Focus on the process not the outcome. If as part of the process he is developing as a player and/or a person then stick it out and try and crack it, ask the coach what he needs to work on. A bench player in a strong program might look at training scrimmages as his 'game time'.

If he isnt developing as a person and/or player, not enjoying it, maybe in a rut, then maybe look at another club. Make sure you make an informed decision though. Speak to someone that knows their stuff to get the right questions to ask a prospective club. Before you leave, speak to your current club to see what they say. Last but not least if any club hears a rumour your son isnt happy from another club and feels the need to contact him DO NOT GO TO THIS CLUB. Why would a club that values the development of its juniors contact players they have never even met? Why would a club that backs the quality of its own coaches to develop its own players want to target others? One last word of advice, don't leave 2 weeks before the Classics - this is not good for anyone involved.

SAW,

If you child is not playing school or social basketball then they do not really consider it a future prospect.

Guru,

Plays both social and school but his hardly a challenging std

Ask to play Div 2 for a month.
This will give little Johnny the chance to post some numbers and regain some confidence.
You might also like to try to strike an agreement with the coach for some outcomes.
The less emotional you can make the better off all parties will be - player, parent & coach.
In order to maintain a connection with the Div 1 squad, I'd even suggest the kid attend the Div 1 game, suit up, warm up etc but not appear on the score sheet.

My experience in this situation is that Mommy and Daddy are more interested in getting little Johnny more court time than little Johnny. Parents often think their child is better than they actually are.
Over reacting parents embarras their children and make it hard for them to fit in with the 'team' mentality.
I have found more and more that its all about...ME. What can I get out of this, what can the team do for ME. The whole concept of teh team has dissapeared and it is no surprise that the successful team s are the ones that sacrifice for each other.

This was just a general query. I guess another way of asking the question is is it better for a first year div one player to play negligible minutes in div 1 or to play div 2 and get more court time and develop his skills in a competitive environment. What would be best for his development when he becomes a second year player. I am presuming that in most cases training occurs with the Div 1 and 2 squads combined.

1) Talk to your child. If they are enjoying their basketball don't do anything.

2) Ask the coach for a discussion on what areas they would like to see your child improve in. Then go away and help your child work on these areas. Even if they don't get more time, they are improving their game.

3) Ask to be dropped back to Div 2 to work on the areas needing improvement, ideally with the agreement and assistance of the Div 2 coach.

Only thing nailed here is that the major club's thought police are still running with the 'stay with us' theme cause the trainings your kid will get is worth more than moving to another club.
In a nutshell if the child is happy , who cares about anything else, stay put!
If the kid is not happy find another club and play higher if you can.
Don't believe anyone who tells you your kid will be better off in the long run playing Div 2 or 3 and then lists a multitude of self serving platitudes as to why.
If and only if your kid is genuinely unhappy with the club and how he or she is played should you move because the grass is not always greener so don't put it into your kids head let it really come from the child.

I have had a player that we put down to div 2 to gain confidence and playing time. He spent 6 weeks down and then found a permenant spot in the Div 1 team. His confidence had grown so much so that his game/skill had been improved. He is now starting in the Div 1 team.

Wow, starting in the Div 1 team...
99% of all distric player will never move on to NBL, Europe or NBA.
If they are having fun and getting better, whats the problem?
If there good enough, they will make it anyway.
People have this attitude where it is easier to blame someone else for things not working out they want. Its easier to blame the coach for not playing more minutes (not knowing that they have sucked at training the week before and mommy hadn't been at training to justify their request for more court time), easier to blame other kids for not passing them the ball...
Comon, soft kids AND their parents should go and play Korfball or
T-ball!

I do not think there is a answer that fits each kid.
It is up to the kid to decide what he/she wants to do.

As a Div 1 player, you will be receiving excellent coaching, which will have a long term benefit.

The negative, is that if a kid is on the bench too long, he/she becomes groomed to believing that their position is on the bench. They become content to be on the bench.

my son is a first year under 16, who plays for the club everyone loves to knock,
At the state champs reserve division, the club entered 2 teams in the state champs, picking 4 players from each of the 2 div 2 teams. The rest formed the second team. This second team consisted mainly of bench players.

With an excellent coach, who was able to get the boys to believe in themselves, they were knocked out at the semi stage, by the strong team, by a slim margin of 3.
The boys lifted themselves.

I do believe that not enough is done on the mental side of the game, getting the kids to live up to their full potential

I watched these two teams mentioned above the whole weekend (yawn) and yes the female older coach of one of the teams did a terrific job in giving the boys extra time and getting the best out of them. Just shows what encouragement and not bearating a kid can do. Well done BS. Bonus is that the kids returning to the original teams are probably playing better as they have a little belief and confidence in themselves. People skills and experience are a wonderful thing.

one of my kids is either a div 1 benchie - just the way it fitted in teh group.

or a starter when in div 2.

result - kid happier and improved with 25-30 mins of div 2 than 5 mins of div 1.

meant no classics, sasi or state - but each week they are dressed ready to go to training and cheery - seen many div 1s drop right out.

now as teh kid gets older you can see the div 1 starting to come out - so if it happens it happens.

i have supported the fact that if you run a 10 player div 1 team - the 9-10 bench players can play div 2 the same week.

ie the way seniors work - you can play down a grade.

it would need honest management - but it would be in teh interest of the kids game developing.

There is no "I" in team, unless I am in the team; seems to be the way today.

Jack it could be, I want to be in the team?

It's a little different in the Sydney Junior Championship. All kids get almost equal court time, all 10 kids in the team feel like they are part of the team. This is across all clubs as a rule. The focus is on developing the kids game, as it should be. It sounds like it is a bit different in Adelaide, you guys all sound a bit uba competitive when it comes to basketball. It marks you apart for sure, you always punch above your weight at nationals etc. The aim at the junior level is to develop their game and skills. All kids develop and come on at different times. They should always just be encouraged to play and improve, i wouldn't be moving them down a division or to another team. They were picked on that team and the coach and the selectors saw something in that kid etc. Stick with it the minutes will come. Maybe the SA basketball organisation needs to look into giving all kids same court-time. It can't hurt and keeps all teams honest.

who plays for the club everyone loves to knock

Buying the coach a couple of beers in the club bar after the match always works a treat as well.

David

You hit the nail on the head in your post above. The unfortunate thing about the fishbowl that is SA basketball is that its all about the coaches and the competitiveness between them - the kids come second. Keep up the good work in sydney, 14 nationals last year and a 16 classics this year. A real shot at 16 nationals - you guys are a credit to kid development.

David and Anon:
Must have been a marbles championship where they all got the same number of marbles and took it in turn to shoot. How soft are you both? What age do you suggest we play competitive sport where you need to earn playing time?
NSW wales teams giving players equal time-I'd like to see that. Next you'll tell us only players of equal height can stand each other,not to mention same weight and hair colour.
David, I like your qualifier, almost equal time.

David we have obviously hit a home town nerve

the nsw thing is crap, i went to the 14 nationals last year and they had three players who played the whole game, they are a good team because of these players, but you cant say it when they played the whole game and some players didnt play at all. this was the same last year at the classics

Afroman

Very wrong, Jack and Phil played the whole game for Norths. The only reason you lost is that you had no decent bigs in that 14 group who could play D. Thats the reason sturt lost to us. Very good in the 1,2,3 but cumbersome and lacking depth in 4,5 and could not create in those spots. Thats why we won our bigs were better, your smalls were better. Woolongong agree - flows through to 16 state as well.
J A will dominate for nsw - by far and away the best 16 kid small or big going around.