Basketball

Basketball is a fun sport combining lots of movement and cardio with balance and body coordination. Beyond the physical aspects of basketball it provides a great opportunity for youth to experience teamwork and practice social skills with peers as well as improve other cognitive and emotional skills. In this blog I will outline how basketball can be beneficial for the overall development of children. 

Cognitive Improvements

Problem Solving

Basketball is a very interactive and team oriented sport with a clear objective of scoring points by making baskets. This game provides a great opportunity for youth athletes to practice problem solving skills like working on communication between peers or strategizing to be more successful. There are multiple ways players can score points and work together to be successful and win which empowers kids to make decisions and work through challenges. This is also heavily influenced by the coaches by providing options and new ideas on how to improve and overcome problems during the game.

In a qualitative study on after school sports programs they found that youth participants felt they had better coping skills when working together with their peers. When the coaches provide the kids with specific tools and strategies for how to solve problems they reported feeling less stressed when problems occurred. Additionally, they reported feeling better when dealing with their own and others failures because their coaches encouraged resilience which the kids took and supported their own peers when they struggled (Lee, et al. 2017). This is important for coaches to think about because basketball provides an opportunity to intervene and provide strategies for problem solving that kids can use moving forward. 

A great example of this can be seen in a scrimmage game where the coaches pause the game frequently to talk through changes that could be made and strategies they can use next. Or they can work on this by playing team basketball games such as sharks and minnows or pac man where the kids must use a strategy to win the game.

Games for Problem Solving Skills

  • Sharks and Minnows with dribbling
  • Pac-Man with dribbling
  • Scrimmage

Goal Setting

Goal setting can be very important for kids to make progress. These goals however can be motivated in different ways. The first way is to be competitive and win and to play better than someone else. Next, a mastery goal, which the individual is trying to improve against themselves and to do better than they once performed. Then, a cooperative goal where they trying to work together to succeed. By setting attainable goals with support and feedback kids are likely to improve. In a study on goal setting they studied this in basketball players and found that subjects who had set goals and feedback were performing better than subjects who had no set goals or feedback. They also found that those who had a competitive goal scored the highest and they felt their goal helped them create an effective strategy and made them more motivated than the other goal groups. (Giannini, et al., 1988). Knowing this is very helpful for a coach, before starting an activity to talk to the kids about what their goal is and then give them feedback along the way on how they can continue to improve. If you give them a goal then you can map out an effective plan or strategy to achieve it. This goal setting concept can be carried outside of basketball and used in any sport or daily activity and can be a helpful strategy for kids to overcome challenges.

A great activity for goal setting practice would be a shooting games, where two teams compete to see who can get more baskets in a certain amount of time. Set a group goal and provide them with feedback as they go. Another game would be knock out where they compete against each other and try to knock each other out of the game, they have to be quick and the goal could be to see how far they make it in the game before being knocked out. This can also be in a scrimmage game and you could set a goal of how many baskets they should try to score.

Activities for Goal Setting Practice

  • Knock out
  • Shooting games
  • Scrimmage
  • 2 vs. 2 match

Emotional Improvements

Self Esteem

Basketball provides a challenge for kids to work together and demonstrate their skills. This creates an opportunity to build up self esteem with encouraging coaching that does not let a mistake or failure be a setback or a personal failure for a child. In a study on competition influence on self esteem in youth basketball programs they found that a coaches perception of a players ability had the biggest positive impact on self esteem. They also looked at reasons why the children choose to participate in the basketball program and found positive correlations to self esteem when it was to improve their skill and ability and negative when it was their will to win or to release energy (Hines & Groves,1989). This is important to know as a coach to ensure you are supporting the emotional development along with their physical skill development to help them feel more confident as players. Also, as kids enter a program they might have there own reason for participating and some might be more motivated than others for participating but regardless it is important to show them you care about their participation and improvement. For kids who enter with the goal of winning as much as they can, they might end up being disappointed when they don’t. As a coach you can recognize that and find other ways to support their development in basketball regardless of winning games.

An example of how to build an environment to support self esteem would be to play games that all children will be able to participate in and to not put the pressure on winning as the main goal. When making teams or partners for them to play against, make them fair based on skill and physical ability. A game called Race to the Hoop is a good example, the players face off in a 1v1 match where they have to race to grab a ball and whoever gets it plays offensive and is trying to shoot and the other has to defend the hoop. Coaches can match players up against one another best on who they have the most similar ability to provide the best opportunity for them both to succeed.

