It has been a trying year for the 4th and 5th grade girls, as they started off the season on such a high note, losing just barely in overtime in their first game of the year. Since then, they have lost three straight games and can't find ways to score.
"Bad passing and (bad) movement leads to turnovers," said coach Alex Kawashima. "Lack of aggression and size results in very few offensive rebounds."
The lack of size is something that the girls do not have control over. Other than Isabella, none of the players are really able to get rebounds. Although rebounding is not all about being taller than the other person, it does factor into it. The girls aren't strong enough to box out and perhaps are a little shy about getting in front of a girl that is bigger than them. So more often than not, they are on the outside looking in when the rebounds come.
Defense translates to offense, and their defense right now is average at best. They keep the other team to an acceptable amount of points, but they don't create turnovers. They don't steal the ball and don't run quick enough off of the rebound.
Off of rebounds, they don't fast break and don't have that mindset to go to the basket. They slow it down into a half court set where it's almost impossible for them to score. If you look at the highlights from their first game, a lot of the points were off some rebounds and good outlet passes on fast breaks. But their fast breaks since then have been almost non-existent. They can't get off early shots or get any clean looks and instead the ball is turned over, or a bad shot is forced.
Their defense needs to create more pressure and startle the other team. Right now, they are not very intimidating and other teams can sense that. They can do whatever they want on offense without hesitation.
Offensively, the girls are afraid to shoot. A lot of them have opportunities to, but pass them up, or pass them to Cynthia. Their ball movement is lacking on offense and a lot of it boggles down to the lack of experience.
One other huge factor is that half the team are 4th graders, playing in a 5th grade division. They're simply not strong enough to battle with the likes of 5th graders. Wrestling for balls, speed, quickness, they are overmatched. But they can do the little things like make lay-ups when they need to, suck it up and get a little rough, make free-throws, to compensate for the parts of the game where they don't have much control over.
Keep in mind this team consists of four 4th graders, and that puts them at an immediate disadvantage. In a perfect world, everyone can play against people their own age. Too bad that isn't the case.
One of the bright spots this year has been the improvement of Isabella, who has been a pretty good rebounder and contributing more on the offensive end.
In the bigger picture, they will be fine. It's a matter of when. As long as they keep playing, they will soon break through.
They'll need "lots of practice on the fundamentals of dribbling and passing, and to learn to be more aggressive in pursuit of the basketball," says Alex.
"I just want them to improve their play, which will result in wins, greater confidence and more enjoyment of the game, so that they will be even more motivated to improve. They have a good foundation of skills and a lot of potential to improve them, we just need to see if they have the heart and will inside them to fight back when they are knocked down. Right now we are getting beaten in toughness and heart, not in skill."
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