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

quote:

---

Most of you didn't read the thread

---

I read the thread. And you’re making the same mistake many coaches who think they are coaches make. You are putting the blame on kids for making the mistakes.

1. Never punish a kid for lack of execution. Punish them for lack of effort or attitude.

2. Quit practicing skills until they get it right. Start practicing skills until they can’t get it wrong.

3. Mistakes made in a game fall on coaches and players. Mistakes made because of a lack of execution is your fault. Mistakes made because a kid was being lazy (understand that not being in shape and being able to run the court because of that isn’t lazy...you haven’t conditioned them enough) or just didn’t care is their fault.

It’s easy to say you’re going to run a kid because they made mistakes. It takes the blame off of you, and you just might think that the kid will decide to try harder next time to get it right. But that doesn’t work. It’s been documented and studied ad nauseam. They wanted to get it right. They just haven’t practiced it enough that they can’t get it wrong.

TLDR; practice the skill more. And by practicing the skill, please don’t be that coach that says “shoot it in the goal”. Study how your players are shooting. See where they can make adjustments and develop better form. Then drill that into them with reps, reps, and more reps. Tons of reps doing something the incorrect way is an absolute waste of time.

quote:

---

junior high(7-9 grade)

---

9th grade is still junior high?

I bet your blood pressure is sky high.

Have you ever hit a player or an opponent?

Making kids run for ineffective performance is about the worst coaching tactic around.

quote:

---

How do you not make fricking free throws pieces of shite

---

So some junior high kids missed some free throws and lost a basketball game?

You come to an LSU sports message board and call them pieces of shite??

I think the best thing for these kids is to get a new coach who isn’t such an obvious dickhead.

Seriously you are an example of the worst kind of coach.

You sound like a good.coach.

quote:

---

Obviously they dont want to win bad enough so if their own intrinsic motivation isn't enough I'll have to give them extrinsic motivation

---

How old are these kids again?

Isn’t your job as a junior high coach to teach the game and make it fun for them.

At that level winning should be a secondary goal.

Sounds like you are their biggest problem.

If kids don't like losing nothing you can do baw

You can make free throw practice more challenging

Conditioning laps based on how many out of ten free throws they make

Aka recreate the pressure of the shot

And what NBA team are you coaching again?

Good Lord, Captain Overzealous Jr. High coach...

Involve running with the free throws. Everyone shoots a set amount. Accumlated misses equals suicides or laps. You never run a basketball team just to run them. Make it a competition with consequences and winners and losers.