From  Marwan…
To improve passing:
Form a circle of players (about 15 feet diameter) and introduce one basketball.  Each player must call out another player’s name, ensure that he has his attention, then pass the ball to that player.  Next, introduce a second ball to the circle.  Then, a third ball, then fourth ball etc. to the circle.

This basketball drill is fun and it teaches good crisp passing, receiving and learning to obtain eye contact before passing a ball.  It is a great way for new players to learn their teammates names as well.

From Kym…
I am a real novice at coaching but here goes with my tip.  I am coaching for my first year with a group of under 14 girls and I found it hard to get and keep their attention so I decided to bring music to each session.

I do a drill with dribbling and passing and make sure it is timed with the music.  When the music stops they have to stop and pass.  Sort of like musical dribbling!  I now have put it in an obstacle course with girls dribbling around obstacles and then when the music stops they have to pass to another player.

If the pass doesn’t make it strong to the other girl I play a song I like instead of a song they like!  Sounds lame but works really well and they concentrate.

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From Jarrod…
A basketball drill I that I have used to develop my players ball handling is to get an old rubber basketball, put it in soapy water then get them to do 3 dribble zig-zag ball handling moves in a row e.g crossovers, thru legs, behind back, spin move, etc.

The reason I use this is to help simulate a player having to handle a slippery basketball (like they do late in games when the balls covered in sweat). At first the basketballs went everywhere as the players couldn’t handle the ball, but after a few sessions the players adapted and their ball handling improved rapidly.

From Lin…
Instead of the normal suicidal runs, I’ll make my players do it with dribbling a ball.  It’s effective and improves their control of the ball with the added pressure to run faster than the rest of the teammates.

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From Cory…
Here is my basketball coaching tip… FUNDAMENTALS
I believe in teaching basketball fundamentals each and every day of practice.

No matter what age group you work with, it is very important to work on the basic fundamentals of basketball.  I start each practice with basketball handling drills and dribbling.  It’s important that not only your guards can handle the ball, but it is equally important for your big guys to handle it also.  It’s amazing how many kids have a tough time not looking at the ball when they dribble.  It is a little time consuming, but I firmly believe that it is very important to take the time to TEACH ball handling and basketball dribbling drills.

I alternate different basketball drills so they are not doing the same drill every day.  I find new ways of doing the same thing…which after a while the players catch on.

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From Bob…
Dribble and Passing warm up basketball drill.

Start with half the players on the outside of the circle with a ball.
The other half are inside the circle.  Players work for 30 to 60 seconds then rest.

Players on the outside will throw a chest pass, player on the inside checks to the player on the outside asks for the ball,receives the ball and then plays the ball back with the prescribe pass.  The player then finds another player on the outside and executes the pass.

Players must solve the time and space dilemma and are able to perform basketball passing drills under pressure.  I will work this for chest, bounce, skip, and over takes.

Next I move to dribbling.  I keep the circle.  I put 6 on the outside and 4 on the inside.  The players on the inside have a ball. In addition, I put 4 cones or discs in the middle of the circle  forming a box, or what I like to call a window.

Players are then given a type of dribble to perform with a type of crossover move.  Right, Left, front cross, behind the back, between the legs.  Players in the middle start dribble through the square with speed and look to find  an open player on the outside of the circle.  They execute the dribble move, get their head up, find a player open, pass then the ball.  The player on the outside receive the ball, the player who threw them the ball comes at them and the player receiving executes a cross over move to beat the player, dribbles as directed in one part of the square and out the other side and locates another player and executes the same.

A very continuous drill.  I can then add on the following.

Give and go passing.
I can arrange player at the top of the  keys in the gym and the play can play the ball to them cut to the basket and execute a pass and hit the shot, gets his rebound plays the player, and the player continues through the “window” and finds a player to execute a give and go.  The combinations are limitless. The kids like it, we are working skills at speed with pressure, with a number of players in the same area which causes the kids to make good decisions with the basketball.

Great for fitness and handling pressure.

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From Anne…
A basketball drill that I have incorporated into my sessions at the moment is as follows:  My teaching mindset most of the time is a no nonsense approach to basketball and tricks and fancy ball handling skills don’t appear too high up on my list of priorities.

