Q: Is there a specific age group that the R&R works better with. My son is in 1st grade playing with 3rd & 4th graders who are all at various levels of experience. My son’s basketball coach is looking to me to give him some advice and I really like the R&R system (we are using it at the junior college where I coach), but I am not sure if this system would work for this young age group. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

A: I developed the Read & React for all age groups, but of course, each age group would only use certain layers. Your Junior College team will use it all, but at the 2nd and 3rd grade level, I recommend Layer 3 Pass & Cut and Layer 1 Circle Movement in that order. Layer 3 will give the young players spots to fill and simple assignments. It will give them spacing, player movement, and ball movement. When someone decides to drive, you might get one or two circle moving, but at that level, that’s not as important as the spacing and movement of Layer 3.

Other coaches who use it at young ages have told me that kids will dribble East/West as much as anything, so they put in the Speed Dribble to send a cutter through the lane, which spacing wise works just like Pass & Cut.

That’s all I would do at that level. The rest of the time needs to be spent teaching them how to run the floor, play defense, rebound, shoot, dribble, pass, etc. Of course the fundamentals of shooting, passing, dribbling, one-on-one, lay-ups, etc., can be taught while using the R&R drills.

Hope this helps and thanks for your interest. Kids at that level need great coaches and teachers like you.