New pickup basketball question

[shookones99]

Also I think that basketball is maybe the only sport where you can get by on just hustle.  As long as you play hard and competeitvely than you can be a valuable member to a team regardless of how skilled you are.  In baseball you can hustle all you want but if you cant field a ground ball or hit a baseball than you really cant contribute much.  In football you need a certain level of strength and athleticism in order to be a factor.  Soccer is like a different language to me.  I  have no idea how to control anything with my feet.  Think about the other sports.  Tennis (hustling wont get you much there), Golf (no hustling there) Hockey (you need to know how to skate).  Basketball is pretty much the only sport where as long as you play hard and hustle you can contribute to a winning team.

[celts55]

Okay, must be my New York upbringing but I yell at them. No ifs ands or buts. If they get mad, too bad. Maybe that will fire them up.
Where I grew up there would be tons or guys waiting to play. If you lost you might be sitting for well over an hour to get back on the court. There was no way we would let anyone play at less than full speed. I must admit to getting yelled at myself a few times, but I deserved it, and played harder because of it.
That being said I would like to quickly vent on something kind of related. I play or used to at the local YMCA. A while back the hight school kids started showing up. While some know how to play, the majority have no idea. They run up the court and pull up for 3 pointers. Their next pass will be their first. The idea of defense is the occational block, that must be followed by some moronic in your face type scream. We have spoken to the Y about having an over 21 or 25 evening but have had no luck as of yet. It has gotten to the point where I have just stopped going. I do miss it, but just can't stand it. If I wanted to just run up and down and never touch the ball, I might as well just go on the tread mill.

Thanks for letting me vent and have a nice day.

[Steve Weinman]

Okay, must be my New York upbringing but I yell at them. No ifs ands or buts. If they get mad, too bad. Maybe that will fire them up.
Where I grew up there would be tons or guys waiting to play. If you lost you might be sitting for well over an hour to get back on the court. There was no way we would let anyone play at less than full speed. I must admit to getting yelled at myself a few times, but I deserved it, and played harder because of it.
That being said I would like to quickly vent on something kind of related. I play or used to at the local YMCA. A while back the hight school kids started showing up. While some know how to play, the majority have no idea. They run up the court and pull up for 3 pointers. Their next pass will be their first. The idea of defense is the occational block, that must be followed by some moronic in your face type scream. We have spoken to the Y about having an over 21 or 25 evening but have had no luck as of yet. It has gotten to the point where I have just stopped going. I do miss it, but just can't stand it. If I wanted to just run up and down and never touch the ball, I might as well just go on the tread mill.

Thanks for letting me vent and have a nice day.

TP for an entertaining response, celts55 -- and one with which I can certainly identify.  Again, that issue of having a three or four-game wait after losing a game makes the 'slacker' sort of player all the more unacceptable to me...as for your experiences at the Y, that's a pretty tough situation (although not one that I'm surprised to hear about).  What's been the response when you spoke to them about the age rule?  It doesn't seem unreasonable to me to have a couple-hour block every week where at least a few of the courts (or the court, if there is only one in your Y) are reserved for 21-and-over play.  Could be wrong, but I believe this is something that's done with fair regularity at other gyms, and I've certainly seen it a couple of times.

-sw

[EJPLAYA]

First of all SW, if that is your attitude you can run with me anytime! If we had tons of talent we wouldn't be playing pickup ball, but hustle doesn't take skill. I have run into that a ton over the years and the only thing I have found effective if the guy is a regular and it will be an ongoing problem is to pull the guy aside and tell him what you think. This way the guy doesn't have to be a jerk about it. If he is anyway, then let him knowif he isn't going to hustle then he isn't going to see the ball.

If the guy isn't a regular then it may be better off just not saying anything. It probably won't help anyway.

How about this problem. We have a kid that runs with us that actually hustles pretty hard but is so bad and slow that his man always torches us. We end up switching and getting burned always. The bigger problem though is his refusal to shoot anything but deep threes. I have probably seen the kid shoot 3-400 threes over the past couple years, and with no exaggeration he has hit maybe 10 of them. He won't go inside due to how slow and short he is, but if he gets the pass it is up in the air and usually a foot or two long or wide. He's a nice kid, but everyone is getting more and more frustrated. We have tried the "take it inside" comments, "take good shots" and some not so nice guys have yelled at him. Nothing works. Ideas?!

[Steve Weinman]

First of all SW, if that is your attitude you can run with me anytime! If we had tons of talent we wouldn't be playing pickup ball, but hustle doesn't take skill. I have run into that a ton over the years and the only thing I have found effective if the guy is a regular and it will be an ongoing problem is to pull the guy aside and tell him what you think. This way the guy doesn't have to be a jerk about it. If he is anyway, then let him knowif he isn't going to hustle then he isn't going to see the ball.

If the guy isn't a regular then it may be better off just not saying anything. It probably won't help anyway.