Games to build Self Esteem

  • Race to the hoop
  • Scrimmage

Fun and Being Competitive

Youth sports are supposed to be fun and competitive. Kids are usually excited to play any game including basketball and it is important as a coach to be able to create an environment where kids can have fun and be competitive with each other but not take it too far where the kids are leaving disappointed. In Hines and Groves study about competition in basketball they found that children were participating in a competitive game with the goal to have fun they also increased their self esteem (Hines & Groves, 1989).  Kids should not always be focused on being the best on their team and getting every pass and shot perfectly this will take away from their enjoyment of the game. As a coach it is important to reinforce the idea that we are all learning and growing and it is a team sport for the kids to work together to succeed. When coaches take the pressure off of being perfect and coach more from a growth mindset it will make the kids more likely to accept their mistakes and just have fun with one another. 

This can be demonstrated with almost any game at practice, the best games are ones that allow for multiple winners and multiple opportunities to win. For example, a few quick rounds of sharks and minnows with dribbling. Kids love this game no matter what side they are on and even though only one minnows wins the sharks get to have fun together eating all the other minnows!

Games for Fun Competition!

  • Race to the Hoop
  • Sharks and Minnows
  • Scrimmages
  • Knock out
  • Shooting games

Social Improvements

Teamwork

Basketball is a team sport which means it requires teamwork, an important skill for developing children to practice. Working together they become successful and learn strategies on how to win a game. In a study on the effectiveness of physical activity in a youth development program they found increases in social competence which became a predictor for many other psychological outcomes (Ullrich-French, et al. 2012). This is important because as kids have physical opportunities such as playing basketball they are likely to also be improving their social skills and feel more confident when working with others. 

An example of how teamwork can be practiced is by doing partner work such as having them practice a throw such as chest pass and see how many successful passes they can make or how far apart they can get and still make the pass. This works their passing skills as well as the teamwork of catching and throwing they must pay attention to their partner to be successful. As a coach you can also demonstrate teamwork collaborating with other coaches and modeling good sportsmanship behaviors like verbally communicating and supporting each other.

Teamwork Games

  • Chest passes
  • Overhead passes
  • Scrimmage

Communication

As youth are developing it is important they have a lot of opportunities to practice and experience communication skills such as listening and responding. In basketball they must work together to score on the opposing team which requires them to be able to listen for their teammates and react or respond back. In a study on verbal communication between elementary students during 10 basketball games they found improvements in communication and skill level (Lafont, et al., 2007). When children are given the opportunity to practice this important social skill they are also able to improve their performance in the game because they are likely better at working together.

A great example of this is any drill that requires the kids to get open such as Keep Away. Coaches define a space where kids must stay within and they must pass the ball to their teammates without it getting intercepted by the other team. Kids must use both verbal communication and physical movement to get open to be able to receive the ball.

Games to build Communication Skills

  • Keep away
  • Team shooting
  • Scrimmage

References

Giannini, J. M., Weinberg, R. S., & Jackson, A. J. (1988). The effects of mastery, competitive, and cooperative goals on the performance of simple and complex basketball skills. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 10(4), 408-417. https://proxy.geneseo.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/effects-mastery-competitive-cooperative-goals-on/docview/617578051/se-2 

Hines, S., & Groves, D. L. (1989). Sports competition and its influence on self-esteem development. Adolescence, 24(96), 861-869. Retrieved from https://proxy.geneseo.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/sports-competition-influence-on-self-esteem/docview/617734099/se-2 

Lafont, L., Proeres, M., & Vallet, C. (2007). Cooperative group learning in a team game: Role of verbal exchanges among peers. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 10(1), 93-113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-006-9006-7

Lee, O., Park, M., Jang, K., & Park, Y. (2017). Life lessons after classes: Investigating the influence of an afterschool sport program on adolescents’ life skills development. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 12(1), 10. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2017.1307060

Ullrich-French, S., McDonough, M. H., & Smith, A. L. (2012). Social Connection and Psychological Outcomes in a Physical Activity-Based Youth Development Setting. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 83(3), 431-441. https://proxy.geneseo.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/social-connection-psychological-outcomes-physical/docview/1093475114/se-2