Purpose: To work on rebounding, aggressiveness, and toughness in a competitive drill. Drill: Three players at a basket with a coach or manager and one basketball. The players set up as shown; one on each block and one in the middle of the lane. The coach 'shoots' the basketball off the rim and the three players go after the rebound. The player who rebounds the basketball attempts to score against the other two players. The ball is live until someone scores. Repeat until predetermined … [Read more...]
Protect the Basketball Toughness Drill
The Protect the Basketball Toughness Drill simulates blocking out, however, the objective is to keep your opponent away from the basketball. This is a toughness drill for both players as one attempts to protect the basketball, while the other player attempts to get the basketball. Drill: A basketball is placed in the middle of the free throw circle. To accommodate more players performing this drill at once, use all available free throw circles in your gym. O1 starts at the top of the key … [Read more...]
Iba Cowboy Drill
I came across this drill in a stack of some old handouts. This drill is named after legendary Oklahoma State University Coach Hank Iba. This is a fantastic drill -- not only for the skills it develops, but also that it greatly builds toughness! Purpose: To teach players the skills of help defense and taking a charge, getting on the floor for a loose ball, and to score in the lane against defensive contact. Drill: Three players are needed along with a coach at the top. If you have them, … [Read more...]
Deny the Inbounds Toughness Drill
Purpose: To work on the ability to fully deny an inbounds pass. The main purpose with this drill, however, is as a toughness drill. Drill: The players set up as shown, with an inbounds passer, a offensive player, and a defender. The defender, X2, faces O2 and attempts to deny the pass attempt being made by O1. If O2 receives the pass, he will then try to score the basketball. X2 will attempt to stop him from scoring. Normal inbounding rules apply -- O1 only has 5 seconds to pass … [Read more...]
Continuous 10-Second Basketball Game
Purpose: To practice and develop decision-making abilities in a full speed game situation. Offensive players will also work on scoring when a basket is needed. Defensive players will work on stopping the offense from scoring when that is needed. Also a great drill to improve conditioning. Drill: Divide your squad into 2 teams, with 5 players from each team on the court (5 offense vs. 5 defense). The teams will play a normal full court game of 5 on 5 with one exception ... each time they gain … [Read more...]
1 vs. 2 Rebounding Drill
Go beyond working on rebounding with this drill that also incorporates competition, toughness, and intensity. This drill requires three players; two players on defense start in the lane. One player on offense starts at the free throw line. A coach or manager has a basketball and can shoot from anywhere. When the shot is taken, O1 attempts to secure an offensive rebound. X1 and X2 block him out to secure the defensive rebound. If O1 secures the rebound, he should attempt to score against the … [Read more...]
Power Up Rebounding Drill
Purpose: To work on rebounding in traffic and taking the basketball up strong against pressure. The offensive player will have to use fundamental moves to score and the defensive player works on giving intense inside pressure. Drill: Two players and one basketball per basket. O1 has the ball and stands near the low block on either side of the rim. X2 stands out of bounds on the same side as the offensive player (in this diagram, both players are on the right side). O1 starts by tossing the … [Read more...]
Double the Rebounder Toughness Drill
Purpose: To develop toughness and to prepare players against double-teaming and pressure situations. Drill: Two defenders (X4, x5) start just outside the lane. A third defender (x1), starts at the top. O3 starts at about the free throw line while O1 starts at the top of the key. A coach has the basketball. When the coach shoots the basketball, O3 goes in after the rebound. X4 and x5 allow O3 to secure the rebound and then immediately harass and doubleteam him. As O3 secures the rebound, O1 … [Read more...]
Toughness Rebounding Drill
Purpose: Toughness. Flat-out toughness in rebounding is necessary in order to be successful in this drill. Drill: 2 defensive players start inside the lane. 5 offensive players start outside the lane. The top boundary is either the jump circle (if you even have that marking on your court), or the top line on the free throw lane. A coach or manager will shoot the basketball from any spot on the court. In this diagram, the coach is shooting from the free throw line. X1 and X2 fight for the … [Read more...]
Three Stops 4-on-4
Purpose: To work on overall team defense and develop the teamwork and communication skills necessary to play great team defense. The competitive situation also helps to develop defensive toughness. Drill: The Three Stops 4-on-4 Team Defense Drill is competitive in that requires the defense to have three consecutive successful stops. Divide your squad into teams of 4. Extra players can be placed on teams and they will simply need to rotate in and out. As shown in the diagram, Team 1 is on … [Read more...]