Coaching Youth Basketball - Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 Ball Handling
Remember, ball handling is your your #1 priority, so you repeat the drills in LS 1. The only difference is it shouldn't take you as long to do the drills. The following is a listing of the old drills from LS 1, and the time you should spend on each one.

Every LS starts with blowing the whistle and yelling baseline, you know the rest of that story!

1. stretch and warm-up - 4 minutes

2. competing 2 ball suicides, losers do 2 laps - 5 minutes

3. Red light - Green light with a twist - Instead of yelling red or green light, hold your hand up for red light, lower your hand for green light. This makes them keep their head up while dribbling - 4 minutes. Afriend of mine from Chalk Talk gave me this idea. I will give credits at the end of the book.

4. X marks the spot, bounce passes only - 5 minutes

5. Waterbreak - 2 minutes

Now let's learn some new stuff.

PASSING - The first new drill is a pass and catch affair. Half of your players stand on the baseline, while the other half stands on the free throw line extended. Each player on the free throw line, lines up across from a player on the baseline. This way they can pass to each other. Every time they pass the ball, make them step into the pass. They take one step toward the player they are passing to.

Every time they catch the ball, they should give the passer a target and take one step toward the passer with their hands outstretched to recieve the pass.

I know this seems too simple but it is necessary. When my daughter was in 4th grade, she was a head taller than the rest of the kids. She was also the best pure shooter on the team. Guess what, she only scored 6 points the whole season because she couldn't catch the ball. That ball would bounce off of her chest, her legs, her hands, and even her head. She got more passes stolen away from her because she refused to take the step to receive the pass. I can not stress it enough that these kids need to learn how to make shearp, crisp passes and move into the pass to receive it.

RING OF FIRE - Five players or more stand in a pretty wide circle, with one more player in the middle of the circle. The player in the middle has a ball, and a player on the circle has a ball. The middle player bounce passes it to a player next to the outside player with the ball. At the same time, the outside player with the ball passes to the middle player. The middle player catches and passes to the next player, while reciving a pss from the last player with the ball.

Confusing? Kids love this drill so I am going to take the time to explain it. Imagine you have a big pie cut into 5 pieces. The center of the pie is where your middle player stands. Now each piece of pie is numbered one through 5. At the crust of each piece of pie stands your outside players, 1-5. Your middle passer passe to 2, and catches one's pass. Then passes to 3, while catching 2's pass. Now do you understand it? If not, draw it on a piece of paper. Once the player in the middle has passed it to everyone twice, they switch places with someone on the circle and they start passing and catching. You do this until everyone has done it. What do you learn from this drill? TO pass, catch, and use your peripherial vision. TIME - 15 MINUTES

You know what we really need to do? We really need to forgot about this book for a second and get a big ole butterscotch or chocolate pie, marangue on top, add a glass of milk, and say LIFE IS GOOD!

WATER BREAK - 2 MINUTES - blow whistle, yell baseline

Last but not least, you now let them scrimmage for a little bit, but they aren't allowed to dribble the ball. It's a no-dribble scrimmage. After 5 minutes or so, then let them dribble.

A side note here. Some of you are screaming right ow about shooting drills, right? Don't be concerned with shooting, teach them ball handling first. Once you let them start shooting, you have just unleashed a major force of nature, and forces of nature are extremely hard to control!

You now have all of the ingredients for your second LS. Remember b-all ed's Rule #1 - NO MONOTONE!!!! You have to make your learning sessions fun and exciting. Mr Monotone is anything but fun and exciting. At the end of oyur LS tell them what a great job they did and reward them with a tootsie roll pop. (I wonder if the Tootsie Roll company will pay me for giving them a plug?) Last thing you give them is their homework. They are to dribble a ball, using their right hand, then their left hand. They are to dribble all around their neighborhood for at least an hour.

Now you have survived LS #2. It wasn't so bad, was it? Heck, you don't even need a bartender after this one, or do you??