Drills/Skills for Kids I. Stationary Ball Handling 1. One Leg Circle Coaching Points: Eyes up and knees bent. Snap wrist. Keep ball on fingertips. Benefit: Concentration/Focus, Using multiple body parts to improve hands and hand speed. 2. Figure 8 s Coaching Points: Eyes up and knees bent. Snap wrist. Ball on fingertips. Benefit: Concentration/Focus, Keeping eyes up helps player keep the focus in front of them and on the defense. 3. Body Circle (Head-Waist-Knees) Coaching Points: Soft Hands, Eyes up, Ball on fingertips Benefits: Concentration/Focus, Allows player to get good feel for the basketball. 4. Single Leg Dribble Coaching Points: Eyes up & knees bent, ball on fingertips, push with wrists and fingers Benefits: Improve hand speed, concentration & focus, Build natural instincts for ball positions. 5. Figure 8 Dribble Coaching Points: Eyes up, knees bent, push ball with wrists/fingers Benefits: Improving hands, using multiple body parts, concentration/focus 6. Butterfly Dribble Coaching Points: Eyes up, knees bent, quick hands & arms, push with wrists Benefits: Concentration/Focus, Improve hand/wrist speed II. Transition Ball Handling 1. Speed Dribble Coaching Points: Push ball in front of body waist high, eyes up, full speed Benefits: Conditioning, ball control, gets player comfortable handling ball
2. Zig Zag Coaching Points: Body stays between ball and defender, crossover low in front of body, good balance and control, eyes up. Benefits: Helps against a full court defender. Eyes up allows you to see a trap coming. Good conditioning drill. 3. Free Lance Coaching Points: Eyes up, good balance and control. Body between ball and defender, push through shoulders Benefits: Helps player become better using each hand. Gives player various moves to use against one on one pressure. Eyes up allows for player to see pressure coming. 4. Crab Run Coaching Points: Eyes up, good control, use fingers to control the ball. Benefits: Helps player get a feel for basketball. Good for agility/concentration, & conditioning. 5. Two Ball Dribble Coaching Points: Eyes up, good balance and control. Basketball in front of the body. Snap wrists and use fingers. Push through shoulders Benefits: Coordination between body parts. Concentration and conditioning, improving ball handling with each hand. 6. Two Ball Zig Zag Coaching Points: Eyes up, balls on fingertips. Snap wrists, push through shoulders. Benefits: Conditioning and concentration. Coordination, improves ball handling with each hand. 7. Dribble through people/cones Coaching Points: Eyes up, body between the basketball and defender. Crossover low, with good balance and control. 8. Snake Coaching Points: Head/Eyes up, works various moves (spin, crossover, etc) Benefits: Dribbling in traffic, keeping ball low, change of pace
III. Stationary Passing 1. Michigan Passing Coaching Points: Knees bent, hands up as target, elbows to floor, balance Benefits: Eye/hand coordination, builds strength in hands/arms, accuracy 2. Two line form passing Coaching Points: Give a target, step to meet the pass. Follow through and extend arms when passing. Accuracy is a must Benefits: Conditioning, Accuracy, Concentration/Focus 3. Machine Gun Coaching Points: Step to meet pass, passer extends & follows through. Accuracy & speed, control Benefits: Concentration & Accuracy, Speed, Passing under pressure IV. Transition Passing 1. Two man, full court Coaching Points: Accuracy & touch. Keep Hands up as a target, move at game speed. Control, eyes up Benefits: Conditioning, Transition Play, passing under pressure 2. 3 man weave Coaching Points: Eyes up, move at game speed. Hands up as target, accuracy & touch on the pass. Meet the pass. Benefits: Conditioning, passing on the move, transition play, concentration 3. 5 man weave Coaching Points: Move at game speed, meet the pass, Accuracy & touch Benefits: Conditioning, passing on the move, transition play, improve accuracy, concentration 4. Half Court Variation Passing Coaching Points: Accuracy and follow through. Hands up as a target, consistent with each pass. Benefits: Conditioning, Accuracy, Builds arm strength
