How to Run a Basketball Clinic Before You Even Bounce a Ball Katelyn Keese

Katelyn Keese looks up to one of her basketball coaches from Poolesville High School immensely. When she decided to start volunteering her time and running basketball clinics for youth, Katelyn Keese immediately reached out to her former coach about how to do it and do it well. Organized sports in high school or even in college is literally a different ball game where you have players who have willfully joined the sport. Youth who are participating in a clinic may or may not have ever been on a team and need a lot of guidance.

The first thing that Katelyn Keese took notes on was how to manage the crowd. Some days, she could have a gym full of thirty to forty teens. Katelyn Keese needed to establish what time they would start the clinics and the importance of being on time. Teens are notorious for having a thousand excuses, some of which may be valid. However, Katelyn Keese needed to make sure everyone understood that she would start the clinic at a certain time each day. She would encourage participants to arrive a bit early as they would get some extra time with the ball before the clinics started. 

After all of the arrival tactics were hammered out, Katelyn Keese covered accountability. If a participant was going to be late in the morning or needed to take a longer break because of a responsibility, he or she needed to tell Katelyn Keese. Again, this kind of training is what helps youth understand that they are important to the “team” and that their actions matter to someone. Simply disappearing because you have to will not be accepted. Katelyn Keese is constantly reminding them that being accountable for their behavior will serve them well in college and in their professional lives.