coachmccormick
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Re:3rd and 4th grade basketball - 2006/11/16 11:34
I received this email this week:
There are programs in our area that start basketball and soccer at 3 years old. Based on your experience and research, do you find playing organize basketball at 3-7 years is effective? Or are there more results that shows kids end up not ever playing the sport because of a traumatizing experience at too young of an age?
Finally, what sources can you point me to that has time-efficient activities for 3rd/4th grade or even younger? In our area, that age group only gets 1 hour of practice per week and 1 game per week. Does anyone out there have scientific backed activities, drills, games, etc?
My answer:
I do not agree with playing basketball at 3 years old. I see no benefit in terms of basketball skill acquisition and there are better activities to teach gross motor skills to children, especially martial arts, gymnastics and free play.
I really don't encourage kids to play basketball until 10 years old. I think more bad habits than good habits are developed pre-ten years old. I think a kid with highly developed motor skills through martial arts, gymnastics, soccer, swimming, general play, skateboarding, etc. will be fine. According to one researcher, it generally takes 50 hours to learn to play a sport at a recreationally acceptable level. It takes much more effort and concentration to improve from the recreational level to an elite level. So, kids who start early reach the recreationally acceptable level earlier, but they generally stay at much the same level. A kid who joins the sport later starts a little behind the others, but quickly (after about 50 hours) catches up. This can be very frustrating to the others who have been playing for a long time and can lead to burnout because the kid no longer feels like he is improving. And, at a young age, kids lack the requisite cognitive abilities for dedicated, deliberate practice, which is how a player truly develops past the initial 50 hours level.
The only disadvantage, and its a disadvantage based on age too, is that oftentimes coaches favor the better kids or they get more attention or parents think since their kid is better at 8 years old he has some potential so these kids may get preferential treatment from coaches or parents may be willing to spend more money on the kid's development in terms of personal trainers or camps and other kids may get discouraged and quit early just because they are smaller, slower or basically developing slower.
I don't know of a lot of traumatizing stories. But, kids definitely do tend to quit sports for one reason or another at around 12 years old, as that is the peak age for sports participation in the USA. There are many reasons, but three, I believe, are sports get too competitive too quickly, kids stop improving and adults impose their motivations for sports (winning) on kids, even though kids motivations (fun, social activity, run around) differ from adults.
I would teach kids how to move, teach kids how to make lay-ups and teach kids how to dribble the ball. These are skills kids can master at that age. Leave more complex skills until the are ready.
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