Has there been any discussion from the officials standpoint of stopping play when girls tuck the ball and run/walk multiple steps and then shoot and score a basket? This is my first year coaching in 1st Grade, my older child played in a different league as a first grader. In that league, stealing the ball (from the dribble) wasn't allowed until either 2nd or 3rd grade. A loose ball was different, but you couldn't steal the ball or grab the ball from a player who was dribbling or preparing to shoot, while under control. This promoted ball handling and WAY less tie ups/fouls. This also teaches some fundamentals on offense.

Allowing steals and/or tie ups on every single possession turns in to players tucking the ball and moving to where they have a free shot and then shooting. It also lends to really poor offensive play. We aren't coaching that. We coach that in order to move with the ball, you need to dribble. We often stop practice to place the girls back in position and tell the girl who tucked and ran to start back from the top and dribble.

If players are going to tuck and move around with no dribble, then score a basket, we are really short changing the players. We are also frustrating the players who are being coached that you cannot tuck and run. You have to dribble. We've had two games so far and multiple times players picked the ball up and moved 5-6 steps or more to get closer to the basket and get a clear shot.

Thank you! It's certainly herding cats. The girls are having fun and that means a lot. We had a wonderful official the first game who helped them in all facets of the game. Week 2 our official may not have realized the girls were just 1st graders. (the tuck and run should be a give away) We encouraged him to tell the girls what to do when they were clearly confused. Such as, when inbounding the ball, where to stand, etc... We actually shot free throws 2x which burned a considerable amount of clock while we tried to line everyone up.  4+ yelling coaches and 25+ yelling fans can be a bit much for 6 year olds. Not to mention we have 2 Kindergartners on the team which adds to the fun.

3rd grade select might be a stretch for some but we will do our best to build a foundation.