Could not agree more with this statement, however you have to have the necessary number of coaches in order to get this done and that seems to be a big problem at some schools.

 

Amen...

By this age, kids should know how to play the game and they will make the high school team better by being able to use those skills to the fullest. Also, if you want kids to learn the game in 6, 7 and/or 8 grade then you need to have people coach those teams that can teach the kids those little intricacies of the game. There are 10 or so kids on the 7th grade team and near that many on the 8th grade team that know the game well and now it is time to represent your school and Play to Win.

 

But the kids on the 7th grade team have been coached well on there team outside of school..............Now the issue is will they regress due to poor coaching for their school team.............Why can't Highlands hire a quality coach for this team??????????

But the kids on the 7th grade team have been coached well on there team outside of school..............Now the issue is will they regress due to poor coaching for their school team.............Why can't Highlands hire a quality coach for this team??????????

 

Who is the coach and why is he being bad mouthed a week into practice? Coach Flynn has been to the state tourney with 3 different schools and been on the sidelines 20 + years. I am sure he would surround himself with good people.

First the coach was last years returning coach then in Sept. it was not.........no idea what happened to him.....A coach was then hired that had varsity experience as a head coach. Not sure what happened but he is not the coach now and about a week before tryouts a coach was hired with no basketball experience although he does referee football..........Now the question remains that at a school such at Highlands why they cannot hire a quality coach.

When is it that the best players play? 6th? 9th? No offense to any kids at all. Not all will play high school basketball. What are your thoughts?

 

The biggest problem facing school coaches at any level is political correctness. I could never coach a school team in today's environment due to trying to please every parent and child all of the time. Sports draw a very even parallel to life. It's tough, it's not fair and not everybody wins all the time. Having said that, I feel the best players should play beginning in 6th grade. Middle School ball is the beginning of competitive school basketball. I also believe that a middle school roster should be maxed at 12 players, with no exceptions. Playing time should not be guaranteed to anyone. The coach should be trying to win a championship every season. If the school cannot support a development league, there are good alternatives such as Sports of All Sorts that have school leagues for players that fell a little short at their middle school tryouts. Seems these days, parents are not being rational when it comes their child's talent level. I have been through it and unfortunately I have witnessed some over zealous parents who honestly believed their child belonged on a team when they couldn't dribble with their "off" hand or behind their back.

Y

If you have enough kids, a school should have an A & B team and set both up for success. For example, Camels A team will be playing in the NKMSBL and the B team will be playing in a less competitive league.

I agree with this.

The biggest problem facing school coaches at any level is political correctness. I could never coach a school team in today's environment due to trying to please every parent and child all of the time. Sports draw a very even parallel to life. It's tough, it's not fair and not everybody wins all the time. Having said that, I feel the best players should play beginning in 6th grade. Middle School ball is the beginning of competitive school basketball. I also believe that a middle school roster should be maxed at 12 players, with no exceptions. Playing time should not be guaranteed to anyone. The coach should be trying to win a championship every season. If the school cannot support a development league, there are good alternatives such as Sports of All Sorts that have school leagues for players that fell a little short at their middle school tryouts. Seems these days, parents are not being rational when it comes their child's talent level. I have been through it and unfortunately I have witnessed some over zealous parents who honestly believed their child belonged on a team when they couldn't dribble with their "off" hand or behind their back.

Very true statement, kids work hard in the early grades and then have to share time with kids that have not developed their game. Many times because a parent sends an e-mail. IMO if a coach carries more than 12 those not in the rotation work hard for minutes. I like the team B approach in the soas school league or another like league. In N.C. carried 10 and 2 of the better boys dressed and practice up as well as in started in their grade anmd basically filled the bench. Players 11 - 20 developed in a lesser competative league.

Problem with double teams at MS is room. 6 basketball teams is only 1 hour nightly for practice. That gets the last team home after 9PM on school nights. Additionally, room for wrestling and 4 cheer squads. KCS requires several certifications for coaches. Age, college hours, CPR/AED/FA and new Emergency Medication Training. Add in no salary and background checks really makes it hard to find someone to coach a B team. Watch Summit View 6-7-8 boys. Minor-Hawkins-Franzen a very good trio of boys coaches. SK Girls former standout Lauren Conley coaching a good group of 7th girls.

Problem with double teams at MS is room. 6 basketball teams is only 1 hour nightly for practice. That gets the last team home after 9PM on school nights. Additionally, room for wrestling and 4 cheer squads. KCS requires several certifications for coaches. Age, college hours, CPR/AED/FA and new Emergency Medication Training. Add in no salary and background checks really makes it hard to find someone to coach a B team. Watch Summit View 6-7-8 boys. Minor-Hawkins-Franzen a very good trio of boys coaches. SK Girls former standout Lauren Conley coaching a good group of 7th girls.

 

I coached a competitive (ie tryout ) 8th grade team years ago at a school that had 30+ basketball teams.

Each Middle School needs to determine the type of program they want to run. It may be the philosophy of the high school head coach or the middle school staff. At the earliest date possible, parents and players need to be informed as to the focus of the program. Some schools may opt for the everybody plays philosophy, while most play to win. In either case, the coach needs to let the stakeholders know what to expect. Most coaches hold a parents meeting before the first game that could be the forum for such a discussion.

 

If your school plays in the NKMSBL you need to play competitive basketball. The others schools do. They keep score. They keep standings. They seed teams for the tournament. At the end of the tournament they crown a champion.

Very interested to see the make - up of several 8th grade teams this year. Some schools move kids up to play freshman, some kids move from school to school, injuries happen, etc.

 

Yeh I know, Ockerman is loaded. The teams from Turkeyfoot, Holmes, Highlands, Gray, Tichenor, all have good players. It should be a great season.

But the kids on the 7th grade team have been coached well on there team outside of school..............Now the issue is will they regress due to poor coaching for their school team.............Why can't Highlands hire a quality coach for this team??????????

 

We cannot say that they will be poorly coached without giving the guy a chance to get to know the kids and get a few practices and/or games under his belt.

I know Holmes' 8th grade team is expected to be very good this year, but didn't they lose their best player (McClendon) to Holy Cross?

Problem with double teams at MS is room. 6 basketball teams is only 1 hour nightly for practice. That gets the last team home after 9PM on school nights. Additionally, room for wrestling and 4 cheer squads. KCS requires several certifications for coaches. Age, college hours, CPR/AED/FA and new Emergency Medication Training. Add in no salary and background checks really makes it hard to find someone to coach a B team. Watch Summit View 6-7-8 boys. Minor-Hawkins-Franzen a very good trio of boys coaches. SK Girls former standout Lauren Conley coaching a good group of 7th girls.

 

Excellent point, trying to get gym time for all the teams is a major issue. I've seen schools 'rent' gym time at SOAS, etc., and it gets very expensive and quick!

 

It should be an interesting middle school season.

 

Is there a middle school website with schedules, scores, standings?

Holmes may have lost McClendon to Holy Cross (don't know about that) but he was not their best player. They had a set of post players that carried that team. Without the big boys they would not have been nearly as successful.