Junior Hoops Arizona

The Art of Rebounding

Defensive Rebounding

Eliminate cheap points, and nothing is cheaper and more demoralizing to a defense than giving up a point blank put-back shot off a missed shot.

Offensive Rebounding

The team that makes the most layups wins and offensive rebounds give you more layup opportunities. Offensive rebounds are often easily passed out to shooters on the opposite side for a wide-open-spot-up jumper.

Athletic Team vs. Non-athletic Team Rebounding

Sending two or three offensive players after your team's missed shot instead of getting back on defense is a luxury for athletic teams. However, if you are not an athletic team, focus on defensive transition to slow the opponent down enough to establish defensive position, dig in with your defense and rebound better.

End of Game Rebounds

It is much more likely that a team will have an opportunity to secure an offensive or defensive rebound during the last few seconds of a game. When a team is losing, a defensive rebound gives them one last shot at winning. When a team has the lead in the final moments of a game and they secure a rebound, they win.

The Junior Hoops Professor

Welcome to the first weekly rantings of the Junior Hoops Basketball Professor.

We hope that you find his short lectures worth reading and, more importantly, applicable to your operations.

When you succeed Junior Hoops of America succeeds. 

• Post your tournament/league schedule early. It really helps to put something out early even though it can be revised along the way.  Parents have weekend schedules too and knowing your schedules early helps the parents reduce their intake of anxiety medication.
• Some tournaments/leagues are announcing their players at the final championship game and this really has a nice touch. All you need is a microphone and speaker. The kids really like it and so do the parents. You can then also use the microphone to announce sponsorships which you charge for doing so. Make sure that the announcer has the voice to annouce or you will find yourself having to wake up a whole audience.
• Parents and players want to receive both trophies AND individual medals for their winning efforts. Don't become a year round scrooge on the awards. Get someone to sponsor the trophies and medals to eliminate the cost of them and announce them throughout the tournament/league. It is nice when a coach takes a trophy home, but it is even better when the child proudly takes home a medal.
• Using bball music at the tournament/league works very nicely, but if you do use music at the beginning, half-time or end of the game, make sure that you have the sound system set up so that it sounds good, otherwise it becomes a distraction. Make sure the bball music does NOT have profanity so that you don't have a PR nightmare on your hands. You might want to commission local groups to create your music thus giving you the opportunity to promote your community which should help you to encourage more sponsors for your event.
• Consider inviting local cheerleading teams from Junior High or High Schools in the area to peform at halftime thus giving them practice/perfomance time which can be sponsored by local businesses. Sponsorship money acquired gives you another revenue stream while simultaneously promoting cheerleaders who love to cheer/perform. Make sure the cheerleaders are good, otherwise you might as well put on a skirt and do the cheerleading yourself.