Purpose: To improve conditioning and basketball-specific sprint speed. Great pre-season / early season drill. Drill: The players will start at one sideline, sprint and touch the other sideline, sprint back and continue the process until they have touched the sidelines a total of seventeen times. The cycle should be completed in :60 seconds or less (time may be adjusted dependent upon age group). … [Read more...]
Target Passing Drill
Purpose: To practice making accurate chest and bounce passes. Excellent passing drill for youth and beginners and can be a very competitive drill of more experienced players. Drill: Make two 18-inch squares on a wall with tape. The left square should be about 4 four feet up from the floor and the right square should be three feet away from it and about two to three feet up on the wall. The player will stand about 10-12 feet from the wall and make a chest pass into the left box and then a bounce … [Read more...]
Contested Layup Drill
Purpose: Learn to shoot a layup strongly to prevent it from being blocked. Drill: The offensive player will start at the top of the key and the defensive player starts at the foul line extended about one step from the sideline (you can start the offensive player at any spot you desire, wing, corner, etc -- and you can start the defender wherever you desire as well). When the coach yells 'Go', the offensive player will drive to the basket while the defensive player hustles in to contest the … [Read more...]
Triangle Shuttle Drill
Purpose: To improve footwork and quickness with a drill that combines athletic movements such as a sprint, backpedal, and shuffle. Drill: This drill can be performed with one player or with any number of players. It can also be utilized to stress defensive footwork or used as a conditioning exercise. The players start on the baseline near the lane line and begin by shuffling to the corner. Upon reaching the corner, the athlete should push off the outside foot and sprint to the elbow. Once … [Read more...]
21 Jump Shot Drill
Purpose: To practice the jump shot from specific areas on the court in a team and competitive situation. A simple, yet effective team shooting drill that adds competitiveness and fun to practice. Drill: This drill can be done with 3-6 players per basket. You can utilize as many baskets as possible and will need 3 balls per basket. If you do not have access to several baskets, you can also have more players per basket with equal lines of players at each spot. In this diagram, the shooting … [Read more...]
Rebound and Outlet Drill
Purpose: To learn proper rebounding and outlet passing techniques. Drill: Player 'R' is the rebounder and begins this drill by tossing the basketball against the backboard and rebounding it. The coach should make sure the rebounder 'chins' the ball and that he does not bring the ball down after rebounding it. Upon rebounding the ball, the player will pivot toward the outlet player and step toward him, executing a two-handed overhead pass. Player 'O' should catch and face towards his basket … [Read more...]
Passing Under Pressure Drill
Purpose: The offensive player will learn to stay active while passing under pressure. The offensive low post player will work on a power move to score. Drill: The drill begins with an offensive player dribbling in from half court. The defender, X, is stationed at the free throw line where he will stop the dribble and then give intense pressure. Offensive player, O1, will not pass until the coach yells "pass". O1 must keep active by pivoting until he is allowed to pass. The 2 low offensive … [Read more...]
Start Your Fast Break Drill
Purpose: To teach the players to fill the lanes properly on a fast break in a scramble situation. Drill: The coach, standing on the perimeter, will throw the basketball to one of the five players in the lane area. The player who catches the ball cannot dribble -- the fast break must be initiated by a pass. The other players must fill the lanes as required by your fast break offensive philosophy (generally, guards fill the outside lanes and bigs act as trailers and then going down … [Read more...]
Cone Dribble Drill
Purpose: To improve dribbling skills. The cones, or obstacles, act as defenders and are used to force the dribbler to make a crossover move. Drill: One one side of the court, set up about 6-8 cones in a straight line (the cones will be approximately 6-10 feet apart). The team will line up at one end of the court as shown, each with a basketball. The first player will begin by dribbling with the right hand to the first cone. As he gets to the cone, perform a crossover dribble, moving the ball … [Read more...]
Basketball Pick-Up Agility Drill
Purpose: To improve conditioning, agility, and quickness. A great drill for all players and very effective for post players. Drill: The player begins on the free throw line facing the basket. A coach or partner stands under the basket facing the player. The coach takes the basketball and rolls it away from the player so that the player needs to move quickly to recover the ball and return it to the coach with a good, solid pass. After recovering the ball and making the pass, the player returns … [Read more...]