I have 12 kids so I split them into 2 groups of six. Go to opposite baskets.
The 6 players stand around the outside of the 3-point line and wait to be called.
It starts with one-on-one rebounding–each group gets two shots each. Sort of a warm up basketball drill.

After several times around, switching up partners the whole group gets under the basket and they compete for several boards. Once they have done that for roughly 6 or 7 shots, the kid that grabs a rebound gets to get water and wait for the next basketball drill to start.

The last one to retrieve a rebound does a suicide.

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Full Court/Split Court 1 v 2

3 players: 2 defense, 1 offense

The basketball court is divided right and left.
Offensive player begins with the basketball at the baseline.
One defensive player positioned on ball, another stacked over the top in a position to trap.
The offensive player is challenged to score in the full court against the two defenders using only half of the available width of the floor. The defenders should dominate this basketball drill, but it is a good training exercise that will condition ball handlers to be stronger with the ball under pressure.

Individual Full Court Lay-ins

Beginning at midcourt sideline, speed dribble (2-3 max) and finish. Grab the basketball from the net (as to finish w/same hand as initial layin) and circle the elbows to finish again.
Grab the ball from the net drive full court to the other end–incorporate various techniques for scoring–jump stop, pull up jumper, hesitation, cross over, in and out, spin and/or combinations.

Technorati Tags: basketball defense drills, basketball drills, basketball, basketball drill

They dribble and toss the bean bag back and forth between each other for practice. I do 3 minutes for each dribbling hand. This is a drill I do once in the beginning of basketball practice and again at the end.

Another basketball drill is for boxing out. Each team of five forms a circle at the center of the court with the ball centered and sitting in the middle. Each player pairs up–having one in the circle and one player outside.

The inside player has to prevent the outer player from getting the ball inside. They are timed how fast the outer team can get the ball. Then they switch positions after doing the drill 4 times.We have found that this drill challenges the girls to really keep their eyes on their player and be aggressive enough to hold their player back.

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Three Girl Weave:
Girls perform a typical three girl weave from under one hoop to the other.  We concentrate on keeping the weave tight, making good passes, not traveling and making the final pass a bounce pass for a layup.

The shooter then sprints back to the opposite free throw line and becomes a defender.  One girl grabs the rebound and begins a “fast break” towards the opposite hoop.  The last girl has chosen a side of the court & is heading up court towards the hoop.

Focus on the dribbler keeping her head up, dribbling with good form and making a good pass to the other offensive player.  The defender must first defend the basketball and rotate back to defend the pass and box out.

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One fun basketball drill that we do for our younger basketball players is as follows:

• 4 on 4,  use half the Court
• 2 small goals on each side 4 feet wide
• Bounce pass through the side goals count as 1 point
• Making a basket counts as 3

The defending team, when scored upon, inbounds from where the points where scored.  First team to 10 wins.  All normal rules except 3 seconds apply.

This basketball drill gives players an up-tempo approach to offense, rewards going to the outside, and ultimately baskets count the most.

Technorati Tags: basketball drills for youth, fun basketball drill, basketball, basketball drill

From Mark…
I coach 6th grade girls beginners.

Some of the things that helped me teach them our offense was to use flat rubber circles with numbers on them on the floor while we are learning new  plays.  It helps them remember the starting positions.  I leave these on the floor when we scrimmage as well.

Also when teaching Man/help defense, I use a long string to show where the passing lanes are.  While stationary, I put one end on the ball, and the other end I bring to the person they are guarding.  Then we move the ball and demo again.  It helps them visualize where they need to position their body and where to put their hand to get on and up the line when playing defense.   It also helps when teaching them to sag in and help to the ball when it is opposite side.

From Chris…
This is not earth shattering by any means, but really helped our practice.

I coach a 10 year old girls YMCA team and the biggest problem we had the first practice was that most of the kids did not know each other.  The coaches (me and my assistant) didn’t know any of the girls either.  To begin the start of practice #2, I passed out jerseys with the girls names on the front.  They loved them and us coaches were able to connect with the girls by calling them out by first name.  In the future, I will have practice jerseys with names ready to go for the first practice so kids and coaches can immediately interact more effectively.

