Coach
Years ago

Pickle For a Junior Game Tonight

Hey guys

Sorry for the late notice but was hoping some people on here might have some suggestions for me.

Im coaching a game in a little over 2 hours. Domestic U16 boys. We've lost our two shooters to ankle injuries and neither will be playing tonight. We've been languishing third from the bottom as it is, and are playing one of the top teams.

As much as i try to train them otherwise, the boys rely heavily on these two for shooting. I have a feeling the game is going to be a massive blow out.

However, i want to keep the boys who are playing interested in the game. I was thinking of giving them something to work towards other than the win, ie: getting all 7 of them to score a basket, keeping the result to under a certain margin etc.

Does anyone have any suggestions to a) keep them interested in the game and b) stop them from giving up?

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Raider fan
Years ago

Simply put: tell them that if they're not going to put the effort in, you're not going to play them, regardless of the score.

Emphasise defence. limit the scoring, slow the game down to limit the amount of possessions, and try to pinch it that way. Don't go into the game thinking it's going to be ugly. Find a way to win.

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Mick
Years ago

Get them focused on their defensive assignments and set goals that way.

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Bear
Years ago

Tell them to have fun Coach, that usually helps... When they loosen up they might even take a few shots and surprise themselves.

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Phil
Years ago

i like micks suggestion.

as far as i can tell a lot of pro coachs really judge games by how their team follows their assignments

some times beating or losing x team doesnt matter so much as how you follow what you need to achieve in terms of play.

the spurs are gonna win the majority of their games , and maybe a win over philly and a loss to chicago mid year doesnt tell you anything you didnt already know.

pop would be looking at how his team followed his instructions in both games.

so its probably too late for that game but in the future i would tell the team that winning from game to game is just one goal , but another more important goal is to execute the team plan and all the roles with-in that plan. it may cost you x amount of games at the start but in the long run the team will do better than before. this sometimes means benching a good scorer if his other areas of the game are not following the plan.

it also means as a coach not just molding your players to your plan but your plan to your players.

also when teams struggle they will want to revert to passing to the known scorers and them jacking up a low % shot. that will be the hard part.

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Anonymous
Years ago

result?

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Happy Days
Years ago

100 per cent effort starting on the defensive end, play on your instincts and shoot the ball.

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Pickle For a Junior Game Tonight

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