In the last few days I witnessed competing theories in action. At least competing theories regarding what to teach  in youth basketball. I happened to be watching a game on Friday where one team clearly had better, older players than the other. But the younger team came into the game with a much different attitude or approach. Here's what happened:

The older team was determined to run through their set of plays, there were four I think. But their skill level would not allow them to execute a play against even the most passive defense. The younger team was determined to just play. I saw them attempt no plays, there were no "formations" on offense, and they played an aggressive man defense that at its core was "get the ball".  As you can guess, the younger team won. By a lot. And after the first quarter it wasn't even a contest.

But, if you are a follower of this blog, you know that winning is not the point at this age. What struck me like a Stoudamire dunk was that as the game progressed, you could see the younger team embrace their confidence, enjoy allowing their bodies to respond to what they asked of them, and generally have fun playing at such a level that they were completely exhausted by the end of the game.

That, people, is the point.