U8 Philosophy

The primary objective of our U8 development program is for the children to complete the program with an increased enthusiasm for playing basketball. We work to accomplish this goal by creating sessions that focus on fun as much development, having coaches engage the children in a friendly manner, and increasing the children’s basketball competence which in turn will increase their confidence and excitement towards continuing to play basketball.

The second objective of our U8 program is to increase the children’s basketball competence by developing their fundamental perimeter offensive skills: ball handling, shooting, layups, and passing. We do this by using a combination of drills that allow the children to “play” while developing a skill or skills, drills focused on a specific skill, and a limited amount of explanation and demonstration. While some teaching through explanation and demonstration is necessary to help children learn fundamental skills, we attempt to limit the amount of time spent in this area. Instead, we teach on the “periphery,” meaning we explain the specifics of a skill as the children are doing it. Coach Slav will also send videos to parents where he reviews skills to help children with the learning process.

The third objective for our U8 program is to create sessions where the children are active. We accomplish this goal by keeping the kids moving. If the children leave each session a little sweaty and fatigued then we (and the parents) are happy!