OT: So my first game of coaching didn't go so well..

[THROWBACK_91]

I coached my first day of coaching my brothers Under 15's team was soo bad.
The team has made the finals 3 straight seasons and i'm the new coach taking over and we just got nailed by 33 points, after trailing by just 2 at the half.
I went blank in timeouts and just rambled on and I couldnt find a defense that would work well, after failing miserably with a basic 2-3 zone i went to a 3-2 zone.

On offense we couldn't get anything going so i tried to stick my best passing big on the free throw line and try get some cuts inside and my players didnt buy into it.

Has any coaches or former coaches got any advice for me? I badly need it.

[Bomb_First]

Run more iso's on offense and stick to playing nothing but a zone on defense. Championship to follow.

[blkout]

I coached under 12's through to under 18's. From what I can remember when I was coaching under 14's I basically picked the best 2 offensive players and let them do what they wanted. The plays I taught were REALLY basic and really just a way to make sure everyone was standing in the right spot. I'd make little adjustments here and there through the game but nothing wholesale or different to what we'd work on in practice. If I had a really big kid I'd get him to set screens because often they are too lazy to rebound properly.

As far as D goes, don't change it up on them too much. I'm assuming you're American so your under 15's are probably more advanced than my under 14's were, but even when I was playing under 18's it took a while for us to really get a 2-3 zone down properly because the adjustments and movements you have to make in accordance to where the ball is are far more important than knowing where to stand initially and who covers what area. That's what takes the longest time to instill, so if you are changing it up on them mid-game you're kinda just asking for problems. I used to run a 2-3 zone and if it wasn't working I'd change it to man-on-man.

Basically just keep in mind that they're probably not all on the same level ability-wise. You might have a couple of guys who can play, understand the offensive sets and can shift zones mid-game but chances are the rest of them aren't quite that good.

As far as your time-outs go, make sure you actually have a reason to call one when you do and keep your instructions simple too.

The first game I ever coached I called a time-out with 13 seconds left and we were down by 1, but we didn't get the ball back until there was 0.5 seconds left and one of our guys had somehow drawn a foul. So there's this kid going to the free throw line with half a second left and I'd called a time-out 13 seconds before then, but instead of cancelling it I panicked and made them all come over. I had no idea what to say so I just rambled on a bit and he ended up missing the free throws.

You have to know what you're going to say before you even call the time-out, it's no good calling it and trying to make things up on the spot because you'll end up rambling and they won't want to listen. The simpler you keep your instructions the easier it'll be to convey your message.

Anyway I'm sure there's better/more experienced coaches here than me, but I coached kids from 12-18 for like 5 years so I have a little bit of experience in dealing with them.

[gino_giode]

The defense needs to adjust with the flow of the game. If the other team is just reeking havoc in the paint then go zone, if not then playing fundamental 1 on 1 is the way to go. Really stress defense in your practices, offense will come throughout the season in bits, but if you get a defensive mentality from the start and you get your guys to buy into it that will develop better cohesiveness and chemistry.

I don't think anyone can really give you a good suggestion since no one knows what you have to work with (ie: shooters, penetrators, passers, etc). You just have to figure out what plays work best for the team, whether it be a simple PnR or a post up, so you have something to go to when your primary options are snuffed.

So for now I would just continue to stress defense and conditioning. Also, be sure to stress TOUGH defense, even if you have to condone fouling hard. You have to figure out the team's identity and tell them straight up that "this is how we'll play no matter what"---and don't worry about the identity of the teams that made it 3 straight times to the finals, you're a new coach and you have to assert your own system and style for the team to follow.

I think that's your biggest problem right now and you'll eventually get to the point where you'll look back at threads like this where you asked for help and laugh.

[Subway Token]

Under 15 league? Zone. They can't shoot the J.

Run lots of proper pick and rolls. They can't stop those.