MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- It was an all out battle between the Blue Bolts and the Heat in a 5- to 6-year-old division youth basketball season game at the IronWorks Gym sports courts here Jan. 27.
The two teams scrambled, ducked, dived and occasionally dribbled as they raced from one hoop to the other.
The Blue Bolts showed great teamwork passing the ball as the players ran down the court. The Heat responded with different tactics, stealing the ball and putting up a lot of shots throughout the game.
The players made the game a war of the ages. The court served as their battlefield. The players shouted like warriors, but with the unorganized running all over the court, the children seemed to make the event a lighthearted scramble to shoot the ball.
Tony Tann, 6, Heat power forward, was able to make a few buckets before the other players could catch up to him.
“It was a lot of fun,” Tann said. “We all went after the ball.”
The game proved a learning experience for the coaches as well as the players.
“The game, went well but it was a little chaotic because they’re only 5 and 6,” said Eric Chrostowski, Blue Bolts’ head coach. “We’ll be more organized after our next practice Monday.”
The practices will help both teams regroup and redo their strategies.
“The practices are going to be a lot more passing,” William H. Smith, Heat head coach, said. “Obviously, the kids like to run with the ball and they all want to score, but we’re going to focus on passing and dribbling the ball.”
The way the practices are set up, teamwork seems to be the name of the game for these coaches. As the season progresses, the players will become closer and learn to share the ball.
“We’re going to practice more drills,” Chrostowski said. “They are good with shooting the ball but need more help passing.”
The crowd jumped up whenever the players shot the ball and yelled words of encouragement as the children ran back and forth. The staff, who were there to help, smiled and laughed at the young players trying to dribble and run at the same time.
“They had fun out here running around. That’s the main idea we had for them,” said Mark Lopez, the assistant youth sports coordinator.
The youth sports are a conduit for the coaches and staff to teach the young players.
“We’re basically trying to instill the fundamentals of the game for them,” Lopez said. “When they get older, they’ll already know what they should be doing on the court.”
With that thought in mind, the season should progress as well as the player’s knowledge and teamwork.