So had anyone out there ever coached youth, ages 7-8 basketball before? I think I'm going to end up coaching my son and his friends and I've never played
Looking for tips or advice.

At that age its all about ball handling and making layups. Ive seen a lot of dads try to install some sort of offense for kids that age and then they get killed because nobody can dribble against defenders.

I played in a successful one awhile back. We pretty much would have five guys around the 3point line with one driving. If the driver gets in trouble we kicked out and reset.

Basically the simpler the better

I coached 3rd graders one year. Ball handling, passing, and getting basic rules across are the biggest keys. Good luck to you!

Just teach the basics and remember to make it fun.

Don't assume they know the rules, much less concepts.

Unless you have 3+ hours per week on practice, don't waste time on conditioning or stretching. I'm not against those things, but if you only have 45-75 minutes, you just have other priorities. For one thing, them doing full court layups or full court dribbling will let you get running in and develop some skills.


And regarding teaching m2m or zone, everyone in your league is probably playing zone, unless it is against the league rules. So be it.

Teach them to stay spread out and move without the ball, you don't need plays at that age. Find your ball handler(s), and other than that teach them defense, rebounding and get it to the ball handlers.