What's the objective of youth basketball leagues?
A thread on the old Forum discussed 1st and 2nd grade basketball leagues. Personally, I find no reason for 1st and 2nd graders to play organized basketball, and suggest martial arts, gymnastics, swimming and/or soccer as sports that provide a better initial sporting experience.
However, if one runs a league for 1st and 2nd graders or puts his son or daughter into such a league, what are the objectives? Why play?
Children enjoy playing with their friends. Therefore, socialtivity (my own word; feel free to incorporate it into your daily vocabulary) is a primary objective. A secondary objective might be skill development or learning.
If we look at league modifications to accommodate unskilled, novice players, do the modifications promote socialtivity and/or learning/skill development?
One modification forced defensive players to keep one foot in the key. Another had parents on the court directing all the action and children standing on x's. These rules promote competitive balance and make the game easier for unskilled players. However, does parents directing the action promote socialtivity among the players? Do players learn anything when defenses stand with one foot in the key? Do the offensive players develop skills?
Adults complain and tell me that children do not want to play 2v2 or 3v3 games because it isn't real basketball. How real is the game when parents on the court direct the action or when players stand on x's or when defenders stay in the key? Is that more real than a 3v3 game because five players are on each team?
Forcing the defense to stand in the key gives offensive players more time and space to execute a skill. Reducing the players achieves the same objective while not limiting the performers. A 2v2 league affords more room to dribble or run to get open to receive a pass.
A typical recreation league has two teams playing at once often with 10 players per team. Therefore, 10 players play, and 10 players sit on the bench. Players play roughly half the game, and a game takes roughly one hour of real time.
Imagine a 2v2 Jai Alai rules. Divide 20 players into 10 2-man teams. Send five teams to each basket. Play a game to one point. Winner stays and plays the first team in line. Loser runs to the end of the line on the other end. At any one time, 8 players are engaged. In a typical league, are 8 of the 10 players on the court frequently engaged? Using additional baskets, you could add teams (reducing the overhead costs of renting the gym for additional hours) and reduce the wait time per court.
Would this reduce the socialtivity of the league? No. Players play with and against friends. Would this reduce learning/skill development? No. Players get more touches on the ball and concentrate on the basics without worrying about irrelevant cues.
In a typical league, let's imagine that the goal is for players to learn to make a layup in a game. In a 5v5 league, when a player dribbles past her defender, another defender is there. If all five defenders stand in the key, a layup is an impossibility. In a 2v2 league, when the player dribbles around her defender, the other defender likely is not waiting for her. She shoots the layup without worrying about help defenders, teammates, etc. She practices an important skill and concentrates on the skill execution.
I understand game modifications for young and novice players, but I fail to understand the specific modifications. How does making up rules maintain the integrity of the game, while reducing the players makes the game unreal?
If the goal is learning and socialtivity, opening the gym and allowing players to run around without being encumbered by rules and traditions and expectations is the best environment. However, because such a "league" would be labeled as a league for hippies, and fail to attract serious players, a league using jai alai format or a Playmakers Basketball Development League provides an alternative environment that promotes learning and socialtivity through small-sided games without creating rules or habits that must change in the future.