Basketball coaches may have difficulty knowing where to start and what to teach to young basketball players, especially boys between the ages of 6 to14 years. Teaching young boys basketball requires a slow progression. Coaches should start with basic skills before progressing to complex ones. This is broken down into three levels as outlined below.
Level1 (6-10 Year Olds)
Lay Ups: – Young basketball players need to practice lots of layers using both hands. Players should be taught to perform layups with both hands and taught to jump off the right foot. When they are shooting with the right hand, they should jump off the left leg and vice versa.
Footwork: – Teaching footwork involves coaching boys in the triple threat position. It involves pivoting on the left and right foot without moving, jump stops, and squaring to the basket immediately.
Shooting Form: – Experts recommend using smaller balls and lower baskets when teaching young boys shooting form.
Movement and Athletics Skills: – This involves teaching how to run, skip, stop, squat, lunge, and jump and land.
Level 2 (10 To 12 Years Olds)
Advanced Lay Ups: – Players should be taught to jump off one foot and do jump-stop layups.
Cuts: – Players should learn back cuts and curl cuts etc.
Ball Handling and Dribbling: – Teach advanced dribbling skills such as fake crossover, between-the-legs, and hesitation.
Level 3 (12 To 14 Years Olds)
Lay Ups: – Coach players on contested layups, which may include same-leg same-shooting hand layups.
Teach More Cuts: – Continue teaching basic cuts.
Ball Handling and Dribbling: -Players should learn advanced dribble moves such as behind-the-back and spin moves.
Passing: – Teach advanced passing moves such as dribble pass, pick and roll pass, and behind-the-back pass.
