• Make a line at the top of the key.
• First in line is the defender.
• Go one on one.
• Traveling or double dribble your out.
• If you shoot and score the defender is out or runs a lap.
• If the offense misses, the defender becomes offense on the rebound.
• Go until there is a score.

If there is a foul the defender is out or runs a lap. The offensive player shoots one free throw–if they make it they’re in, if they miss they’re out or run a lap.

We have also at times let the player have one pass to the basketball coach for a V-cut if they get stuck on the dribble drive to the basket.

Kids love this drill!

Got a basketball coaching tip, drill, or idea you’d like to share with our community? Leave it in the comments box below and I’ll approve it within a day or two. And don’t forget to read my latest article on kids basketball drills.

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My 13 and 14 year olds often have problems passing and moving, so one drill I like to do is called The Passing Box.

I put players on each end of the foul line and some on each block down low.  The basketball starts up on top and they pass down low, once they pass down low they have to pop out on the wing and then run down to the end of the line they passed to.  When the
ball goes low, they pop out to the middle of the foul line and then back to the line they passed to, they continue this until there is either a bad pass or the ball hits the floor.

I usually run this for five minutes and every time the ball either hits the floor or there is a bad pass, is usually the number of sprints they do at the end of practice.

To help the player’s with their footwork and get them comfortable with quick but focused put back, we do a drill called THE BICYCLE.
You can use multiple baskets and turn into a round robin tournament for fun. Players shoot alternating shots from under the rim without letting the ball touch the floor. Going for 90 seconds and counting the number made.

Before you go, subscribe to my blog by clicking the orange “RSS” button at the bottom of this post. You’ll be automatically notified each time I post a new drill or coaching tip! And make sure you read my latest article covering basketball practice drills.

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3 Man weave 2 on 1

• Line up with 3 lines under the basket.
• You three man weave until half court.
• Then the players turn around and come back.
• The last person to touch the basketball becomes the defender.

Typically they slam the ball down near half court welcoming the 2 on 1 challenge.  It’s then a live 2 on 1 until a shot or a steal is made. Then the next group of three goes.  I’ve found it helps get them into game mode much better than the typical layups drill, both defensively and offensively, by seeing the floor and looking for options available,  and not just going through the motions.

Another tip is for when you are doing the suicide run. We start at the baseline and go to the foul line, then back and then to half court.  Once at half court, the suicide is a run/skip backwards.

This helps the girls to remember to turn around at half court and play defensive/offensive ball from that point on (unless of course, we are in a full court press).

Want more coaching tips? Click here for a free step by step basketball practice planning template

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FREE THROW, BOX-OUT DRILL
Using two “teams” of 4 players, designate the first free throw shooter and have all players fill the lane spots for a 1-and-1 free throw attempt.  Defensive team has two low-block players and two high-block players who will each “earn” 1 point for a successful box-out during the free-throw attempt (even if the free throw is made).

Defensive team’s rebound of a missed free throw earns 1 point.  (Maximum defensive team’s points per free throw attempt = 5 for 4 effective box-out’s and 1 rebound of missed shot.)

Offensive team’s shooter earns 2 points for each “made” free throw, but only earns a 2nd “bonus” free throw attempt by making the first shot.  Offensive team receives 4 “sharp-shooter” bonus points for two consecutive made free throws.  Offensive team can also earn 1 point for an offensive rebound and 1 point for a made basket by the rebounder’s initial stick-back shot.

Play stops after an offensive rebounder’s first shot attempt (no dribbling or passing), regardless of make or miss.  (Maximum offensive team’s points per free throw attempt = 2 for either a made free throw, or, 1 for an offensive rebound and 1 for a stick-back basket by offensive rebounder on 1st shot attempt.)  However, by making both free throw attempts, the offensive team can earn up to 8 points = 2 points for each made free throw plus the 4-point “sharp-shooter” award.

Rotate offensive/defensive rebounding positions (counter-clockwise) until all 8 players have completed his/her Free Throws. The 4-player team that earned the most total points is declared the winner.   (Try to beat the previous “High Score.”)

Have you tried this drill in practice? Did it work for you? Please let me know by leaving a comment in the box below. And be sure to check out this article before you leave the site: Basketball Offense – 15 Laws For Success

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For Shark in the Water, I put all the players inside the 3-point line with a basketball, then I take the ball away from two players. It is their job to go play defense on another player until they are able to steal the ball away. Then whoever the ball was taken away from becomes the new ‘shark.’ I do this drill for about 5 minutes at a time. This has taught my players defense – from moving their feet to stealing the ball, protecting the ball, double teaming, moving with the ball, and many other things.