We are also going to have a pizza party this Friday night before our first game on Saturday so I can build a relationship with the parents and the girls can get to know each other better, which can only help overall team chemistry.

Technorati Tags: kids basketball coaching tips, basketball, drill, coaching, teamwork, coach, offense, scrimmage, defense, practice

From Benny…
Here is a drill that I use that works GREAT on conditioning, shooting, and passing, and defense and offensive skills.

I call it the UCLA drill:

• Start with 3 players at half court
• 2 Players on defense and  2 more players on defense at the other end of the court
• It moves like a fast break (3 on 2 )
• While the 3 offensive players are sprinting (like a fast break 3 on 2), A third defensive player runs from the sidelines at  half court and touches the center of the court
• This makes the offensive rush to the whole and gives the drill a sense of game time speed
• Once the defense grabs the rebound, the players run a fast break to the 2 other defensive players on the opposite side of the court where the 2 defensive players were already placed earlier.
• Same drill on the way down, a third defensive player runs from the sidelines to the center of the court and then plays defense with the other 2
• The play keeps running and the 2 defensive players are the palyers on the wings.

Technorati Tags: skills of basketball, basketball, drill, conditioning, defense, offensive, rebound

Most kids are very familiar with the game of Hot Potato. Kids throw a ball back and forth and they can’t hold onto it very long – they have to throw it back as soon as possible. The kids pretend that the ball is a hot potato.

Hot Potato is one of the best 1st grade basketball drills because it can teach all the different passes to a young player.

Before this basketball drill is used, the player has to be shown how to properly throw a chest pass, a bounce pass, a baseball pass, and an overhead pass.

A chest pass is done with two hands holding onto the ball. The ball is held at chest level and thrown straight toward the target from the chest.

A bounce pass starts at chest level but then drops as the passer’s arms move forward. The pass should bounce about midway between the passer and the player who is receiving the pass.

A baseball pass is thrown with one hand. The throw is similar in mechanics to throwing a baseball.

An overhead pass is thrown with two hands and the pass is thrown from directly above the head.

Once all the players know how to throw the different types of passes, the Hot Potato drill can begin.

During this drill each player should have a partner. Players should stand about fifteen feet away from their partner.

Whatever type of pass the coach calls out, the players must throw that pass until the coach changes to another type of pass. The players may need to be reminded that the ball is hot and should be caught and thrown as quickly as possible. However, the passer needs to make sure the throw is right to the receiver and the receiver must make sure to catch the ball out in front of his/her body with two hands.

The second of the great 1st grade basketball drills requires players to race each other while dribbling a ball. Most players will only be able to dribble with their dominant hand, but if the players are advanced the races can be run using the off hand or switching between hands. This drill will help a player with dribbling and running at the same time.

1st graders are young but they can still begin to play the game of basketball. Practices for kids this young should be fun and educational. Two 1st grade basketball drills that are both fun and educational are Hot Potato and the Dribble Races.

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A very simple basketball tip that I came up with at practice has turned us into a very successful defensive club, ever since our first game.

I keep touting to the girls I coach to watch the waste when playing defensive ball, and in the first game they just didn’t listen and we lost.

After that I purchased the song by Shikira, “Hips Don’t Lie”, and played it in practice and the girls got into watching the hips on the girls when playing defense. Needless to say, we have been averaging 6 steals a game and haven’t lost since.
 
The girls do not leave their feet on defense, no headfaking to distract them, and we are playing with confidence.

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It’s a variation of the Sumo box out drill.

My girls love this basketball drill.

One player is at the free throw line facing the basket and another behind her facing the other basket.

When I blow the whistle the player behind has to spin around and try to get to the basket while the girl facing the basket tries to box her out. I use the key as a boundary.

Here’s a great tip from Lucinda for dealing with kids with an attitude:

Tip: When dealing with “kids with attitude” I have a method that works very well.  If I see a player getting an attitude or getting very angry on the court during a game, I point at them and they have to stop and do 2-3 jumping jacks right where they are or I pull them from the game.

It has worked great with kids who have anger management problems on and off the court.

Technorati Tags: basketball rebounding drills, drill, basketball, attitude