Even at a very young age it is possible to begin to instill the [tag]basics[/tag] of [tag]basketball[/tag] into a child’s precocious mind. While obviously you won’t have toddlers running complicated lay-up [tag]drills[/tag], there are a few [tag]basketball drills for the very young[/tag] that will have your [tag]children[/tag] learning the fundamentals of the game.
The first of the basketball drills for the very young is a [tag]passing[/tag] [tag]drill[/tag] that teaches the basics of [tag]catching[/tag] and [tag]throwing[/tag]. Divide your team into partners and have each pair stand facing each other approximately 5 feet apart.
Begin with simple chest passes between the pairs. Each player tosses the ball to the other, who catches it and throws it back. When you blow your whistle, the pairs are to speed up their passes. Each time a pass is missed and the ball is dropped, the players must each take a big step backwards. If players are able to make 20 passes between them without dropping the ball, they are able to take a step forward.
The next of the basketball drills for the very young is a variation on a game called HORSY that we probably all played at one time or another after school on the basketball courts. Have your players line-up at the free throw line, and one at a time take a shot on the basket. If they make the shot, then they go to the back of the line. If the shot is missed, then the player receives the letter H, then O-R-S-Y. The last player standing before spelling HORSY is declared the winner.