Running a Foster City Youth Sports Program

The question has been asked many times: "Why did you start After School Hoops?"

Well, I first had the idea to start a youth basketball program back in 2010 when my kids were very small and still not in school. At the time, I envisioned it being something that would happen right after school at the local elementary schools outside on the blacktop.

However, it took a bad experience in the fall of 2016 to get things moving. With my son then nine years old and looking for a league to play in, I choose the wrong league for him. It wasn't what I'd expected or hoped for; the kids received nice uniforms but very little instruction or guidance. To me, that was not only disappointing, it was unacceptable.

At that point, I knew I had to take the idea I had been sitting on for years and put it into action. It was time to start up a basketball program in Foster City and coach my son myself. In January 2017, After School Hoops was born.

Fast-forward to today, and quite frankly it has been one of the best experiences of my life being able to coach the youth of Foster City. During the past 3.5 years, I am proud of the growth all the kids have shown as basketball players but more than that I am proud of the community that has formed around this program. We've seen friendships blossom. We've seen shyness give way to confidence. We've seen leaders rise up. There have been countless moments that I'll never forget.

I speak for all the After School Hoops coaches of past and present in saying thank you for the opportunity to run this program. We always look forward to Thursday nights and can't wait until this Covid-19 pandemic is behind us so we can get back out there on the blue court at Brewer Island Gym.

Until then, please take care and stay safe out there.

All the best,

Coach Joe

Youth basketball drills to do at home

Just because After School Hoops classes are currently on hiatus during the Covid-19 outbreak doesn't mean kids have to forget about basketball. In fact, as long as they have a basketball, this is a time that can be used to continue to get better.

Dribble in the garage

As long as the local parks are closed, including the basketball courts, a garage is an excellent indoor option to work on your dribbling skills. This is a five-minute routine on YouTube that my 12-year-old son does regularly to improve his ball-handling skills.

Here is a list of the drills in the video:

10 Ball Slaps

5 Up & Down Fingertips

5 Around The Head (then reverse)

5 Around The Waist (then reverse)

5 Around Both Legs (then reverse)

5 Around One Leg (then reverse)

5 Around Other Leg (then reverse)

5 Figure 8’s (then reverse)

5 One Leg Two Legs (then reverse)

20 Low Dribbles (Both Hands)

10 Pound Dribbles (Both Hands)

5 Around One Leg With One Hands (Both Sides)

5 Quick Dribble Figure’s

5 Windshield Wipers (Both Hands) a

5 Walk The Dog (Both Hands)

5 Dog Wipers (Both Hands)

10 Crossovers

10 Between The Legs (Both Ways)

10 Figure 8’s

10 Behind The Back

10 Between The Legs Cross (Both Ways)

10 Between The Legs Behind The Back (Both Ways)