Congratulations Coach. Your team was prepared and executed to near perfection on this particular day. The result was a halftime score of 34-0. But how are you supposed to approach the 2nd half? It can be a tricky situation and worth a little advance thought so you take full advantage of the opportunity presented.
One of our 4th grade coaches found himself in this situation earlier this year. After the game he asked for a little counsel on my recommended approach.
As coaches in youth sports, it is our responsibility to see beyond the game. We talk with our kids a lot about winning and losing and hopefully make distinctly clear our objective is to develop players and teams capable of winning more games than we lose. Most importantly, it’s a winning culture we aim to promote. A culture where individuals and teams respect the process of skill development and improvement.
Let’s get back to the question I was asked by the coach, “how would I have approached the 2nd half of the game?”.
I shared the conversation I would have had with the team during halftime. First, I would have praised them for their execution up to this point. They clearly were doing a lot right to earn such a dominant position in the game. Next, I would explain our expectations for the rest of the game.
1.) Knowing a little about this particular team, I assumed their trapping style of defense in the half court was causing the other team trouble. Assuming that’s the case, I explained we wouldn’t pick up the ball on defense until the other team crossed the 3-point line. This doesn’t mean we would forgo our man to man principles of defense, but we would concede to letting the other team get into their offensive sets before doing our best to prevent them from scoring.
2.) This particular team was also very good at turning a defensive rebound into offensive transition opportunities. Not wanting to spend the next 20 minutes in a bona fide layup drill, I’d demand our players run our half court offense before looking to score. This might even include a mandated ball reversal or, as a Read and React team, we might require a dribble at, or post entry and laker cut before shooting the ball. Essentially I’d want to use every possession to fine tune areas of our offense that need attention.
3.) The last game management decision I’d encourage involved how we used our players. I’d take this opportunity to ask a player who doesn’t normally handle the basketball to play point guard. Move traditional post players to a wing role and vice versa. As an advocate of position less basketball at the youth level, this approach ensures players are exposed to varying roles and responsibilities. Sure, you might turn the ball over a few times as these players get comfortable in their new role, but you’ve earned the opportunity to use these last 20 minutes to improve your players and team. Let’s be real, we never have enough practice time so taking full advantage of the 20 minutes of additional live game reps is priceless.
As mentioned earlier, youth coaches have a responsibility to see beyond just the game or season they are involved. More important than our knowledge of X’s and O’s is our understanding of our role as teachers of children and ambassadors to the game of basketball. How my opponent feels after the game is something I must be aware of. How I coach and approach situations like this speak volumes to my personal, and our program’s, value system.
After sharing this with the coach of this particular team, I could tell he was a little uncomfortable with the direction I took in my response. I’m known as an uber competitive person and he was noticeably surprised I didn’t endorse going for the jugular. I had intentionally never asked him how he approached the 2nd half, but rather wanted him to get an unfiltered / unbiased response to his question.
Up until this year, the league we play in didn’t differentiate between a competitive and recreational team. Many of the players in the league were just getting introduced to the game of basketball, whereas our kids had been playing since they were in kindergarten. Quite simply, this unfortunate disparity of skill was as much our fault as it was theirs. We opted to play in a local league as a means of convenience versus traveling all around the city seeking out teams of similar skill level. Out of respect for the game of basketball and respect for our opponent and where they are currently on the skill development continuum, it’s imperative we approach our dominance in this particular game with sensitivity.
Youth basketball is full of individuals willing to “select” talent and too few dedicated towards “developing” it. As a basketball society, we need to do everything we can to introduce kids to the game and encourage their ongoing participation. If one of the earliest experiences a kid has to the game is getting embarrassed by a superior team, all we’re doing is creating unnecessary barriers to entry. Instead, let’s inspire the athletes on the other side and maybe, just maybe, we’ll get that star soccer or football player playing our game for the first time to fall in love with basketball. Whether or not he ever makes a high school team or beyond, how we handle situations like this particular blowout can go a long way towards creating raving fans of the game and our program.
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