Quote:
Originally Posted by Friendo
it's a fine balance--I used to correspond with a youth Coach in England who told me their problem has been that they were too top-heavy with the structure/Academy system, esp early on. Parental meddling, over the top coaching, etc--just like you see here. The really creative players learn it on the playground (just like hoops here). I used to tell the kids that I coached that the best development takes place on your own after practice. Look no further than the NBA Championship this year for the balance however---structure & discipline definitely have a place (Spurs & their foreign players), but the game HAS to be fun in order for the little ones to catch fire. That is the danger to me....that in chasing success on the world stage we'll get too caught up like England did on results. The results will come with the right balance.
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Another interesting part of AAU, according to basketball coaches around here at least, is that it actually HURTS a lot of kids' games to constantly be playing AAU and touring all the time, especially at a young age.
They don't work on fundamental aspects of their game. Thus you get freak athletes who can make beautiful plays, but they can't shoot free throws for shit, run set plays, or have horrible footwork underneath.