Here is how we play “full court knockout.” It’s played the regular way of playing knockout, but when you get out at one basket, you go to the other one and so on until there is only one player left at one of the baskets.

It works for conditioning as well as shooting and rebounding. The players are almost always moving continually. They get so much running in during a game!

Would you like to contribute coaching tip of your own and share it with our community? Leave a comment in the box below now! And for more practice suggestions, check out this youth basketball drills article I just completed.

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All players have a basketball except the first one in ONE of the lines. That player starts the basketball drill by running toward the other line of players.

The first person in that line throws the player the ball so they can catch it at about the free throw lane line extended on the side that the person made the pass from.

The person catches the ball on a jump stop, pivots to square up to the basket, gives a shot or pass fake and drives to the basket for a lay-up (or they can take a jump shot).

They get their own rebound and go to end of the opposite line that they came from.

Now the person who just made the pass is the only person without a ball. They run towards the opposite line of players just like the first person did, catch the ball on a jump stop, pivot to square up, shot or pass fake and then drive in for a lay-up.

The drill just keeps continuing like this. Each line would be shooting lay-ups with the opposite hand that the other line uses because they would be driving in to the basket from opposite sides of the lane.

In addition to the left hand/right hand dribbling in and shooting, the drill also involves, passing, catching, coming towards the ball and catching the ball on a jump stop, pivoting and faking so we are hitting a lot of skills with this drill.

Instead of having the person pivot after catching the ball on a jump stop you could have them turn in mid air as they catch the ball on the jump stop so they are square to the hoop and already in shooting position. Then they could take the quick shot instead of driving.

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For the last several years, I’ve been using this Player Progress Report to help evaluate the players on my team and provide them with constructive feedback to improve. Typically, I run the evaluation 3 times throughout the year. Once after tryouts, once at mid-season, and once at the end of the year.

My system breaks down the evaluation into 3 main areas:

• Individual Fundamentals, including ballhandling skills, shooting, passing, defense, rebounding etc.
• Team Skills
• Work Habits and Attitude
• Standardized Skills Tests, including timed Mikan drills, timed Hot Shot drill, vertical leap, shuttle runs etc.

For each one of these categories, I have specific criteria that we use to judge each individual player. This allows the coaching staff to give specific feedback to our kids and provide them with suggestions, drills, and training programs to improve their skills.

Download my Player Progress Report here in excel format.

Feel free to share it with your coaching staff, colleagues and anyone else in the basketball community.

If you’re looking for some drills to use in practice, or develop certain areas where your kids are lacking, be sure to check out this basketball drills article. And if you’d like to share any of your own ideas for player evaluations and giving feedback, leave a comment in the box below! I’d love to hear it.

Have your players pair up. One team mate will face the wall and the other will have a basketball.

When I say “go” the one facing the wall starts jumping with their arms extended while the other dribbles the length of the floor doing different dribbling drills.

When they get back to the team mate jumping at the wall they slam the ball on the floor. At the same time they yell “ball” and the person jumping must spin around, go up for the ball like their getting a rebound, and take off dribbling while the other person jumps.

Have them do this drill until they are tired, then shoot free throws!

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Set up 8 cones on a the court–4 on one sideline approximately just above the free throw line, a little bit below the free throw line, half court, and the other free throw line.

Then the other 4 cones in the middle of the court.

Each player lines up behind a cone. The first player (on the sideline cone) will shuffle to the middle cone. The player in the middle will shuffle to the other sideline and back towards the middle where the first player who just shuffled to the middle will now shuffle back to the original sideline and back towards the middle.

I do this basketball drill a number of times it seems to really helps my kids understand switching and help defense.

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TWO PRESSURE FOUL SHOOTING DRILLS

#1   Line up all players in single file behind the foul line.
First player in line has the basketball. If he makes the foul shot, all the others have to make it to stay in line. If he misses, he goes to the end of the line. This continues until one player makes it. If they miss, they are to run the endline until you have one player left.
That player must make the foul shot for all players to return for the next go round.

#2   Players are to shoot two foul shots. If they make both, they don’t have to run laps. If they miss both shots, they run three laps. If they miss the first shot, but make the second one, they run two laps. If they make the first, but miss the second, they run one lap.
This symbolizes the front end of the one and one at the end of the game.

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