If you’re coaching 7-8 year olds, you are always looking for fresh kids basketball drills and plays.

My 7-8 year olds love to run!  So, while I try to teach them to dribble without looking at the basketball, at the same time that they want to run. We do the following simple drill:

I stand at one end of the court and hold up fingers while they dribble towards me as fast as they can, but still under control.  They have to look up at my hand to see how many fingers I have up and then yell out the number.  I keep changing until they all reach my end of the court.  Then they turn around and go back towards my assistant basketball coach.

Simple but effective — hope this helps others teach the kids to dribble without looking at the ball.

Another great basketball drill for our young kids is a “no dribbling drill.” We play 5 on 5 for about 10 minutes with absolutely no dribbling. It’s amazing to see how they spread out, look for the open man, protect the ball, and make cleaner shots when they’re not concerned with driving. Even our big kids down low have broken bad habits of putting the ball on the floor after an offensive rebound.

What’s great about this basketball drill too, is that it shows immediately in the games. And when they do dribble, there is more patience and control.

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We call these basketball out of bounds plays–Slide. When this is done right it Works Great!  Your players learn rebounding, safety and teamwork.

The team with the ball is taking the basketball out underneath their basket.

Your best three point shooter is taking the ball out. The tallest person (#5) then the 4 then the 3 is lined side by side underneath the basket centering the 4 right under the goal. #5 is on ball side and 3 is on weak side of 4. The other guard (2) is stacked behind the 4.

When the ball is snapped, 2 moves back towards half court for safety.

The 5 in post position moves toward the ball asking for it, stopping two steps before you get to the three point line on a side shot.  Then player 4 side over in post position asking for the ball to ball side block and the 3 slide posting underneath  the basket.  The ball goes to the 5. 5 fakes the shot as the shooter steps in behind the 5n over head back pass.

Three point shot is then taken by the shooter.  Other players are in place for rebounding and safety.  This basketball drill should become an all time favorite with your team.

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If you are a basketball coach for 4th graders, or any age who have never played before, try these tricks. These youth basketball drills are basic and effective; tried and true.

Two things I do to help alleviate confusion with players who are just starting out with the sport and have so much to learn are the following:

1. When substituting, I make them high five the player they are going in for and during the high five, exchange the number of the player that he/she is guarding.  This had alleviated some of the confusion during subs as to “who do I have?”.  If  the other teams subs, I have them call out the new player.  This lets everyone (including the basketball coach) know that they know who they have.

2. Switching hoops at the half has been problematic for my team so now I switch my position on the bench relative to the players at the half as well.  If they get confused, they look up to see where I am and know that they are shooting toward the end of the bench where I am sitting.

They actually ask me at the half to make sure I remember to move my seat!  Simple but they help give structure to your youth basketball players.  Give them a try.

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These basketball passing drills work on passing, ball faking and catching but primarily it improves endurance. This basketball drill is physically very demanding but the kids really enjoy it!

Set up 8 players around the half court with any additional teammates lined up behind the eight.

The eight players position themselves one under each basket one in each corner of the half court rectangle and the last 2 are across from each other at the half court of the half court.

The two players at the half court positions start with a basketball.  They will pass to the next player at the next position to their right.  Once they have made their pass they sprint across the court to the position directly opposite from where they made their pass from.

Each player who receives the ball then passes to his right and replaces his teammate positioned opposite him.

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These 3 basketball shooting drills teach a player to shoot a jump shot well.  Your basketball player will learn that to stick his landing is a key coaching point along with the proper extension.

Teaching Shooting

Drill #1
In middle of the lane–-
Have your player to bend his knees and get his butt down low. Get the basketball in the shot pocket and come up in one motion and jump and shoot.  Get good extension, and stick the landing with his feet. He should look at his feet prior to
the shot and then look at his feet after he is done shooting.
This is “stick your landing”.  Your feet need to come down in the same position.

Drill #2 same as above except change the position – back is to the sideline and player will pivot on foot closest to the basket, down in that low stance and shoot – again stick his landing

Drill #3 same as drill #2 except – pivot to square and pivot back to the original position and pivot again and shoot. Stick the landing.  This is pivot,pivot,pivot and shoot.

To emphasize – these 3 basketball drills teach someone to shoot a jump shot well!

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