Bob Bigelow – Improving Youth Sports!
Community Programs for the Right Way
to Do Youth Basketball
Bob is a former professional and collegiate player and is one of the foremost youth sports speakers in the country.  He has been featured dozens of times in the media, and co-authored the ground-breaking book about improving youth sports: “Just Let the Kids Play.” Bob has personally conducted hundreds of youth basketball clinics for both players and coaches alike.  He advocates fully meeting the needs of children as the top priority in youth sports programs, and provides new programs for positive change in youth sports.
For better youth basketball we need…
“…a greater emphasis on training coaches and creating a more fun, playful environment for players to learn basic skills at a young age, more players maintain an interest in the game and the foundation is developed…while USA Basketball attempts to change the system from the top down, grassroots basketball is where the change must start.”  Brian McCormick, author of “Cross Over”
THE PROBLEMS
THE SOLUTIONS

- Untrained youth coaches who don’t know how to teach basketball’s basics

- The loss of fun as the top priority – replaced by over-competitive pressure

- Too many elite leagues, teams, play-offs and tournaments at the expense of fundamental skills

- Pushing adult play models down onto younger kids

- Clinics that properly train coaches on what and how to teach

 - Adopt academy style approaches which emphasize skill-building and fun

- Refocus youth programs where they should be – putting learning and fun ahead of competition

- Implement small-sided play models that develop kids – use 3 v 3 instead of 5 v 5 for younger ages!