Basketball Drills Manual

The following basketball drills have been included because I have found them to be very beneficial in my coaching.

The basketball drills are simple, yet they all contain important fundamental elements that are so necessary to properly master this great game.

DRIBBLE DRILLS

FUN DRILL—This is a kind of basketball drills that the team will derive a lot of pleasure from, but it is also a very fine conditioner and teaches good ball handling.

Procedure: The team must stay on one half of court. One player is designated as "it." He must dribble continuously while attempting to tag one of the other players while they move around attempting to evade being tagged. When another player is tagged, he is "it." When this type of basketball drills has progressed for a time, use two balls, with two players as "it."

FOUR-CORNERED DRIBBLING-#1 dribbles very hard to the center of the floor, pivots, and passes to #2. #1 goes to the rear of #2's line. #2 dribbles to the center of the floor, pivots and passes to #3 and goes to the rear of that line. The drill is continued in this fashion. As the boys get proficient two balls may be used.

SIGNAL DRIBBLE DRILL-This type of basketball drills encourages the dribbler to keep his head up while dribbling. Every player has a ball, and they stay on half the court. The coach stands at half court or the opposite free throw line and gives hand signal to indicate the direction he wishes the dribbler to move. Right, left, forward, and back are the simplest. If the boy misses a signal, he must run a lap around the gym; then rejoin the group.

PASSING DRILLS

OUTLET PASSING-This kind of basketball drills is especially important to the fast breaking team who depend upon the quick outlet pass to get their break started. #1 dribbles in and lays up the ball. #2 rebounds and throws a quick outlet pass to #3. #3 dribbles up court and passes to the 1 line, and the sequence is repeated. #1 goes to the 2 line, 2 to 3, and 3 to 1.

 

TWO-BALL PASSING DRILL-These basketball drills start with the pivot man having one ball and any of the other four men having the other ball. The outside men attempt to pass the ball in faster than the pivot man can pass his ball out. This develops excellent coordination, alertness, and quick reactions.
 

THREE MAN WEAVE-This type of basketball drills is as old as basketball itself, but is still an excellent drill for developing the skill to hand off without fumbling or losing possession. It also is an excellent conditioner. The squad lines up in three lines at one end of the floor. The middle man starts the drill by handing off to either of the two wings. He then goes behind the man to whom he passed. The drill continues until they reach the other end of the floor where they shoot a layup. Then they wait until all of their teammates have finished the drill. They then return to the other end of the floor using the same procedure.

 

FIVE MAN WEAVE-This kind of basketball drills is the same as the three man weave except all five men work into the weave. The middle man passes to the man nearest him then goes behind two men. This drill teaches ball handling, as well as being an excellent conditioner.

When we run these basketball drills we call out either 1 and 1 or 7 and 2. 1 and 1 means they can run the drill one direction with a mistake, but must run it perfectly on the way back. 2 and 2 means they can run the drill up and back with a mistake but must then run it up and back perfectly or repeat the drill.
 

SHOOTING DRILLS

HIGH JUMP DRILL-These are an excellent basketball drills to teach the team to get as high as possible when they shoot a layup. You do not want them to broad jump their layups.

Place a chair under the backboard. The distance will vary depending upon the speed the drill is run. Move the chair back if you have the team running hard.


The coach will pass to each boy as he approaches. Emphasize the high jump so that the player will come down in front of the chair instead of upon it. Run the basketball drills from different angles.



STANDING JUMP SHOT DRILL-Most of the boys can do very well jump shooting on the run but will have trouble when they are not moving. These are the basketball drills to give them practice jump shooting from a standing position. All players take their normal offensive positions; then jump shoot over the defensive man from a standing position. The defensive player retrieves the ball and passes out to the next man who immediately jump shoots from a standing position. Each time the shooter moves to the defensive position, and the defensive man goes to the end of the shooting line after retrieving the rebound.



PUTTING THE PRESSURE ON THE FREE THROW SHOOTER-This kind of basketball drills is designed to put more pressure on the free throw shooter. This will teach him to concentrate while shooting. The shooter has a one and one situation. He must make the first shot before he receives the second try. All of the other men attempt to distract him by shouting and waving their arms. They may not touch the shooter in any way. Rotate clock-wise in this drill.

 

REBOUNDING DRILLS

DEFENSIVE   REBOUNDING  DRILL-This   drill teaches the players to block out on defensive rebounds.

The men are arranged as shown in the diagram,

1. The first men in line are 4 to 5 feet in front of the second men in line.
2. The coach throws the ball up on the board and the front line men block out and get the rebound.
3. The defensive men go to the end of the line, and the offensive men take their places.
4. To make the basketball drills more competitive, you can make the defensive line stay in if they fail in their efforts to block the offense off the boards.

SARGENT JUMP DRILL

This is one of the most beneficial basketball drills that you can use. The purpose of the drill is to develop pride in a boy, concerning his ability to jump well. After using this drill, have the boys go on a weight program to develop their legs; then test them again. The results will be very pleasing.

Procedure:

1. The player stands next to the wall and makes a chalk mark at the highest point he can reach while standing close to the wall. He then gets in a jump ball crouch and jumps as high as he can, making another mark at the top of his leap.
2. During this kind of basketball drills, the distance between the two marks is measured. Any jump over twenty-four inches is very good.

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