From Cormac…
We run a basketball drill for 5/6 & 7/8 graders that we call Indian File.  It is basically the chair drill with people.

4 players are placed in a line spread across the length of the basketball court.  The first defender is located just inside of the baseline.  Then it’s timeline back court, timeline front court and the front court 3-point line.  We usually use two lines on opposite sides of the court facing in opposite directions.  A dribble feed line is located at the front baseline and depending on the level of skill and age, you may also have a feed line for the defenders out of bounds at the far sideline.

The drill starts with the ball handler at the near baseline who jab-steps and attacks the first defender with a cross-over move and proceeds to weave in and out through the remaining defenders.  As the dribbler passes a defender that defender moves up to take the position of the defender in front of him.  The first defender would then become the last person in the dribble feed line.  The first defender is usually attacked to the inside as it will set up an outside move on the last defender.  Upon passing the last defender the ball handler has to make a strong move to the basket which should be with the outside hand.

We generally work on the cross-over, spin dribble, between the legs and behind the back moves to help our players be more comfortable with the ball in traffic.  We teach trying to stay on line as much as possible so players are not swaying too far off course when moving up the court beyond a defender.  We have used the sideline or other lines on the court to help the players stay on line.  We also usually have a coach at the end of each line holding up different numbers of fingers with the players calling out the numbers to keep their focus up court.  We vary the players locations to work on different approaches to the basket from the wing lay-up to the baseline power move or the reverse lay-up.  We also stress explosion to the basket coming out of the last move and finding the rim early.  Depending on the skill level of our players, we also vary the level of defense the defender plays from a stationary position to some lateral movement.

Depending on the number of coaches we have we will also have a basketball coach “walk the line” instructing the dribblers as they move through the line.  At times we will also have a coach or a player stand near the basket playing token defense on the lay-up.

After completing the lay-up the dribbler retrieves his own shot and passes the ball across the baseline to the next person in the opposite dribble line and then sprints to the back of the opposite defender feed line.  For advanced players you could also have this player “race” the opposite ball handler to the basket to defend the lay-up.  We would send our players to the outside of the dribble line to even out the race.  Defense can be token or live.
(Note, it is important that defenders maintain proper spacing to allow the ball handler enough space to recover from the move made on the previous defender.  Make sure the defenders do not bunch up.)

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From Stephen…
I’m a basketball coach in an small intramural league for 10 -12 year old girls with my younger daughter.  Then I couch another girls team of 12 - 14 year olds for my older daughter. I love it, have a blast!

We normally have basketball practice once a week for 1 hour. I’m sure you can tell, it’s tough to get much practice time outside of the basic skills.  What I normally try to do is combine 2 or 3 all like basketball drills. I briefly go over the 2 or 3 drills…then make one basketball drill that takes all three of the smaller drills and make one drill out of the 2 or 3 smaller drills (gives the girls more ball handling time). I only do this for the smaller less complicated drills. This solidifies everything before the end of the hour. Then of course try and finish with a quick 15 min scrimmage.

It’s a challenge to fit everything in. In our basketball league I have to rotate though to make sure all 9 or 10 girls get the same playing time–so everyone plays each position.

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From Rene…
Stop the Ball Drill
Goal of the drill: To teach the players to run to a spot in front of the ball handler instead of along side of them.

Drill setup: Two lines near the baseline under the basket, one line with the basketballs(offense), one without(defense). The line with the basketballs(offense) is on the outside of the other line.

Drill execution: You can either have the defense line start a little ahead of the offense line to give them a head start or have the offense line angle there approach toward the mid-court sidelines (place a cone at the intersection of the mid-court line and the sideline) and the defense line take a direct approach to the far basket. On the whistle, the first player in the offense line dribbles towards the cone at the mid-court/sidelines, when reaching the cone they cross-over and head for the far basket to do a layup. The defense line player takes a more direct line to the far basket in order to get to a spot in front of the offense player.

When they meet (hopefully before the basket) the defensive player squares up into a defensive stance and then they play 1 on 1 until the defensive player gains possession of the ball.

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From Mark…
This sounds great!  One of the best basketball drills that I have put into our practices is to use a medicine ball in our basketball passing drills.

I just use the same old drills but use a 5 or 8 lb medicine ball.  Improves hand strength and catching ability as well as help put a little more zip on the ball.  Also toss it up in the air to simulate a rebound. It really helped to make some of the guys stronger on the boards.

From Mike…
We have a fun 30 sec basketball drill.

Defense plays a 3 - 2 zone We have 3 on 5 and 30 sec to score. They must throw screens for the man with the basketball.  On the 3rd screen a 4th player joins the offense and on the 5th screen the 5th joins. They have only 30 sec to score 2 points for an offensive basket - keep the ball and 1 point for a stop and they switch to offense.  We play up to 10.

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From John…
This is a defensive basketball drill we use with our 5th grade boys team but it can really be used at any level.

Two lines under the basket, one basketball for each line; one basketball coach standing on each elbow. The first two players in line pass the ball to the coach in front of them and close out in a defensive stance. We look to make sure the last few steps before getting to the coach are short and choppy so they don’t over commit and also look for them to stop arms length away.

As the player approaches, the coach will make one or two stationary offensive moves (typically jab steps) to make sure get the defender is reacting correctly. Finally the coach says go and the player slides to the corner, drop steps at the corner and slides across the baseline and gets in the other line from where he started.

