The inspiration for this [tag]basketball coaching tip[/tag] came from one of my subscribers. It includes some fresh ideas on [tag]basketball skill drills[/tag]. Try it out and let me know what you think!
Rebounding Drill
One player lies on the floor his/her back, with feet toward the basket on the free throw line.
Three people (coaches, assistants or other players) space themselves in an arc around the basket about 10-15 feet out. These three people begin passing the [tag]basketball[/tag] to each other in a random fashion. Without warning, one of them shoots the ball toward the basket with the intent of bouncing it off the rim to create a rebound opportunity.
As soon as the reclining player sees that the ball is heading toward the basket, (s)he springs to his/her feet and grabs the rebound as quickly as possible. The best possible scenario is for the player to get the rebound before the ball hits the floor. Grabbing the ball after the first bounce is still OK. Grabbing it after the second bounce is less OK, but acceptable if the ball took a “wild” rebound off the rim. The ball should never bounce a third time before being snatched.
This [tag]basketball drill[/tag] develops 2 of the 3 rebounding skills I teach:
Anticipation – estimating which direction the ball will bounce off the rim.
Quickness – getting to the ball fast.
The third skill is Positioning (vis a vis an opposing player). You can incorporate this skill into an “advanced” version of the drill by having two players lie on their backs at the free throw line and compete for the rebound. (With middle-schoolers, I don’t put heavy emphasis on leaping ability as a 4th rebounding skill, as I believe kids who master the other 3 skills will get more rebounds than pure jumpers.)
Key Features of the“ [tag]rebounding drill[/tag]:
Reclining players cannot move until the ball is shot, but to be successful they must move the instant they know it has been shot – while it is still on its way to the rim.
Use at least 2 (I use 3) people to pass and shoot the ball so that the reclining players won’t know ahead of time where the ball is coming from – they will have to think and move faster.