How Coaches Can Help Build Team Chemistry

• By Criag Haley

A coach can’t create team chemistry. It formulates on its own. But a coach can help facilitate chemistry within his team, and sometimes that factor is more important than being good with X’s and O’s.

Youthouth

On the youth basketball level, wins and losses aren’t the main goal, but there’s no reason a coach can’t have it all – ensuring his players are having fun and developing skills while becoming competitive and winning games in a positive fashion. A team that jells with chemistry has a greater chance of winning games than one whose players have too many individual objectives.

The latter is more prevalent on the high school, college and professional levels and usually not so much on the grassroots level of basketball. Achieving chemistry is important because it teaches friendship, sportsmanship and teamwork. It starts with having fun, and a team that has strong attendance at practices and games is a sure sign the kids want to be there both individually and collectively. Keep parents informed through team emails as well, because engaging their interests makes it a team effort.

At the start of a practice, give your players the chance to shoot around together and interact as a team informally. The smiles and laughter will be a strong indication the players are gelling as a team. For one of the first drills of the preseason, players get to know each other by passing the ball to teammates while they shout out the receiving player’s name.

Drillsills

As you move into more basketball drills, keep them fun and positive. Do a good job of explaining how to perform a skill and its importance. Encourage players who are working hard and developing good technique.

Emphasize the team aspects of basketball by enforcing the word “together,” and the way a collective effort breeds success. It takes five players to play good defense. For every basket, there’s usually a good pass or a good rebound by another teammate. A simple 3-on-2 offensive-defensive drill or a layup contest between small groups will foster the concept of working “together.”

At the end of practice, have an assistant coach try to “save the day.” If he or she sinks two straight free throws, the team gets out of running “gut busters” up and down the court. The young players will find this fun and exciting. Or give a player the chance to sink a free throw. If she does, give her the choice of running the gut busters by herself or making her teammates do it without her. It won’t be surprising when this player offers to run them together with her teammates. That’s good chemistry.

At games, you want your basketball players invested in the game. So if they are on the bench, they can be cheering and encouraging the other players, just as you do.

Year Round Effortfort

Throughout the season, what a youth basketball coach can do for his team off the court is as important as what he can do on the court. Organize some team functions. This could be a team party, a movie night, an afternoon of pick-up games at the local playground and away from a structured team practice, a visit to the local ice cream shop after a game or a trip to a local high school basketball game (which can serve as a teaching tool, too). The bonding will be immense, and the coaches and parents tend to have as much fun as the players because they can see how much the players are enjoying themselves.

If there ever is a problem between teammates, it’s a coach’s job to step in and try to resolve it. Do not tolerate two of your players yelling at each other. Even if two teammates don’t have chemistry today doesn’t mean they won’t have it tomorrow. 

Remember, as a youth basketball coach, you are setting a positive example. Don’t let winning be your primary focus. Trust in the fact it will happen naturally because of the way the players build a bond and work “together” as a team. You’re teaching life lessons as much as basketball skills.