You can’t teach tykes basketball, or so say the basketball experts. 

Wait until they’re at least six years old, they say. 

We beg to differ. 

And we have the results to prove it. 

This spring, we had two- to six-year-old girls dribbling, shooting, passing, and defending. 

How?
We used puppets and parachutes and flying balloons and super hero capes to engage the girls’ imaginations in silly games while we reinforced basketball motor skills.

Girls who couldn’t master dribbling right away took to punch balloons like ducks to water and got the idea. Rebounding lessons involved balloons being tossed into the air from a parachute.

Bounce passing was taught by having the girls try to knock over giant inflated bowling pins. And we used pom-poms to teach girls to get their arms up and wide for defending. . 

Tutus and boas and super hero capes and cow bells all figured in dribbling and passing drills. 

“Why not introduce kids to hoops at an early age,” said Hot Shots VP Nicole Hayward. “Their minds are so open and their enthusiasm is so high at this stage that they make ideal pupils. If you give them positive reinforcement for trying new and difficult things, that will encourage them to keep trying until they succeed.”

Hot Shots will offer our ten-week Fall Hoops program for South Shore girls ages 2-7 on Saturday mornings at the Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield beginning Sept. 14 and ending Nov. 23 with one Saturday off for Columbus Day (Oct. 13). You can get the EARLY BIRD RATE now by registering on EventBrite.

For more information, call/text/write John Wilpers (617-688-0137; jwilpers@hotshotssoccer.org) or Nicole Hayward (617-930-4025; nhayward@hotshotssoccer.org).