(long version ;0(
I’m coaching my grandson’s 2nd grade basketball team with my son. He is head coach, and drafted a very immature and unskilled team, this mainly because of the BS and politics that goes on in these leagues. Things like no first round pick left, the insider stacking their teams with “car-poolers”, etc. Really awful.
That said, I’m all about the kids and improving their skills and confidence. 6 kids on every team, on the first day of practice one kid was shooting everything underhanded (obviously he had never played), and another wouldn’t lift his arms above his sides - I think he’s probably slightly on the spectrum. Our “star” player began the season by hogging the ball and attempting 20 foot shots every time down. Not much to work with, it seemed. We lost our first 3 games by “a lot to a little”. We usually got no rebounds, and played porous defense.
Anyway, we’ve been doing our best and trying to keep the kids positive. Today, our 6th or 7th game, we finally won one, and against a team that beat us earlier on. The “underhand” kid (who now shoots normally) scored the first 2 buckets of the game. Our “star” has learned to work harder for better shots, and occasionally even passes ;-) The boy with the arms on his side is starting to get it a little. But most impressively, we were playing tight, lock down defense, and held our own on rebounding. Two kids scored in double figures (we have a few games that the entire team hasn’t done that), and everybody scored in the game.
Personally, I could care less about winning a game at this juncture. But it meant the world to the boys - you could see it in their faces. And the parents looked nothing less than shocked.
A few more games to go, but I’m feeling like we’ve done our job. This is what I love about coaching kids.