How about this problem. We have a kid that runs with us that actually hustles pretty hard but is so bad and slow that his man always torches us. We end up switching and getting burned always. The bigger problem though is his refusal to shoot anything but deep threes. I have probably seen the kid shoot 3-400 threes over the past couple years, and with no exaggeration he has hit maybe 10 of them. He won't go inside due to how slow and short he is, but if he gets the pass it is up in the air and usually a foot or two long or wide. He's a nice kid, but everyone is getting more and more frustrated. We have tried the "take it inside" comments, "take good shots" and some not so nice guys have yelled at him. Nothing works. Ideas?!

"If we had tons of talent, we wouldn't be playing pickup ball."  TP, EJ -- I like that one.  Happy to run with ya anytime...

As the old adage about us writers goes, "Those who can, do.  Those who can't, write about those who can."  Looks like it's fairly evident where I stand 

Regarding your issue, how old is this kid?  And what has his reaction been when people have made comments to him?  Excuses?  The nod-"uh-huh, yeah, I'll try that" to get you off his back and then reverting?  I think those reactions could provide some insight into the best way to deal with it going forward.

-sw

[EJPLAYA]

First of all SW, if that is your attitude you can run with me anytime! If we had tons of talent we wouldn't be playing pickup ball, but hustle doesn't take skill. I have run into that a ton over the years and the only thing I have found effective if the guy is a regular and it will be an ongoing problem is to pull the guy aside and tell him what you think. This way the guy doesn't have to be a jerk about it. If he is anyway, then let him knowif he isn't going to hustle then he isn't going to see the ball.

If the guy isn't a regular then it may be better off just not saying anything. It probably won't help anyway.

How about this problem. We have a kid that runs with us that actually hustles pretty hard but is so bad and slow that his man always torches us. We end up switching and getting burned always. The bigger problem though is his refusal to shoot anything but deep threes. I have probably seen the kid shoot 3-400 threes over the past couple years, and with no exaggeration he has hit maybe 10 of them. He won't go inside due to how slow and short he is, but if he gets the pass it is up in the air and usually a foot or two long or wide. He's a nice kid, but everyone is getting more and more frustrated. We have tried the "take it inside" comments, "take good shots" and some not so nice guys have yelled at him. Nothing works. Ideas?!

"If we had tons of talent, we wouldn't be playing pickup ball."  TP, EJ -- I like that one.  Happy to run with ya anytime...

As the old adage about us writers goes, "Those who can, do.  Those who can't, write about those who can."  Looks like it's fairly evident where I stand 

Regarding your issue, how old is this kid?  And what has his reaction been when people have made comments to him?  Excuses?  The nod-"uh-huh, yeah, I'll try that" to get you off his back and then reverting?  I think those reactions could provide some insight into the best way to deal with it going forward.

-sw

He really only gets a disgusted look on his face. He's 21 and we actually know his family a little and so I have tried harder not to be too outwardly critical of him. Last week in fact he took an absolutely terrible shot and thought that I said something about it to a teammate. (didn't actually)He started to get snippy about it and I told him that I had stood up for him in the past but that was over. The next step I'm afraid is going to be all out verbal war which I'd like to avoid. It made me the maddest that he started getting nasty because of me holding my tongue for a few years!

[Steve Weinman]

First of all SW, if that is your attitude you can run with me anytime! If we had tons of talent we wouldn't be playing pickup ball, but hustle doesn't take skill. I have run into that a ton over the years and the only thing I have found effective if the guy is a regular and it will be an ongoing problem is to pull the guy aside and tell him what you think. This way the guy doesn't have to be a jerk about it. If he is anyway, then let him knowif he isn't going to hustle then he isn't going to see the ball.

If the guy isn't a regular then it may be better off just not saying anything. It probably won't help anyway.

How about this problem. We have a kid that runs with us that actually hustles pretty hard but is so bad and slow that his man always torches us. We end up switching and getting burned always. The bigger problem though is his refusal to shoot anything but deep threes. I have probably seen the kid shoot 3-400 threes over the past couple years, and with no exaggeration he has hit maybe 10 of them. He won't go inside due to how slow and short he is, but if he gets the pass it is up in the air and usually a foot or two long or wide. He's a nice kid, but everyone is getting more and more frustrated. We have tried the "take it inside" comments, "take good shots" and some not so nice guys have yelled at him. Nothing works. Ideas?!

"If we had tons of talent, we wouldn't be playing pickup ball."  TP, EJ -- I like that one.  Happy to run with ya anytime...

As the old adage about us writers goes, "Those who can, do.  Those who can't, write about those who can."  Looks like it's fairly evident where I stand 

Regarding your issue, how old is this kid?  And what has his reaction been when people have made comments to him?  Excuses?  The nod-"uh-huh, yeah, I'll try that" to get you off his back and then reverting?  I think those reactions could provide some insight into the best way to deal with it going forward.

-sw

He really only gets a disgusted look on his face. He's 21 and we actually know his family a little and so I have tried harder not to be too outwardly critical of him. Last week in fact he took an absolutely terrible shot and thought that I said something about it to a teammate. (didn't actually)He started to get snippy about it and I told him that I had stood up for him in the past but that was over. The next step I'm afraid is going to be all out verbal war which I'd like to avoid. It made me the maddest that he started getting nasty because of me holding my tongue for a few years!

