WHO'S TEACHING THE GAME?

Sometimes the Best Teacher Is the Game Itself

Today's young basketball players probably receive more instruction than any generation before them. They have coaches, trainers, camps, clinics, AAU programs, strength coaches, shooting coaches and thousands of training videos available anytime they want them.

That's a tremendous advantage.

But here's a question I've been thinking about:

Are we teaching our kids so much that we're sometimes taking away their opportunity to figure things out for themselves?

When my generation played pickup basketball, nobody stopped the game to explain what we did wrong. You made a mistake, and usually the game gave you the answer.

Leave your man open? He scores.

Force a bad shot? Your teammates let you hear about it.

Can't go left? Somebody figures that out and forces you left.

Don't get back on defense? Your man gets a layup.

Keep making the same mistake? Eventually you either adjust or somebody else takes your spot.

The game was coaching you.

That's one of the things pickup basketball gave us that can be difficult to reproduce in structured practices. We had to solve problems in real time.

There wasn't always an adult standing on the sideline calling the play. There wasn't a trainer stopping the action and repositioning everybody. Sometimes there wasn't even a referee.

You had to communicate. You had to make decisions. You had to learn your teammates. You had to understand spacing, recognize mismatches and figure out when to attack and when to get somebody else the ball.

And you had to do all of that while somebody else was trying to beat you.

That's basketball IQ.

Today, I sometimes watch young players look toward the sideline after almost every possession waiting for instructions.

What defense are we in? What play are we running? Where should I stand? What should I do?

Good coaching should absolutely help players answer those questions. But eventually, the player has to learn how to answer some of them for themselves.

Basketball happens too fast for a coach to make every decision.

That's why I don't think the answer is choosing between structured basketball and pickup basketball.

Young players need both.

Let coaches teach fundamentals. Let trainers develop skills. Let organized teams teach systems, discipline and teamwork.

Then give players opportunities where nobody is controlling every possession.

Roll the basketball out.

Pick teams.

And let them play.

They'll make mistakes. There might be arguments. Somebody will probably take a terrible shot.

Good.

Because eventually they'll have to figure it out.

And figuring things out is part of development—not only in basketball, but in life.

At Play 4 Rings, we're trying to develop more than athletes who can follow instructions. We want young people who can think, adjust, communicate, compete and solve problems.

Sometimes that requires great coaching.

And sometimes the best thing a coach can do is step aside for a little while...

and let the game do some of the teaching.

Play 4 Rings | Building Triple Threats For LifeTraining the Body, Mind & Will Power for excellence in any arena.