Four Corners – Footwork Drill
by Evan on
Four Corners – Footwork Drill
Overview:
This is a great drill for working on jump stops, pivoting, and passing.
It will allow the coach to teach the different kinds of pivots and is a drill the players enjoy doing.
Setup:
The coach must first create a large square in the half-court by placing four cones an even distance apart. There must also be another cone or D-man in the exact middle of the square. You can see where I recommend placing these cones in the diagram.
Split your team up into four groups and send each group to a cone. The cones will be the starting position for each line.
The person at the front of each line has a basketball.
How it Works:
The first thing the coach must do is tell the players which way they’ll be passing (either right or left) and which kind of pivot they should use.
When the coach calls out ‘go’, each player with a basketball dribbles in towards the middle cone, performs a jump stop a couple of feet away, pivots, and then passes to the next line before joining the end of it.
The next player in the that catches the basketball does not start until the coach has called out ‘go’ again.
Coaching Points:
- Each player must be pivoting the same direction so that two balls don’t end up being passed to one line. Do make sure to reverse the direction half way through the drill.
- Use front and reverse pivots and make sure players aren’t traveling.
- Explain to the players it’s better to jump stop with a small hop. The higher they jump, the more off-balance they’ll be when they land.
Dribbling Lines – Dribbling Drill
by Evan on
Dribbling Lines – Dribbling Drill
Overview:
This is a simple drill to teach the basics of dribbling to new players.
It’s a good way to introduce new moves without overwhelming them and will also help to improve the technique of the movements players already know.
Setup:
Every player has a basketball and lines up on the baseline.
If you have more than 8 players, create two lines on the baseline instead of one.
How it Works:
The coach will instruct the players to use different dribbling movements to dribble up to either the half-court line or full court.
Tell them the dribble movement you want to be performed first, and then say ‘go’.
Here are a few that I like to use:
• Right hand up, left hand back
• Crossovers
• Behind-the-back
• Through-the-legs
• Dribble low
• Dribbling backwards
Coaching Points:
- Players must keep their heads up at all times.
- Once they develop good technique, focus on the players pushing off with their outside foot when making a move.
- Write down the dribbling moves so that you don’t forget them. I always do!
Floor Shooting Drill
by Evan on
Floor Shooting Drill
Purpose - To develop:
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shooting touch on fingers and pads of hand;
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smooth shooting motion with shooting arm;
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follow-through;
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and positive visualization
This drill will get you to shoot the basketball with a form that is perfect for you. The main emphasis is to get the ball to feel good coming out of your hand. Different people have different shooting forms, but one thing that is common in all great shooters is that the ball feels good coming out of their hands. That’s what this drill is all about.
This drill will do 2 things: get you to shoot with good form; and to make the ball feel good when it comes out of your hand.
Good Form:
It’s easier to practice your perfect form laying down than it is when you are out on the court. When you are out on the court, you have more things to focus on – your foot positioning, your distance from the basket, making sure you are facing the basket, etc. When you lay down to do this drill, you don’t have to worry about all that. You only have to focus on your arm, your hand, and the ball.
When you lay down and shoot the ball into the air, focus on shooting it straight into the air, so the ball goes straight up and comes straight down.
Shooting Touch:
The best thing about this drill is that it’ll help you to get a great shooter’s touch. Great shooters take hundreds of shots every day. Over time, the ball feels comfortable in their hand when they hold it, and it feels good coming out of their hand with each shot. You can get these same effects when you do this drill. The repetition of shooting the ball in the air will get your hand comfortable with the feel of the ball on the pads of your hand and fingers as well as the proper motions of shooting.
The Drill:
The great thing about this drill
is that it can be done anywhere
1. lay down on your back (on the floor, on your bed)
2. hold the ball in a shooting position
3. shoot the ball in the air:
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extend your arm
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let your wrist naturally propel the ball up into the air (don't flick your wrist - it should be a natural "floppy" motion)
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hold your shooting arm straight while the ball is in the air (follow-through)
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catch the ball with your shooting hand on the pads of your hand and fingers, NOT on your palm, and return to the starting position
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repeat
The ball should go straight up
(remember to hold the follow through)
Remember, while you’re doing this drill:
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keep the ball on the pads of your hand and your fingertips (do not let it sit on your palm)
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extend your arm fully when you “shoot” (guide the ball straight up)
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shoot "through" your guide hand (your non-shooting hand) - your guide hand is used just for balance when you are in the set position ready to shoot; it shouldn't have any effect on the rotation or direction of your shot
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don't flick your wrist to shoot the ball (great shooting is a nice fluid motion; your wrist should naturally flop forward)
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The last thing that the ball should touch as it leaves your hand is your index finger and your middle finger - this will cause the ball to go straight up and will give it a nice backspin (if the ball has a "weird" spin, then it probably isn't touching your index and middle fingers as it leaves your hand
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keep your arm extended until the ball comes back down (this will help you to remember to follow through when you are on the court shooting for real)
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as you do the drill, visualize yourself out on the court shooting baskets. Every time you shoot the ball up in the air, run a mental movie in your head where you see the ball swishing through the net.
Do this drill for at least 5 minutes a day. When you combine it with real shooting practice out on the court, you'll notice a big difference in your touch and stroke in just a few days.
I like to do 3 sets of 30 shots on my bed or floor, but you can start out by just doing 2 or 3 sets of 10 per night. Then gradually build up.
A great way to multiply the effects of this drill is to do this at night before you go to bed. That way, it'll be the last thing you are thinking about and your mind will do it over and over while you sleep.
Perfects – Shooting Drill
by Evan on
Perfects – Shooting Drill
Overview:
This is a great drill for players to practice shooting with perfect form and also a for coaches to teach and correct shooting form.
Setup:
Players form three lines a couple of feet out from the basket. Use both ends of the court if possible so that kids get to take more shots. Every players has a basketball.
How it Works:
Players then take it in turns shooting with the aim to swish each shot through the net. The swish is important because we’re trying to teach the kids how to shoot with enough arc on the shot.
After a player has taken a shot, they can either return to the end of the same line or rotate lines either clockwise or anticlockwise.
Coaching Points:
- Players must hold their shooting form until the shot has been made or missed.
- Coaches must view each players’ shot at different angles. Different angles will show different technique points.
- You can extend the distance of the shot, but make sure it’s not too far. The purpose of this drill is shooting with perfect form around the basket.