re: Is it acceptable for me to punish junior high(7-9 grade) kids for a loss?

A suicide per miss is just dumb and unneeded. I’ve coached HS basketball for over 10 years. Generally every year my teams finish between 62-70% from the stripe and that’s very good in HS basketball. My better shooters tend to finish above 70%. We shoot FTs between drills and game plan install every day. Finish practice with everybody shooting 2 and running a sprint per miss. If you need some basic fundamentals on proper FT technique just say the word and I’ll beak it down for you. I’m the first one to tell you that you need to stay on the kids and be hard on them but you also have to be their biggest fan as well. If they do something right tell them and give them positive feedback.