If you’re coaching 7-8 year olds, you are always looking for fresh [tag]kids basketball drills and plays[/tag].
My 7-8 year olds love to run!“ So, while I try to teach them to dribble without looking at the [tag]basketball[/tag], at the same time that they want to run. We do the following simple drill:
I stand at one end of the court and hold up fingers while they dribble towards me as fast as they can, but still under control. They have to look up at my hand to see how many fingers I have up and then yell out the number. I keep changing until they all reach my end of the court. Then they turn around and go back towards my assistant [tag]basketball coach[/tag].
Simple but effective — hope this helps others teach the kids to dribble without looking at the ball.
Another great [tag]basketball drill[/tag] for our young kids is a “no dribbling drill.” We play 5 on 5 for about 10 minutes with absolutely no dribbling. It’s amazing to see how they spread out, look for the open man, protect the ball, and make cleaner shots when they’re not concerned with driving. Even our big kids down low have broken bad habits of putting the ball on the floor after an offensive rebound.
What’s great about this basketball drill too, is that it shows immediately in the games. And when they do dribble, there is more patience and control.