Basketball Basics: Today's Video Tip
This video Tip from Coach Bob Schurtz focuses on shooting basics every kid should keep in mind.
Bob is the basketball coach at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School in New Jersey.
November 2006 | December 2006 »
This video Tip from Coach Bob Schurtz focuses on shooting basics every kid should keep in mind.
Bob is the basketball coach at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School in New Jersey.
Today's Ohio State-Michigan college football game was the most hyped game in a long time. There was a lot at stake, with the winner guaranteed a spot in college football's national championship game, not to mention bragging rights in this fierce rivalry that's as good as any in college sports.
Yet despite all the pressure and all that was at stake, the players and coaches displayed good sportsmanship throughout. It was one of the best college games I've ever seen, and a good lesson for youth sports coaches, parents and players, who too often have a "win at all costs" mentality that can do more harm than good.
Michigan played a great game, but came up on the short end of a 42-39 decision. It may have lost its chance to play for the national title, but deserves a lot of credit for continuing to come back from double-digit leads in a hostile environment. Best of all, when it was over, the losers did not play the blame game and gave credit to Ohio State for the win.
This game will be remembered years from now as one of the greatest ever played, one in which both teams gave their all to win, and then congratulated each other when it was over. This is what athletics on any level is all about, and it was refreshing to see in such a spotlight game.
I played many sports growing up, and my dad, who was a good athlete, would frequently dispense instruction, often in front of others. I can remember some of these impromptu lessons vividly, more for the embarrassment factor than for what I learned.
Kids, after all, want to do things their own way, and they make the distinction between advice from a true coach and a parent very quickly, soaking up the former and often rejecting the latter.
As the parent of 9 and 7 year olds, I now have experience from both the child's and adult's perspectives. Like my dad, I too and big on instruction, and have learned the hard way from my kids that less is often more. Rather than trying to analyze and correct every throw or swing, which usually resulted in my kids not wanting to play any more, I've realized that it's sometimes better to let them do things their own way at first. They gradually learn what works and what doesn't, and tend to be more open to tips from me once they've tried it their way.
All of which is to say my kids are now more eager to go to the park to play soccer, basketball, baseball, Frisbee, etc., with their dad, which is really what I wanted all along -- to enjoy sports with my kids.
Why does it seem like every time there's a youth sports story making headlines these days it's about a parent or coach setting a bad example for the youth they are trying to lead? The Nov. 4 story on the front page of the Washington Post is a good example.
Why does it seem like every time there's a youth sports story making headlines these days it's about a parent or coach setting a bad example for the youth they are trying to lead? The Nov. 4 story on the front page of the Washington Post is a good example.
A commissioner of a youth football league for 12 to 14 year olds in Northern Virginia celebrated his son's team -- the South County Raptors -- making the playoffs by firing his son's head coach and assistant coach because the coaches moved his son from defense to offense in the last regular season game. Forget that the Raptors won this game to advance to the playoffs. Commissioner Dan Hinkle e-mailed the head coach before the season that his son "does not sit out on defense -- ever," and that "the entire league exists so he can play defense on the best team in his weight class."
Wow. How does a guy like this get to be in a position of power? Parents and league officials tried to get Hinkle to change his mind and to reinstate the coaches, but Hinkle wouldn't budge, and so a team of 19 kids missed out on the playoffs.
There is a little good news for the Raptors. League chairman Mark Meana said in a Nov. 6 Washington Post story that he told the fired coaches that the Raptors would get to play in a special bowl game with them in charge if the team's parents and players agreed -- with or without Hinkle's blessing. Meana went on to say that even if Hinkle wouldn't allow the team to use its equipment that he's found other teams willing to donate the Raptors the equipment they need.
We tell our kids to think before they act, but in youth sports, there have been too many examples of parents, coaches and league officials not doing this, and the kids suffer from the adults' bad actions.
One Raptors player, when hearing about the possibility of a special bowl game, said he was excited about it, and really wanted to play. We adults need to remember that youth sports should be about our kids and not us, and that like it or not, we are role models for our kids and should act like we want them to behave.
In this blog I'll share my thoughts on lessons that I've learned from both recent sports news and from my kids sporting adventures. I welcome your comments and perspectives.
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Greg Maddux: On the Mound with...
A good look at one of the best pitchers in baseball. Good for age 9 and above.-Chris (****)
