bulkedup...
I think you're definitely right about the overtraining part. Clubs that seem to have it in place are the ones with coaching directors and basketball managers that should be coaching the coaches and suggesting training routines. In my juniors experience I had coaches that ranged from like what you describe, to in between, to soft as.
I think every now and then a training session should be hard, physically, depending on the age and reasoning for it. As a junior coach myself I am not a fan of forcing kids into lots of push ups, sit ups etc. I think you can make a training session hard and rewarding by demanding hard work through drills, clear instructions and posititve motivation. I think penalties often waste a lot of valuable training time, though at certain stages can be neccessary. I went to a coaching course around 6 years ago, run by a fantastic junior coach who is now working interstate who also coached me as a junior. He would use penalties but in small sets, as it was more of just the annoyance of having to get down and do 2 pushups or situps rather than an unncessary and harder larger amount continiously. I think it would be personally ridiculous to presume and assume every person who volunteers to coach juniors across the board is going to have the skills and knowledge to properly put in place elite level conditioning and training programs, but do see your concern with coaches who do not seem to have the knowledge probably doing more harm than good.
BSA, who do a lot of nothing a lot of the time, I will probably actually back on this one. BSA do not like telling clubs how to run themselves, rarely would BSA involve themselves telling clubs directly how they should run trainings or conditioning. Though they put out guidelines for other things, like their heat policies (through their own) (which may differ from other clubs trainings) they should potentially put out guidelines for that sort of risk management when it comes to trainings. Though BSA tell clubs how to run and manage in other forms subtly (e.g. forcing the heavily un-backed youth league).
As a junior coach I also see frustration in the way basketball is run in this state. Kids doing a lot of sport and in particular higher level basketball programs seem to really push the envelope. 13-17 year old boys and girls sometimes playing and training hard at high level and intensity 7 times in a week is a bit ridiculous for me. Sadly, it seems everyone thinks their brand of basketball is holier. State Basketball, SASI, District even some school basketball consider themselves as most important and these kids never seem to get a break! Talk about ridiculous. Then add on top of that other sports as well, who also hold themselves as most important. I can't even blame the parents, what are they supposed to do? Complain, get a poor reputation with a SASI, State, District, School... I tell you what it is, sucking the most important part of the game out, the fun. Some of these coaches need to step back and get a reality check, it's all well and good to treat yourselves as an elite program and try to create the best athletes, but seriously, somebody (BSA and Clubs) take a look at this and get together to create an elite basketball program, that is taken seriously, that works well with clubs, SASI, State, other junior coaches and manages these kids properly and safely. I'm not saying everyone just needs to have fun all the time and theres no room for a bit of elite level basketball, just manage it better.
SASI do an awful job communicating with clubs as do State. They tell the kids, who don't communicate with their coaches and you end up having a stand off.
The clubs and BSA need to get together, work out a balanced elite program for the better athletes and players, put out some guidelines to all clubs and junior coaches and put egos aside. Then you'll have a modern, decent and better system with hopefully better athletes and basketballers at the end of it, who aren't burnt out, hating the game and don't come back, hence hurting the basketball community in this state.
I love coaching juniors, I think it should be taken seriously when it needs to be, but managed far better than currently. Hold the clubs to some accountability too though, they do meet up, they do talk, surely they can get things like this heading in a good direction. Let's not forget, we have a great sport that we all love, a lot of people with the best interest of the kids in mind and some pretty talented and intelligent coaches, put the blame and ego aside, work together, get something done.
