Let’s Fix Youth Sports

The United States has over 4 million youth basketball players! That’s AWESOME!!

On average, those players quit the game at 11 years old. That’s TRAGIC!! The main reason is they aren’t having any fun.

When this beautiful game is no longer fun, we know we’re doing youth basketball wrong, and it’s time to fix it.

If you love kids and want the best for them, if you believe that it’s more than a game, if you’re willing to help fix it, then…I’m challenging you!

Put players first. Not your ego, your image, or your record. Prioritize character, long term development and joy of the game.

Do you accept? If you do, simply reply YES and forward this email to five coaches you will invite to join the mission to redeem the game.

SAVI Coaching is on a mission to revolutionize the way the game is taught and played to create a joy filled sport experience.

Great youth coaches use these 5 principles. They give your players a better chance to experience this beautiful game and its lessons. If you simply accept these five principles, you’ll become a part of the solution. Let’s revolutionize the way youth sport is taught and played, together.

1. PLAY THE RIGHT GAMES

Youth sport should prioritize body movement, ball touches, scoring, experimentation & FUN! The right games are teach fast transitions & less players on a team leading to more touches. They provide more space and less defenders leading to more success and scoring. The right games provide teachable moments and safe spaces for connection. The right games are ones that get the most people engaged so we can teach them lessons that are bigger than the game.

2. LET THE GAME BE THE TEACHER

Practice should look more like play. The majority of youth practice should be games. They need to build context for skills through reps. They need to have fun. They need to touch the ball and build up experience points. Use these three guidelines when building your practice plans.

1. Keep them short. 2. Don’t teach until after the game. 3. Use constraints to direct desired outcomes.

Remember, it’s not the job of the gardener to force growth, but rather to create the ideal conditions for growth.

3. EXPLORE THE EDGES OF THE SANDBOX

Encourage and embrace the chaos of youth sport! Give give players the space they need to fail, be creative and have fun! Sadly, we find youth basketball being 20 years behind, learning plays that parents ran in high school. Instead, let youth explore. There are few rules in a sandbox, and that should be the goal of youth sport as well. Keep the sandbox big and messy. Make it a place where creative mistakes anre encouraged. This can maximize growth and minimize adults taking the game too seriously. Throw up some crazy shots and laugh a little.

4. TEACH INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

Most youth practices I’ve seen have a coach constantly yelling & telling players to move faster, care more, or do some outdated thing. Coach motivation (extrinsic) is a hell of a drug… and it creates addicts for life. We don’t want athletes addicted to a yelling coach that becomes an employee who needs a boss to motivate them to work hard and do well. We want to build self motivated leaders for life. Sadly, I work with many athletes who wait for me to motivate before they give their best effort. Coaches and parents have ruined them by demanding actions without teaching them why they should do things as well as they can be done.

5. GIVE SPACE TO LEAD

Players will care more about what they own. In any given practice, game or training, let them choose things. A strong culture is only built when the group chooses to hold a standard together. You can build autonomy and ownership by giving up control from coach to player. Let them choose the game, the score, or color of their jersey. The more ownership you give players, the more invested they will be. Player led teams win. Practice autonomy in youth basketball and they will build habits of ownership.

If you are taking the challenge, reply yes to this email and forward it to five coaches you challenge to be a part of the change.

I’m here to help,

Tyler