of them understood in practice, but when they got in the game, it was more of the same bunching around whoever had the ball. But that's normal.

We'll work on defense again this week, and add a few offensive maneuvers to get them away from dribbling into the mass of bodies and losing the ball, either by having it stolen or because they throw up a lob pass in the middle of the pack.

All in all, I think we scored more baskets this week. I was busy trying to keep our benched players on the bench and watching the clock so I could do substitutions. I felt semi-victorious in the knowledge that most of our players on the court had a better idea of what they were doing.