For some of them this season was the 6th time they have heard my spill.

In it I tell them that I am not coaching their boys to win youth bantam basketball games. I am coaching them to eventually win high school games. Development is our goal even if it comes at the expense of winning.

I have a good relationship with our high school coach. He has put on some coaching clinics for the bantam coaches in our town. I run his same offenses and defenses. He has come down on occasion and instructed my boys in our practices.

His biggest complaints about 9th and 10th graders is that they show up unable to finish with their off hand and that they can't play defense. He blames the lack of defense on youth coaches who play primarily zone.

Over the years we have lost games we otherwise probably would have won had we been in a zone. We stubbornly stuck with the man defense.

It has paid off though. My boys are now very good man defenders. We have had our best season yet. When they show up to play high school ball they will be prepared.

My boys were in 7th grade before I even introduced them to a zone concept.

As 8th graders we are facing kids that can knock down the 3 with pretty good consistency. They are finally strong enough and good enough shooters to shoot over a zone.

My boys know a 1-2-2 but in the 15 games we have played so far this year I can count on 3 fingers the times we've gone to it. We play man at least 90% of the time if not more.

You are correct though. There are zone defenses that will win you games. In youth basketball most of the time though it comes at the expense of development.

The box and one is a terrible defense.