We use this drill in basketball practice but also in pre-game warm ups to get the kids thinking about defense.

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From Tim…
I learned this fun warmup basketball drill from another  website, but have not found another coach who’s ever heard of it.  It is called ‘Slovakian Basketball’ and I don’t know why, but whenever I say “let’s play Slovakian”, the players can’t wait to get it going.

The rules are simple:
1.  Everyone has a basketball (offense and defense) that they must legally dribble at all times.
2.  There is one additional basketball that is usually a different colour or at least recognizable, and it is the game ball - the only ball that can be used for shooting.
3.  Basically you play regular basketball, while dribbling yours and handling the game ball legally when it comes to you.
4.  If you lose your ball while in control of the game ball, it is a turnover.

Variations:
a) for less skilled players you can allow pulling up the dribble on their ball, and then restarting in a set time (say, 5 seconds), or for even more control you can create a 1 meter ‘no-go’ cylinder around the person who has the game ball too.
b) for more skilled players you can allow them to knock away the personal ball from any player who has the game ball, or for even more challenge, declare open season on any ball.

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From David…
Here’s a basketball drill my team really responds to.

Have a group of players out at the side near the centre line.  One player is under the basket and one player at the low wing to start the drill.

The player at the low wing receives the basketball from the first player in line at the centre who makes a give and go pass to this first player. The player under the basket can apply casual through to aggressive defence as you require. He rebounds the ball then outlets the pass to the centre group.  This player that has rebounded the ball must now move quickly to the low wing to receive a return pass from the centre player for a give and go move.

You can start with no pressure on the shooter up to full aggressive defensive pressure from the rebounder. Work on boxing out, move from lay up’s, to jump shots from the block, elbow, wing. Work both sides of the court so that players can use both right a left hand.  I find that this basketball practice drill incorporates a number of game-like situations and gets your players to work up-tempo.

Once the players get the hang of the drill you can introduce more basketballs.

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From Tom…
Here is my basketball tip:

1 Player is shooting a free throw.
Two defensive players are in the lane.
After the shooter shoots the ball the other two either rebound or take it out of the net and go 2 on 1 back down the court.
You need to have 2 other lines under each basket. After 2 on 1 you go back down 3 on 2 (two other players step out) after they score or miss it is 4 on 3 back down the court (two other players step out.).  Then you go 5 on 4 and finally 5 on 5.

This is a great basketball drill to work on transition and getting back on defense. Talking on defense you are always down a man except on the last possession. Whoever scores on the last possession gets a point. First team to 7 wins.

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From John…
This is a basketball drill I do with my younger teams usually near the end of the season. It breaks up the monotony of working on fundamentals (although very necessary!), and let’s me see how they’ve improved on some of their basic skills.  It’s a variation of the kids’ game “Steal the Bacon”.

I break the team into two evenly matched groups. Each player in group 1 is assigned an odd number; 1, 3, 5, etc.  Group two players are assigned even numbers, 2, 4, 6, etc.

Group 1 stands along one side line, group 2 along the other. A basketball is placed in the center of the court.  To begin, I call out 2 numbers, one odd and one even. On the whistle, these players go for the ball…whoever gets it is on offense, the other player plays defense.

This results in a 1-on-1.  If the offense scores, their group is awarded 2 points. If the defense makes a stop, the defense is awarded 1 point.  I can call out multiple numbers, “1, 2, 3, 4″ to create a 2-on-2.

This drill can also be run as a 3-on-2, 2-on-1, or any combination you choose. The kids love it when, after starting with, let’s say a 2-on-2, I call out only one additional number DURING play to simulate the introduction of a trailing player to the mix.

I usually run this drill until one team reaches 21, but any point total can be set.  It creates a great team atmosphere, and allows players to work with many different player combinations on the court, in both offensive and defensive sets.

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From Bruce…
This is one of my favorite basketball drills; we call it MidWestern.  I got it from the basketball coach at MidWestern State University.

It is a continuous 2 on 1, 3 on 2, 4 on 3, and 5 on 4 basketball drill.  You have two teams of at least 5 or more players.  7 or 8 players on a team works best.

Team A will have two lines on the baseline on each side of the lane (approximately at the 3 point line).  Team B will have the same lines on the other end of the court.

The drill starts with one player from Team A shooting a free throw at Team B’s basket.  Team B will have two defenders lined up ready to rebound. If team A makes the shot, Team B will take the ball out of bounds and go down the floor 2 on 1 against the free throw shooter. If he misses, they will rebound and transition 2 on 1 also.  Team B will play offense until they score or Team A gets the rebound. Once Team A gets the rebound.  The first two players in the lines out of bounds come on the floor and go 3 on 2 with the 1st shooter against the 1st two rebounders. After that transition, 2 players from Team B come on the floor for a 4 on 3 break.

There will be 4 trips down the court, until you have gone 5 on 4. Remember, there will always be two players coming onto the floor to transition with the players already on the floor.   Once you have gone 5 on 4, Team B picks a free throw shooter to start the drill over again.  We play to 10 points (2’s count as 1 point and 3’s count as 2) with the looser running.

This is a great basketball transition drill with the defense always at a disadvantage.  It helps players learn to give help at all times.  This is a great drill for zone or man to man teams.

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