Have you ever noticed that almost all ten and under (10U) youth basketball teams struggle running any type of offense because the players are "bunching" together instead of playing their proper positions and staying spread out on the floor. This bunching up problem is solvable; in fact coaching colleague of mine cured the bunching problem with his daughter's second grade (7 and 8 year olds) basketball team. Let explore why it happens and type of drills to help eliminate the "bunches."
Why Players Bunch Together on Offense
All basketball players, independent of age, want to touch the ball on offense. They want their chance to score. The reason players on young teams do not get to touch the ball on offense is because the player with the ball does not have their head up and the other teammates are not moving with a purpose. It does not matter how open any of their teammates are, if the ball handler's eyes are on the floor two feet in front of them, they will not see the open player. If the basketball does not get passed to the open teammate, the teammate will come to the player with the ball and asked for the handoff. Now you have two offensive players standing next to each other with their defenders. Then another offensive player see the ball handler in trouble so he comes to the ball to help out and now you have six players all around the ball. The inevitable outcome is either a defensive foul, turnover, or jump ball and not the good scoring opportunity a coach desires.
Learning to Play With Your Head Up
To teach a young basketball player to play with their head up, a coach must teach the player's to dribble while not watching the ball and develop player confidence will not take the ball out of their hands.
The best drill I have used to teach young player's to dribble with their head up is the two ball full court dribbling drill. If a player tries to watch both balls, they will be unable to successfully dribble the full length of the court. The only way a player can dribble both balls up and back is for them to dribble with their head up and use their finger tips "to feel" and control the ball.
Creating Offensive Movement and Purpose
The second element to offensive floor spacing is to create movement with the offensive players. It does not matter if the defense is playing man-to-man or a zone, the offensive players have to move with a purpose.
If the defense is playing man-to-man then the purposeful offensive movements pertain to setting a screen, coming off a screen, misdirecting the defender by taking one or two steps in a direction and then quickly going in the opposite direction, and moving toward the basket both with and without the ball. Whether it is a simple basketball offense or a more sophisticated rules based shuffle (motion or flex) offense, every offensive player needs to move with a one of the purposes described here.
If the defense is playing a zone the purposeful offensive movements pertain to setting a screen (yep, you can set screens against a zone), finding an open spot on the floor in the zone's "seam" with a clear passing lane between you and the ball handler, quickly passing the ball toward the basket or in the opposite direction, and moving toward the basket both with and without the ball. There are many types of zone defenses, but they all can be easily broken by players finding open spots on the floor within shooting range, quickly moving the ball between the teammates, and driving toward the basket and passing to the open teammate with the zone collapses on the ball carrier.
Summary
The key to a successful offense is that the ball carrier has their head up and the rest of the teammates are moving with a purpose. Idle offensive players allow the defenders to stand around waiting to wreck havoc by double teaming or jumping in passing lanes. When this happens, the basketball's movement stops and the players bunch together.
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