Why Does My Child Look Good in Basketball Workouts but Struggle in Games?

Your child makes shots during workouts. Their ball handling looks sharper. They're learning new ways to finish.

Then the game starts, and you wonder: Where did all that improvement go?

A workout and a game place different demands on a player. In a game, a defender changes the space. An opening closes. The player has to recognize an opportunity, make a decision, and execute.

A skill can be improving before a player consistently uses it in those situations. That's why development needs to continue beyond the training session.

At Hested Hoops, we teach a five-step Skill Transfer System:

• Learn: Understand the skill, its details, and when it could help.
• Train: Work on those details and build your ability to execute.
• Test: Look for opportunities to use it in pickup, practice, or games.
• Reflect: Think about what happened. Did you recognize the opening? Did you hesitate? What felt difficult?
• Refine: Bring that information back into your training.

For example, a player learning a new finish needs repetitions. They also need opportunities to attempt it against a defender and learn from the result.

Parents can support that process with a simple question:

Was there a moment when you tried something you've been working on?

That question gives you more to discuss than points scored or shots missed. It encourages your child to notice opportunities and take ownership of improvement.

I wrote The Transfer Gap to help players and parents understand this process—and what to do when workout progress hasn't become consistent game performance.

Explore the book at thetransfergap.com.