I heard this story this morning on the news and couldn't believe what I heard, so I had to look it up on line further.

 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/highschoolsports/2004422051_bball18.html

 Being a father of 3 girls around this young lady's age, I am very proud to see a female athlete excel at such a high level.  All of us who continued to promote Title IX, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX ,  have to look at this as a great day for woman's athletics.  It will always be a debate whether boys and girls should play on the same court/field, but I would think this shows not only it can be done, but they can dominate!

 As a coach, the only objection I had to this story was the score of one of her games, 90-7!  There is no reason in events at this level, and probably any other, for a score to get that far out of hand and no reason for the coach to seem proud of that.  If there is any problem, it rests in a coach not managing the game properly.  I have written about this problem before, http://playsportstvblogs.com/billsniffen/2007/12/question_for_coach_bill_1.html

But, since we like to focus on the positive, congratulations to Twelve-year-old Jaime Nared on her accomplishments and we look forward to hearing more about her in the future!

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 03:23 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

As my first grade son begins what we hope is an athletic career filled with fun and successes, I want to announce that he is being recruited to play baseball with the Oakland A's!  Sounds impossible?  Well he does play for the A's in his little town league, so I figure the big club will be calling any time soon to secure him for the future!  No? Oh well, I am sure the University of Kentucky will want him then, since from what I read today, they are even recruiting 8th graders!

http://www.kentucky.com/276/story/393152.html

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 05:20 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Check out this article about Coach Thom and his family!  Congrats!

 http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803280401

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 02:05 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Coach,

We just moved to Brooklyn and I am looking for a place for my 11 yr. old son to play basketball, any suggestions?

 Maria

 Maria,

Thanks for checking out PlaysportsTV.com and submitting your question.  Generally in most large urban areas like Brooklyn, NY, you can find local recreation level sports at your local YMCA or church.  Being from the NY Metro area myself, I am very familiar with the Catholic Youth Organization, or CYO, which at your local Catholic church, will have teams for all ages and skill levels.  They play a competitive schedule against other teams in NYC and is a great feeder route for playing in high school and beyond.  They accept a certain a number of non-catholics as well.  Check out this site and see if they can help in your local community as well.  Good luck and please check back to PlaysportsTV.com for updates, and click on the basketball tab for videos and a link to my blog as well!

http://www.bcba.com/

http://www.aauboysbasketball.org/blue/index.asp

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 03:17 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Dear Coach,

 Which NBA players should kids watch as a way to improve certain skills?

 I might sound partial in this answer, but I think many people would agree with what I have to say.  My first scrimmage as a high school varsity coach, the opposing coach asked me if he could try-out one of his younger players on both the JV and Varsity that day to see how he fits in.  During the JV scrimmage, this player was much taller then all of the kids, but seemed to be "soft" during warm-ups.  He won the opening tap, went down the court and they threw him a lob and he dunked it in.  Then, he was the point man on their press and even handled the ball against my JV team's press as well.  The varsity coach quickly pulled him out and was now going to try him later in the varsity scrimmage.  In that game, against stronger and taller players he did the same and dominated on both ends of the floor and he was only a freshman.  This kid worked so hard on his defense and his positioning on offense, that you could tell he was something special at 14.  After the game, he shook everyones hand, including the officials and thanked everyone for opening the gym on a Saturday for his team.  Who was this kid?  Only Elton Brand!  His work ethic in games and in practices is legendary.  Watch him as he positions himself on offense, gets ready for an offensive rebound and is always there to be a force on defense.  Sure he can score 20 points a game, but it is all the other stuff he does that makes him my favorite to watch in the NBA.  Throw in his off court efforts of generosity to his hometown and high school, and he really makes up the complete player in my eyes!

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 02:37 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

My children are really into basketball, but I was more into other sports and really don’t know the rules of the game and what all the terms mean or the lines on the court are for. What can I do to become as educated as my kids are?

A fellow coach of mine came up with a great idea, that of having a “parents’ practice.” This is when the coach, of anyone else who knows the game, takes the time to explain the court, the major rules and the terms used by most coaches and television commentators. This will provide parents with a better understanding of the game, and the difficult job basketball officials have. After this practice parents will know what this line from the basketball movie Hoosiers means: “Don’t get caught watching the paint dry!"

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 01:10 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)