V. Footwork/Passing 1. Pass and V-Cut Coaching Points: Pass away from the defense, pass ahead of the cutter. Two step v-cut move. Plant and explode, straight line to bucket Benefits: Develops team offense, become a more accurate passer. Beginning point of building an offense 2. Jump Stop-Pivot-Pass Coaching Points: Good Balance, Knees Bent on Landing, Land on two feet, Quick turn on one foot, extend and follow through Benefits: Improves agility and footwork, helpful when passing against a defense or pressure 3. 2 on 1 Keep Away Coaching Points: Find open passing area. Strong with the ball, use your pivots to get hip to hip, pass fake Benefits: Passing against a defense, passing under pressure, concentration, improves footwork 4. Star Passing Coaching Points: Good balanced jump stop, bend knees on landing. Quick pivot, Follow through and snap pass Benefits: Improvement of jump stop and footwork, accurate passing VI. Offensive Moves 1. Cone/Chair Moves (crossover, spin, behind back) Coaching Points: Quick to the chair, explode past the chair/cone, eyes up, movement is north and south, end with lay-up or short range jumper Benefits: makes player more versatile offensively, improves ball handling and footwork. Player becomes harder to guard. 2. Post Moves Coaching Points: Stay above the block, sit down and extend arms forward, good base of support, finish strong, read defense Benefits: Improves player s offensive moves around the basket. Become more versatile offensively, improves footwork
3. Mikan Coaching Points: strong take-off, keep ball high, keep ball from hitting the ground Benefits: improves footwork for the lay-up shot. Builds habit of chesting ball and keeping it high, conditioning 4. Triangle Post Moves Coaching Points: Arms out, stay low, call for the ball, finish strong, vary moves Benefits: Improves player offensively around the basket, conditioning VII. Rebounding Drills 1. One on one Block out Coaching Points: Hands and arms up, good base of support, pivot and make contact with opponents thighs, shuffle feet if needed Benefits: Become a better rebounder, strong against pressure 2. Circle Drill Coaching Points: Movement on the go, same as #1 above Benefits: Play for points, offense vs. defense competition 3. 4 on 4 Team Block out Coaching Points: Same as #1 & #2 above, movement is random, inside/outside pivot is o.k., strong base, make contact Benefits: Same as above, offense vs. defense 4. Outlet off backboard Coaching Points: Two-hand rebound, grab ball at top of your jump, turn to the outside, and make a strong outlet pass Benefits: Helps improve rebounding skills, good practice for block out form and technique. VIII. Team/Individual Defense 1. 4 vs. 4 Shell Coaching Points: Communicate at all times, Ball side deny or guard ball, help side in key or straddle tape, never turn back to ball, move on the pass, keep ball out of the middle
IX. Benefits: Improves Team chemistry and defense, allows team to be cohesive & to help each other 2. Chair Stance Drill Coaching Points: Good base of support, knees bent and back straight, stay on toes of feet, don t cross feet, hands active Benefits: If you become a better individual defender, your team defense will improve as well 3. Change 4 vs. 4 Coaching Points: This drill is mainly for communication purposes, talk & help each other, find the ball, match up with the offense, see the ball at all times Benefits: Improves defensive communication, helps with defensive positioning 4. Disadvantage Defense (Half Court) Coaching Points: Guard the ball first and players closest to basket second, communicate and rotate, move on the pass, stop dribble penetration Benefits: Helps with communication and defensive rotation, forces defense to always locate the ball 5. Full Court Disadvantage Coaching Points: Starting with a disadvantage on defense, the ball must be the primary target to be stopped, players closest to the basket are the next priority, defenders need to hustle and communicate, stop the ball Benefits: Conditioning, Defensive communication, defensive positioning Shooting 1. Form Lay-up shooting Coaching Points: Take off with inside foot, opposite knee up, extend, follow through, eyes up on the block, start close and work back Benefits: Proper form will equal more made shots, muscle memory
2. Form shooting close to basket Coaching Points: Good base of support, bend knees and extend arm, snap wrist to follow through, hand underneath the ball, rest ball on fingertips, elbow points to floor, look for the backspin Benefits: Teaches muscle memory and proper fundamentals, practice makes this automatic 3. Lay down shooting Coaching Points: Toes pointed to the sky, shoot ball straight in the air with shooting hand and a guide hand, ball should land in same spot that it left, toes should point up, not out! Benefits: Muscle memory, shooting form improvement, toes/feet pointed toward basket Created by the Twinsburg High School Boys and Girls Basketball Staffs, October 2005