In grade school basketball, we coaches are often faced with the challenge of teaching team offense to young players. We are trying to coordinate 5 players to work together on the court to bring about a makeable shot. And this is with defense in front of them and giving them a hard time. Quite a challenge for our young players and for us to develop an effective team offense. Yet it can be done. In this article I would like to share with you ideas which, when implemented, will have your team moving the ball toward a makeable shot.

The first idea is to implement and emphasize a rule that all players continue moving, that they not stand still for more than 2 seconds. They are to move to an open space on the floor one or two pass distances away from your ball possessor at the time. Your ball possessor is to pass to the first open teammate and away from any defenders in the area. Spacing is important: none of your players are to be near each other. This is so that it is not easy for the opponent's defense to guard 2 players at once. Passing continues as your players move around the court, and catching the ball consistently becomes crucial so that your team maintains possession. Your players can be shown where there are good places on the court to catch passes for makeable shots. When those makable shot opportunities occur, your player immediately takes the shot. All 5 of your players go for the offensive rebound.

For grade school basketball, it is effective to practice the above without defense first. Emphasize each player moving, each player receiving passes and catching these passes consistently until the first makeable shot opportunity presents itself. Since many shots are missed in basketball, offensive rebounding is a great skill to develop team-wide.

As your grade school basketball team gets more comfortable moving, passing, and pass catching, you can introduce tried and true basketball moves which work: pick and roll, give and go, swing the ball from one side of court to the other side, getting open behind the defense. Then your team offense really gets fun: you have ongoing movement of your 5 players and now they are making moves which are hard for the defense to stop. This is when you may have a smile on your face as you notice that you have taught your players how to develop makeable shot opportunities. This makes the game very enjoyable for them, and you wil know that you had a part in it!