Is he aware that he isn't much of a player?  Or is this one of those situations where the guy has a complete delusional perception of himself and doesn't realize that he routinely hurts his team?

-sw

[EJPLAYA]

First of all SW, if that is your attitude you can run with me anytime! If we had tons of talent we wouldn't be playing pickup ball, but hustle doesn't take skill. I have run into that a ton over the years and the only thing I have found effective if the guy is a regular and it will be an ongoing problem is to pull the guy aside and tell him what you think. This way the guy doesn't have to be a jerk about it. If he is anyway, then let him knowif he isn't going to hustle then he isn't going to see the ball.

If the guy isn't a regular then it may be better off just not saying anything. It probably won't help anyway.

How about this problem. We have a kid that runs with us that actually hustles pretty hard but is so bad and slow that his man always torches us. We end up switching and getting burned always. The bigger problem though is his refusal to shoot anything but deep threes. I have probably seen the kid shoot 3-400 threes over the past couple years, and with no exaggeration he has hit maybe 10 of them. He won't go inside due to how slow and short he is, but if he gets the pass it is up in the air and usually a foot or two long or wide. He's a nice kid, but everyone is getting more and more frustrated. We have tried the "take it inside" comments, "take good shots" and some not so nice guys have yelled at him. Nothing works. Ideas?!

"If we had tons of talent, we wouldn't be playing pickup ball."  TP, EJ -- I like that one.  Happy to run with ya anytime...

As the old adage about us writers goes, "Those who can, do.  Those who can't, write about those who can."  Looks like it's fairly evident where I stand 

Regarding your issue, how old is this kid?  And what has his reaction been when people have made comments to him?  Excuses?  The nod-"uh-huh, yeah, I'll try that" to get you off his back and then reverting?  I think those reactions could provide some insight into the best way to deal with it going forward.

-sw

He really only gets a disgusted look on his face. He's 21 and we actually know his family a little and so I have tried harder not to be too outwardly critical of him. Last week in fact he took an absolutely terrible shot and thought that I said something about it to a teammate. (didn't actually)He started to get snippy about it and I told him that I had stood up for him in the past but that was over. The next step I'm afraid is going to be all out verbal war which I'd like to avoid. It made me the maddest that he started getting nasty because of me holding my tongue for a few years!

Is he aware that he isn't much of a player?  Or is this one of those situations where the guy has a complete delusional perception of himself and doesn't realize that he routinely hurts his team?

-sw

Unfortunately I think he thinks he is a good player and just in a 3 year shooting slump! He will hit one or two out of 10 threes in warmups and then go 0'fer a few weeks in a row in a game. If he does hit one it will be off the glass hard by mistake. Then it just encourages him. He realizes that teammates won't pass him the ball even if he is wide open on the three because it is going up no matter what. You'd think the guy would stop playing by now. Some guys have said some pretty mean things to him.

[celts55]

Okay, must be my New York upbringing but I yell at them. No ifs ands or buts. If they get mad, too bad. Maybe that will fire them up.
Where I grew up there would be tons or guys waiting to play. If you lost you might be sitting for well over an hour to get back on the court. There was no way we would let anyone play at less than full speed. I must admit to getting yelled at myself a few times, but I deserved it, and played harder because of it.
That being said I would like to quickly vent on something kind of related. I play or used to at the local YMCA. A while back the hight school kids started showing up. While some know how to play, the majority have no idea. They run up the court and pull up for 3 pointers. Their next pass will be their first. The idea of defense is the occational block, that must be followed by some moronic in your face type scream. We have spoken to the Y about having an over 21 or 25 evening but have had no luck as of yet. It has gotten to the point where I have just stopped going. I do miss it, but just can't stand it. If I wanted to just run up and down and never touch the ball, I might as well just go on the tread mill.

Thanks for letting me vent and have a nice day.

TP for an entertaining response, celts55 -- and one with which I can certainly identify.  Again, that issue of having a three or four-game wait after losing a game makes the 'slacker' sort of player all the more unacceptable to me...as for your experiences at the Y, that's a pretty tough situation (although not one that I'm surprised to hear about).  What's been the response when you spoke to them about the age rule?  It doesn't seem unreasonable to me to have a couple-hour block every week where at least a few of the courts (or the court, if there is only one in your Y) are reserved for 21-and-over play.  Could be wrong, but I believe this is something that's done with fair regularity at other gyms, and I've certainly seen it a couple of times.

-sw

Their response was that i sould fill out a suggestion card, which I did I might ass. So did some of the other guys I play with. It's reallt stupid. They have times for under 16 and times for everyone else. Why not have a 16 to 21 time and an over 21? I even tried nicely to explain to the guy at the desk that is actually us adults who pay for the mamberships, but alais to no avail. I hate to cancel the membership as it's a family one and my wife and kids also go, but it's getting me really mad. My son's 16 and to tell you the truth, I really don't want to play with him and his friends. Don't mind in the driveway, but not when I'm trting to play for real.

Sorry, there I go venting again.