[Mormon Red Death]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

We signed the boys up for the local community youth basketball program, not competitive leagues, just let’s have fun type of stuff. Neither are great basketball players for their ages, but they are competent and can contribute. After the dearth of such opportunities overseas, I wanted them to experience the real game and competition.

It looks like the 12-year-old got lucky. He’s an okay shooter inside 10 feet but not a good ball handler nor does he really see the court all that well. He is still adjusting to the speed and aggressiveness of the game. Fortunately he is one of the taller boys (early growth) and has some really good ball handlers/distributors on his team. These kids could dominate the play, but more than often opt to pass to the open man. My kid plays mostly under the basket and given the tendency for 12-year-olds to surge away from the basket on defense, he is often wide open for short shots or lay-ins and the ball handlers pass to him. Very nice and quite unexpected. My son tells me yesterday one of the better boys told him at school that he’s “got game”, which has to be one of the supreme compliments one 12-year-old can give another one. Add to this that the coach is very conscious about making sure every boy plays as equal an amount of time as possible, and I don’t think this could be working out any better.

The situation for my 8-year-old looks like it may be much different. Again, he’s not the greatest talent, but well within the average for what’s out there. His first game was last night and we (his parents) didn’t come home very happy. In essence, there is a great disparity in playing time, with two boys that pretty much dominate play only coming out the last four minutes of a 36 minute game (I swear, the one kid must have gone 1 for 50). My kid, at most, saw the court for 14 minutes and wasn’t the only one short changed. I can understand the difficulties of trying to make sure every kids gets an equal chance to play, but the disparity was so wide, it was extremely frustrating. Sure it’s the first game and it’s not a pattern yet, but I feel compelled to say something to the coach, strictly in terms of playing time. I’m not that concerned about style of play (he could encourage more passing), just about time on the court. What do you all think?

My suggestion is for you is to get some white overalls and grow your hair out. Then have some photos taken of you standing on a cliff somewhere.

as for this situation just ask the coach what you can work on with your son so he can play more. If that doesn't work be an asshole. $140 is way too much to pay to have your kid ride the pine at 8 years old