Having said this I do see the need for players to master the spin dribble, cross over dribble and the behind the back.  To practice these skills I position three defensive objects (can be chairs, coaches or even rubbish bins) at three points in the floor usually free throw line extended left hand side of court, mid Court right hand side of court and other free throw line extended left hand side of Court.

The players line up at one end of the court and execute a designated dribble, one of the three above, at each defender, finishing off the circuit with a lay up.   I then reverse the drill and have my players start from the other end of the court so they are approaching each defender with the other hand.   I find this is a fun basketball drill that has to be done with speed as another player is released as soon as you hit the second defender.

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From John…
This is my dribbling basketball warm-up that I do at every basketball practice with my 12-13 year old girls.

Split the team in half; every girl has a basketball and one group stands on one baseline to the right and the other group stands on the other base line opposite side from the other group.

You set up three cones in front of each group–one at the foul line extended, the next at center, then the other foul line extended. The first girl will dribble up to the first cone and make a move cross over then explode to the next cone and repeat and the next two cones then do a lay-up getting her own rebound. Next she joins the end of the other line. Run it for about 20 min. with the girls performing different moves each time through.

This is great conditioning and great for teaching the girls how to explode away from their checks.

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From Joe…
Here is something I came up with for my Jr. High basketball team.  During basketball dribbling drills we always practiced behind the back and through the legs dribbles.  However, during games they were reluctant to use these skills. 

I then devised a basketball drill requiring them to dribble full length of court, going behind the back at free throw line, then between legs to half court, then behind back to free throw line, then finish between legs.  The idea being they get used to using the skills on the court rather than simply in drill practice.  It worked well for several players.

From David…
Triangle Box Outs
Offense and defense on both blocks and free throw line.
When shot goes up rotate clockwise and box offense gets rebound, defense does five air squats.

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From Tushan…
What I do with my players is that I play Bump with them because it helps them to improve speed and rebounding and shooting. I put one rule into bump–it’s No Traveling. That way it helps them work on their dribbling.

I also do  another basketball drill called Superman. I put two balls on the foul on the corner and the player comes to the line. He has one minute to get as many shots or layups (depends which one you want) in the basket. This helps him getting the ball shoot or lay it in as fast as he can with the right form.

From Scott…
When the end of the quarter, half or game is just 15 seconds away, call time out.  Instruct all but two players to the opposite end of the floor.

The inbound passer slowly rolls the basketball in bounds toward half court with the receiver jogging next to the ball.  The inbound passer sprints past half court to an open position to receive a pass from the receiver for a shot, three pointer, whatever.  The play clock doesn’t start until the ball is touched inbounds so this play allows for more time to get off a shot or maybe execute a preplanned offensive play.

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From Amber…
As an elementary school teacher I have combined the idea of cooperative learning and competition into the beginning of each basketball practice.

I divide the group into two teams (of even talent).
We do relays with skills such as dribbling, passing and pivoting, and lay-ups.  The team that finishes last runs a lap then each team gets three minutes to work as a group to improve.  The better players reach out to the strugglers and share tips that work for them.

I have already done what I know to do to teach them, but their teammates can use words or actions that I haven’t thought of.  I make sure to mix up the teams every practice so the same player is not slowing down the same group.

From Phil…
I coach 7th grade boys, and every practice we have starts with a game of knockout.

The catch is, as soon as you’re knocked out you start running the length of the court, over & over until the knockout game is done. No one wants to run, and they sure don’t want to do a lot of laps so they focus real intently on their free throws & put-backs.

The winner is the only one that doesn’t run any laps—that’s their reward.

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From Jim…
At each one of my practices, I have my girls shoot 10 shots from 5 spots on the floor. I use 2 rebounders, 1 passer, and 1 shooter. The catch is that the girls have to complete 50 shots in 2 minutes, 45 seconds. ( I arrived at this amount of time by trial and error.)

The time limit forces them to make good, quick passes, and also to catch and shoot right away. I find that the less they think about the shot, the better they shoot.

Our shooting percentage has increased dramatically.

From Julie…
One thing we’ve done at practice is a simple thing to develop the “weak” hands of the players.

Every time the whistle is blown for the team to huddle up, they are to stop where they are, dribble 20 times with their “weak” hand (for most, it’s the left hand), and then sprint in to the huddle, still dribbling with that hand.

It doesn’t take a lot of time, but throughout the course of the season, we’ve seen most of the players gain more confidence in using that hand.

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