U12 B02
Summer 2026/27
How we’ll play, train, and grow together.
Basketball is connected.
Not my turn, your turn.
We don’t rely on set plays. We learn how to play.
What we’re focused on
Enjoying it
Training is games from start to finish. Small teams, so the ball keeps finding you.
Every role
Jobs you might not usually get — bringing it up, screening, spacing and cutting.
Advantage
Getting ahead of the defence and using it before it closes. Taking it away when we defend.
Why we train with small-sided games
Game-like situations help players learn faster.
More touches
3v3 and 4v3. Fewer players on the court, so you’re involved in almost every possession.
More decisions
Every touch is a read against a live defender, not a rehearsed movement.
More learning
Players solve problems themselves, so the solution holds up when the game changes.
We build up to it. Early sessions are lighter on the legs while everyone gets back into it — by mid-season, training asks more of you than game day does, and game day starts to feel easier.
What training looks like
- We keep playing the same game and change one rule at a time, so it gets harder as we go.
- No drills for the sake of drills. If we’re on the court, we’re playing.
- We use the same words for the same places on the floor, every week. This is the map.
- Moments happen — we learn and go again.
Our principles of play
Space
Get wide. Create space.
Defending, take their space away.
Move
When the ball moves, we all move.
Defending, move on the pass, not after it.
Advantage
Go if it’s there. Pass if it’s not.
Defending, don’t give one up cheaply.
Support
Give your teammate an option.
Defending, be ready before you’re needed.
How we stay connected on the court
A trigger starts the possession — a handoff, a screen, a drive. Everything after that is read.
Replace
Take the empty spot — don’t stand near a teammate.
If you land next to someone, keep going until you don’t.
Drift
Move to the corner when your teammate drives.
Arrive as they get there, not before. Go early and you close the gap they just made.
Cut
Go hard and fast, especially when your defender isn’t watching.
Not while a teammate is driving — then you’re a target, not a cutter.
Next action
Don’t stand after your pass — keep moving.
Somewhere that helps, not just somewhere else.
First action done? Go again.
The shots we hunt
A layup at the rim, or a free throw.
An open catch-and-shoot — inside your range, and in rhythm.
Contested, off balance, or from further out than you can really shoot.
A wide-open shot from a spot you can actually reach beats a rushed one from further out, every time. The decision is more important than whether it went in.
The season, in three blocks
Nothing gets covered once and then dropped. All four principles run every session — what changes is how hard we make it, on both sides of the ball.
exists
decays
is contested
The rules we might use
Not a schedule. These are the rules we add to games to make them harder, roughly in this order.
Every player, every role
Nobody in this team has one fixed job.
We’ll aim to give every player time bringing the ball up, setting screens, spacing the floor and cutting off the ball. We’ll try playing inside as well, even if it doesn’t suit everyone.
This is a season where you can be bad at something on purpose. That’s the whole opportunity.
Pressing and trapping aren’t how you learn to guard your own player.
We’d rather guide our team, and teach defensive intensity and how to contain the ball. If that results in a trap, we’ll take it. We just won’t go looking for one.
It’s a deliberate trade.
What success looks like over a season
Team standards
Win, lose or draw — these four. You can see every one of them from the sideline.
Play hard
Sprint back. Every time the ball changes hands, we’re the first team back.
Nobody jogs. Nobody watches the shot.
Play together
Talk on the catch. Call a name when you pass. Call “ball” when you’re guarding it.
Silence means we’re not connected.
Keep learning
Ask why. If you don’t know why we’re doing something, ask. That’s the fastest way to get better.
Questions beat nodding.
Respect the game
Hand up, help up. A hand up on every shot. A hand out to whoever’s on the floor — ours or theirs.
Referees included.
How parents can help
Use games as a chance to learn. After the game, ask:
“What did you enjoy?”
“What did you learn?”
Focus on effort and attitude, not results. Support and encourage all players.
Worth knowing
Your son may play in positions he isn’t used to, and some weeks that may look worse before it looks better.
No moment is a mistake — we learn and go again. At this age we’d rather he experiences as many different sides of the game as we can give him.
Most injuries at this age come from doing too much too soon, rather than from contact. If you let me know what else he’s playing, I’ll do my best to manage everyone’s load.
How I can help as coach
Being approachable, with open and transparent communication.
Playing time, how he’s going, something at home I should know, or if you feel I’ve got something wrong — please bring it.
A problem shared is a problem halved.
My goals for the season
Giving everyone time in different roles.
Hunting gold and silver shots, and judging the decision rather than whether it went in.
Teaching defence by guarding our own player.
Coaching consistently, whether we are winning or losing.
Asking more questions of the players than giving answers.
Backing any other coach your son may be working with.
Appendix
Our “Next Play” mindset
Before the game
- Moments happen. Everyone has them — including me.
- It’s normal to feel frustrated or disappointed. Staying frustrated is the problem.
- What matters most is what you do next.
- Be brave, not perfect. Play your way.
- Trust the process. Trust yourself.
- Head up. Hustle on. One team, one voice.
During the game
- If you have a moment — “Next Play”. Reset and go again.
- Sprinting back is the reset. It’s hard to sulk at full speed.
- Ask yourself: “What’s next?” Tell yourself: “Next.”
- Focus on what’s next — the pass, the shot, the play.
- Encourage your teammates. Pick each other up.
- Next Play starts with a second effort.
After the game
- Win or lose, we always reflect.
- Did we respond and give a second effort?
- Did we support each other on and off the court?
- Then it’s done. We don’t carry it to next week.
- We keep learning. We grow together.