Basketball Skills

¢Beginner

—Dribbling

¢Have children dribble around cones, between their legs or do speed dribbling.

—Passing

¢Have students make two lines and pass to one another. Set goals, i.e., how many passes in a row. Do both bounce and chest passes.

—Give-N-Go

¢Set up two lines and have students practice a give-n-go drill at a small basket.

—Slam Dunk

¢Using a low hoop, have the children do dunks. Award them for skill, creativity and impact.

—Shooting

¢Place tape on the floor in five different locations around the basket. Have students shoot from each of the spots. They can rotate to the different locations. 

¢Professional

Around the Body

—Rotate the ball around the body. Start with the head, then go around the waist and legs, then reverse the procedure.

 Around Each Ankle

—Rotate the ball around each ankle. Rotate the ball in a figure eight around the ankles in continuous motion.

 Dribble Around the Legs

—Dribble the ball around and through the legs in a figure-eight motion.

 Quick Hands

—Start in regular basketball stance with the legs shoulder-width apart. Hold the ball slightly in front of the body with both hands. Toss the ball slightly upward and between the legs to behind the body. Quickly bring the hands around behind the knees and catch the ball before it hits the floor. Repeat in the opposite direction and catch the ball in front of the knees. Repeat as quickly as possible while maintaining control.

 Four Hands

—Position the ball the same as Quick Hands, but hold the ball between the knees. One hand is in front of the ball; the other is in back behind the knees on the ball. Slightly toss the ball in the air and reverse the hands to the opposite knee. (Hand in front moves to the back, hand in back moves to the front.)

 Crossover Dribble

—The participant pushes the ball so that it rebounds across in front of the body to the opposite hand and repeats the motion every five dribbles. Change direction from a right to left diagonal each time you change hands.

 One Knee, Both Knees, and Sitting-Down Dribble

—The participant begins with a regular dribble, moves to a low-control dribble, then to one knee, both knees, and then sits down. Next the participant tries to stand up again without losing control.

 Eagle Ball Handling Drill

—Participants start holding the ball waist-high with both hands. The drill is timed. On the signal "go," the participant passes the ball twice around the waist and twice around each leg, then does 15 skips, 10 drops in each direction and five body figure eights. When finished, the participant lifts the ball above the head. Stop timing when the ball reaches the overhead position. Each participant needs at least one partner to count each skill. Skills can be changed to best meet participants' skill levels.

 Team Passes

—Arrange the team in a circle. Have members practice a variety of passes, i.e., chest pass, one-hand pass, bounce pass, and behind-the-back pass. