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.

Technorati Tags: basketball, practice, drill, chest pass, dribble

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.

Technorati Tags: basketball defense, basketball, defense

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

     4 on 4 on 4 half court competition.
 
1. Three teams of 4.
2. I color code them Red, Blue, and Gold.
3. 1 team is out of bounds under the basket.
4. Pick 1 color to start on defense, 1 to start on offense, and the other color is out of bounds waiting to come out on defense.
5. There is no out of bounds.
6. If the offense scores they stay on and the new defense jumps in and the unsuccessful defense gets off the court.
7. An  outlet pass must be thrown to the coach, and the coach gives it back. 
8. If the defense boxes out and gets the rebound they outlet to the coach, and are now on offense.
9. I have them play till a score of 10 is achieved or for 5 minutes.  Which ever comes first.

Coaching points:
1. If my point of emphasis is: boxing out the defense must box out on  the rebound or its a violation, and they have to exit - letting the other team come on the court to play defense.
2. If my point of emphasis is: Setting screens the offense must set a legal screen leading to the score or they exit, and the D goes to O and the waiting team comes on as the new D.
3. Your points of emphasis can be what you feel your team needs for improvement.
4. The winning team doesn’t have to do whatever penalty you wish to impose.

Technorati Tags: girls basketball drill

We do a basketball drill in practice that works on chasing down loose balls and then one on one defense. Coach stands in the middle of the floor under the basket, a line of players in each corner of the court. Coach rolls the ball down the court and the players chase after it. The guy who gets it becomes the offensive player, the other guy the defensive player. The offensive player brings the ball back down to the original side of the floor. The defender must keep him from scoring. This works really well on full court man defense, because the defender must guard his man all the way back down the floor. We have found this is a great drill and the players really love it!! 

Here’s another idea from Gary:

Don’t know if it is new but, I recently saw the 3 man weave with a twist. Instead of the last player taking a shot only, the other 2 players and the first shooter continued to weave from the sides back and forth until all 3 players had shot a lay up. Then they take off weaving to the other basket and do the same until all 3 shot a lay up.  They are done at this point and the next group starts. I’m a coach with limited experience, so, this might be a very common drill, but I had not seen it before.

Technorati Tags: basic basketball drills, basketball

Easy, simple and very effective drill.  Two lines, out of bounds at low
post.  (Let’s call the left line “A” and the right line “B”.  Two
basketballs, one with the first player in line B and one with the second
player in line A.  To start, the first player in line A sprints along the
paint and around the elbow, across the free throw line to the opposite
elbow.  He receives a pass from the first player in line B and takes a
jumper.  Immediately after making his pass, that first player in the B line
sprints up his side of the paint, out around the shooter he just passed to,
to his opposite elbow.  He receives a pass from the second player in line A
and takes a jumper.  That player then sprints around the shooter he just
passed to, and takes a pass from the next player in line B.  And the drill
continues in that fashion.

A couple of additional logistical points for the drill.  The shooter gets
his own rebound and delivers it to the opposite line that he received the
pass from.  He then goes to the back of the line that he received the pass
from.  So think about it this way, a shooter at the right elbow, gets his
rebound and gives the ball to the next available player in the left line.
He then goes to the back of the right line.

This is a great basketball drill for catching a pass on the fly, getting to a certain
spot, getting square to the hoop, and concentrating on being under control
at full speed.  We mix up the passes, and make a competition in practice
about how many we make in two minutes.

It’s all a very impressive looking pre-game drill once the boys get it
down.  (Looks almost like they’re well coached)!!

Technorati Tags: shooting drills for basketball, basketball

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE going
to practice with new coaching ideas, drills,
and plays.

As a matter of fact, it is a big reason I coach
in the first place.

I don’t like the same old, same old.

I want my players to enjoy practice because they
are going to learn something new each time!

A few weeks back, I was at a coaching clinic in
San Diego with a lot of other like-minded coaches.

The best part of the ENTIRE clinic occured at
lunch on the last day.

I was sitting at table of coaching super-stars.

There were legendary high school coaches, college
coaches, international coaches…

Anyway, we just started chatting about new
drills we were working on with our teams.

After 5 minutes, I knew I was participating in
one of the coolest events of the weekend.

Our poorly catered lunch quickly transformed into a
“Basketball Think-Tank”.

I grabbed my notebook and started to jot down
all these cool ideas I got from other coaches.

Things I had NEVER thought about doing.

–//–

Anyway, I came home and couldn’t wait to get in touch
with you.

You see, you are part of my basketball blog community.

(a group of serious coaches like yourself who are
committed to improving).

I wish I could get all of us around a table for
lunch so we could brainstorm new drills, plays,
and coaching tips.

but…..my pockets aren’t that deep this year.

Anyway…here is my idea…

There are over 2,500 of you who visit my blog, and I know
that each of you has a very cool drill, coaching tip,
or play up your sleeve that is working great in your
practices.

Wouldn’t it be neat if you had access to the best
basketball coaching ideas from other youth coaches
just like you?

So, here is my offer…

Each of you send me a coaching tip, drill or play.

No need to write a novel here- just a few sentences
about something that is working well for your team.

I will compile the list.

Here’s the catch, I’m happy to distribute the list,
but only to the coaches who take the time to contribute
an idea, drill, or play.

It’s a win-win.

You share a basketball coaching tip and get hundreds
of tips in return.

Sound like a deal?

Get to it, spend 5 minutes, fill in the form below, and give me
a basketball coaching idea that can be shared.

In a week or so I’ll send out the completed collection.

-Coach Pat

PS- Remember, the only way to get the “master idea list”
is to contribute- so don’t delay…

I *KNOW* you’re going to want a copy of this bad-boy

Technorati Tags: Basketball Coach, practice, high school, Basketball, basketball blog

Last week I added a handful of coaching videos I created with Basketball Blueprint to YouTube…
Here is one of them I thought I’d share with you guys here:

For those of you new to my blog, Basketball Blueprint is a brand new play design software that was just released this season.  So far basketball coaches from across the US and world have been loving it.   Maybe it’s something you’d want to add to your coaching toolbox (or X-mas list!).

In addition to all the wonderful graphics and user friendly design- over 20 coaches have e-mailed me saying how much their players LOVE seeing their own names in the animation and printed playbooks.  My own teams get a real kick out of seeing their names “in lights”.  If you have any questions about the software, please visit the software website or send me a note in the contact box below (I usually get back to questions in 24 hours or so).

Click HERE to check out Basketball Blueprint. 

Ask me a question:

Technorati Tags: Basketball Blueprint, Basketball, basketball coaches, coaching