Coaching Youth Basketball

Coaching Youth Basketball, Fifth Edition, will help you run organized practices as you develop your players’ fundamental skills. Written by the American Sport Education Program (ASEP), in conjunction with expert coach Don Showalter of USA Basketball, this book covers all aspects of player development that you need to know:

• Preparing for and conducting efficient, age-specific practices

• Teaching and developing skills

• Providing a safe playing environment

• Identifying and correcting errors in performance

• Communicating with and encouraging players

You’ll also gain court-tested tips on running your team; communicating with players, officials, parents, and other coaches; providing basic first aid; and keeping it all fun. The book contains drills and coaching tips that are sure to jump-start your practices and improve players’ performance. In addition, you receive many photos and diagrams to facilitate your understanding of the skills and drills.

Ideal for coaches of players ages 5 to 14, the fifth edition of Coaching Youth Basketball will help you focus on long-term athlete development by creating an environment in which your players can learn, progress in their skill development, increase their understanding of the game, and, most important, have fun.

The fifth edition of Coaching Youth Basketball was written by the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) in conjunction with USA Basketball’s Don Showalter.

Showalter has coached the USA men’s developmental national team since 2008, leading them to gold medals at the 2009 and 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship. He was named the USA Basketball Junior Developmental Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2010 and National Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association in 2009 and coached in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game in 1999. Showalter has been the head boys’ basketball coach and activities director at Mid-Prairie High School in Wellman, Iowa, since 1984. His winning percentage is .669 (557-275), and he has been named Iowa Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year nine times. Showalter has directed basketball camps in Russia, Mexico, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, England, and Scotland.

ASEP has been developing and delivering coaching education courses since 1981. As the nation’s leading coaching education program, ASEP works with national, state, and local sport organizations to develop educational programs for coaches, officials, administrators, and parents. These programs incorporate ASEP’s philosophy of “Athletes first, winning second.”