Getting young kids excited about basketball isn’t all that hard, but getting them to execute basketball plays can be another story altogether. When trying to set up basketball plays for young kids the key is to keep them extremely simple, especially when dealing with very young kids who sometimes even forget which way to be running.

First of all, make sure to keep practices fun and interesting when coaching young kids, especially because practicing the same drills time and time again can be quite boring after awhile. An easy way to keep your practices fun and interesting is to integrate games between drills and practicing plays. Not only will that foster the competitive spirit amongst your teammates, it will also take their mind off form and put it back on having fun. They won’t even notice that they are still learning valuable skills that they can apply in future practices and games!

One game that my kids love to start off each practice with is a variation on the popular schoolyard game Red Light, Green Light. Have your team stand basketball in hand in a line about 5 feet apart. Start by yelling out the command “green light” which signals to the team to begin dribbling and moving forward. When you yell “red light”, it is time for them to stop and stand still exactly where they are. At this point if any children are still dribbling or moving or if the ball slips from their hands, they are out of the game. The winner is the last one standing. For additional variation sometimes we play with the commands “yellow light” for dribbling to the left and “blue light” for dribbling to the right.

A good starter when approaching basketball plays for young kids is the scissor play. This play involves three players—the shooter, the screen and the passer. The shooter and the screen both stand on the edge of the circle with the shooter on the left and the screen on the right. The passer is positioned near the basket on the right side. The play begins as the shooter passes the ball to the passer, then the shooter and the screen scissor in front of each other. The aim of this motion is to distract the other team’s defendants, momentarily confusing them and allowing the play to continue uninhibitedly. After the scissoring is complete, the passer passes the ball overhead back to the shooter, who is now free to take an easy shot.

The key to successfully pulling off this play is excellent timing between the shooter and the screen. Have your players practice this play in groups of 5, with the 2 extras acting as the defenders.

Don’t fret if your team has a hard time catching on to the plays. Incorporating basketball plays for young kids can be an arduous task, since they involve advanced memory skills. Always remember to provide lots of positive encouragement and reinforcement as you witness progress in the basketball plays for young kids, especially if they are able to successfully pull off a play during game time.