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.

Technorati Tags: basketball passing drills, basketball drill, basketball

Set up one line under the basket near the low block.  Put a player as an outlet on the sideline about a quarter-way up the court, another player diagonal from her at the mid-court circle (where the mid-court line and circle meet), and a third player diagonal from her again on the sideline.  Do the same thing on the other side (there should be six players/receivers on the court).

The first person in line has a basketball and passes the ball diagonally to the first receiver.  She then runs a STRAIGHT LINE, receives the ball back from the first receiver, then quickly passes to the person at mid-court, receives the ball back, passes to the third receiver, and receives a BOUNCE PASS and takes a lay-up.  Once she takes the lay-up and rebounds the shot, she passes to the outlet receiver heading back, receives the pass, passes to mid-court person # 2, then to the sideline again, takes the lay-up, and goes to the end of the line after passing the ball to the next person in line.

As your team builds speed with this drill, you can have each player wait until the first person is at half-court then have the next person go so that it’s continuous.  Another variation is to have each person call “BALL!” and present a target for each pass. Rotate your players so that the passers on the court have a turn in the line as well.

Technorati Tags: basketball passing drills, basketball drill, basketball, lay-up

3 on 2 continuous
This basketball drill will work on passing, filling lanes, read and reacting on the offensive side, to creating a scoring lay-up; to rebounding, transition & outlet passes. It also works on player conditioning.

Players: 10, 11 or 12
One basketball
Full Length
Time:  3-5-7 minutes
Keys:  rebound high, great outlet passes, attack the defenders & finish with lay-ups

Split players up at each end of the court (5 & 5 or 5 & 6 or 6 & 6) out of bounds near the baskets. To start, the basketball coach shoots the ball and 1st 3 players, rebound and move the ball up court to face the two defenders (one positioned at the top of the 3 pt line and the other backing up at foul line. Attack the defenders, get the defenders to commit and pass the ball to the open player.

On a made basket or miss, the two defenders will rebound and be joined by a teammate who is out of bounds near the basket. These three then move back down the court while two other players (out of bounds under the basket) are now in the defending position again at the top of the 3-pt line and foul line. When play slows or becomes ragged usually we play one more minute and focus on a solid finish.

If defensive players stop the 3 offensive players, just bring the ball back to the defending basket and start from there.

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This basketball drill is a variation from an Australian Rugby drill. It works on catching and passing whilst in motion, as well as intercepting passes. Players learn to react quickly to passes and to time their defense/passing better.

Have players standing on a cone in the formation below:

• The player in the centre is the head passer and the players on the outer ring are his team members. They must be in constant motion in a clockwise direction around the circle.
• The players in the inner ring are the defense and they must be in constant motion anti-clockwise.
• The offence must pass the ball back and forward between the rotating players and the head passer without the defense touching or stealing the ball.

A variation may be to change the roles of the players OR add two head passers and another basketball OR have players instantly change direction when the coaches whistle is blown.

I have actually done this with various sports and found it works anywhere there’s passing involved. And it works for players of all ages/abilities/levels.

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From Derick…
We call this basketball drill “Perfection.”

1.  Divide players into three lines — one at the baseline on one side of the basket, two lines above the half court on opposite sides of the jump circle.

2.  The baseline group begins with the basketball.  The first player in line calls the name of the player at the half-court.  That player breaks to the ball and jump stops at the free throw line extended.

Player A passes the ball as the player comes to the jump stop. As Player B jump stops and receives the ball, Player C (from the other line above the half-court) breaks towards the basket.  Player B calls the name of Player C and passes the ball, which should lead to a lay-up with the proper hand.  The whole team must count each made basket.

Each of these elements must be done “perfectly” or the count starts over.  You make 12 in a row from each side to end this basketball drill.

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From Doug…
Most of us have “day” jobs that keep us from focusing on the basketball drills and plays as much as we’d like.

I’ve begged borrowed and stole drills and plays for years. I still struggle with the best basketball plays though for grade school girls teams. I’ve coached from K – 8th grade girls and have run numerous plays but still do not feel we’ve found the right one(s).

The basketball drill that my teams have really liked is my warm up figure 8 drill.

We start them in one corner of the floor have the run forward for half the court, then at mid court they do the defensive shuffle across the court ( we have a coach do passing drills as they slide across), then run up the other half of the court. When they get to the end line they do the defensive slide across the end line, when they get to the next side line the run backward to midcourt where they do the defensive shuffle across mid court where a coach passes the basketball to them again. Then they run backward again to the end line where they do running jumping drill across the end line back to the starting point. A couple times through and they are winded and warmed up.

Nothing ground breaking about this drill but my kids have liked it.

Technorati Tags: girls basketball drills, basketball drills, basketball plays, basketball drill, basketball

I don’t have a name for this basketball drill, but the intent is to teach the very young basketball players passing skills and how to move and get open.  It’s keep-a-way in a box.  (I just use a box because very young players need some reference point or they will run all over the gym.)

Three players on the corners of a box with 15′ sides play keep-a-way from one player in the middle.  There is always one open corner.   The players cannot pass across the box, but only to an adjacent corner. If a corner adjacent to the ball is empty then the player diagonal must move to fill the empty spot.  The passer must make a decision to pass left or right, faking out the person in the middle.   After every pass, someone must move.   If the person in the middle gets the ball, whoever they took it from moves to the middle.

This is intended to be a fast moving game with many touches on the ball teaching movement, getting open, and  basketball passing skills.  After the players get the game down then the “box” can be removed and they can play on half of the court.

I’m now coaching very young players and need drills focused on teaching basic ball skills.

Technorati Tags: coaching youth basketball, basketball drill, basketball, basketball passing skills

From George…
Here’s one of my favorite basketball drills:

5 players form a half circle from the right baseline to the left baseline just inside the 3 point line.
Player 1(on the left baseline) passes to player 2 who passes to player 3(top of the key) who passe to 4 who passes to player 5(on the right baseline) who then shoots a jump shot.

Basketballs are continuously passed from 1-2-3-4-5 so that as player 5 shoots, player 4 is getting another pass and he shoots then player 3 shoots etc.

After each player shoots they move to their right (5 goes to the end of line 1 & 4 goes to 5 etc etc) and the shooting continues.  Each player gets 5 quick shots as well as work on passing and some conditioning.

This basketball drill really helps develop quick passes and allows a lot of shots to be taken.

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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 Brian…
Passing and catching basketball drill.

I put all the boys in  circle arms length apart at the center of court.  Everyone takes 5 steps back to widen the circle.  I coach from the middle of the circle.  One boy has a basketball and bounce or chest passes to the next boy until we complete the circle.  We are concentrating on making eye contact with the next player, stepping to the player making a sharp pass.  The receiver has to step to the pass, secure the ball, use his pivot foot and pass to the next boy.

I will time the boys to see how long it takes to complete the circle.  I will introduce a second ball half way around the circle and possible a third ball to the circle.  This keeps the boys attention and helps with speed and passing fundamentals.

After 5 times around the circle I will have the basketball coaches play passive defense on the inside of the circle to help the boys make good passing decisions.

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