PRACTICES

Each team will practice two - three times per week. Teams will never have more than three practices. Everything we do at LTB has a greater purpose. Practicing more than three times per week at the youth level will not only wear down players, but discourages character education values such as good sportsmanship, and focuses on a “winning over everything” philosophy, rather than an individual players’ strengths and opportunity for improvement. If players are over-practicing each week, in addition to tournaments, there is a greater chance of players getting worn out, over-pressured, and tired of basketball. When players are more developed at the high school level, and want to focus further on basketball skills, that is the age when they should start intensive practice. At the youth level, players are still in the development stage, and need a good balance.

Four years ago, a group of parents approached Coach Luke Toth about the struggles and frustrations they had with their travel basketball program. At the time, Coach Luke was a private school teacher and varsity assistant basketball coach, and was training youth players after high school practices. Luke started one travel team that year, and in just four years Luke Toth Basketball (LTB) was established, growing to over 20 teams. The primary reason for such success is the method in how we conduct youth basketball. LTB takes the right approach to basketball training. While many programs, coaches, and even some parents fail to see what youth basketball is all about, the LTB model and structure has a proven success record, and is what sets us apart. Our basketball philosophy prepares players to become better players, but also prepares these young players for life. All teams and coaches within our program will make the commitment of following the LTB philosophy in the 2021 Spring Season.

TOURNAMENTS

Our program will only have players participate in four - five tournaments per season. (High school teams will participate in additional tournaments in the future as we continue to grow). The players need a healthy combination of practices and games for proper development. We are strongly against exhausting players in excessive tournaments. We like to space out tournaments as much possible to hone in on where players are struggling, and work with them weekly in practice to help them develop their skills and game. Our program takes an individualized approach, focusing on overall player development.

PLAYS

The biggest misunderstanding in youth basketball is in running plays. All teams younger than 7th grade will NOT LEARN PLAYS. We teach our kids how to play, and not how to run a play, or run a pattern. We teach players skills and concepts that will benefit them in the long run. MEMORIZING A PLAY HAS ZERO LONG TERM BENEFIT. Some coaches spend the entirety of practices going over plays at the youth level- this is a huge disservice for these young players. The plays they are being taught have no long term benefit for their development as a player. At the older levels, we will incorporate a few plays. However all levels engaging in plays will do so at a minimum level, as the main purpose of our program is to develop players.

HOW TO PLAY

Teaching players how to play is what youth basketball is all about. This includes teaching players proper spacing, how to cut, how to get past a defender, how to defend, how to run the lanes, etc. Our program teaches players universal skills and concepts that can be applied to any team or program they play on in the future. We will also teach players concepts and skills to beat a press, and handle pressure. Some teams, based on numbers of players and skill level, will be taught how to press. Pressing players at the youth level teaches aggressiveness.

PLAYING TIME

This season all teams will have eight or nine players total. This will allow for coaches to establish a better rotation. With ten players or more, it is hard to get every player a good amount of playing time. Coach Luke is a firm believer that no player should be sitting on the bench for an entire game or tournament. We stress to all our coaches, our program is all about development. Yes we want to win, but winning is not the main goal of our program. Each kid needs a fair chance at developing his or her game. With that being said, some players will play more than others. This could be based on skill level, attitude, level of play, etc. If a player is not playing as much as he or she wants to, they are to talk with the coach. The coach will then inform him or her on what they need to work on in order to get more playing time.

WINNING

We want to win, but winning is not the main goal of our program. Too many coaches, parents, and programs put a heavy emphasis on winning at the youth level. Longterm, winning a 5th grade championship doesn’t mean a whole lot. We want our teams to win; we want the kids to have fun; we want them to make friendships and memories; but the more important ‘win’ for our program is to help their development, help them become better players and people, and prepare them for their futures. The best feeling is when a parent or player reaches out to our program and informs us that they made their high school team. Knowing we helped that player on their journey is what it is all about.

MENTORSHIP

In addition to basketball, we also provide our players with mentorship. We try our best to help every player improve in some way. Whether that be on the court, or in the classroom. We emphasize teaching players valuable lessons that they can take with them, and apply them to multiple aspects of their life. The main aspects we focus on are:

• Work Ethic
• Consistency
• Competitiveness
  

FUTURE

The purpose of our program is to prepare players for the future. Whether that be their future basketball careers, or just life in general. We want to teach our players life lessons and values they will take with them beyond the Luke Toth Basketball program.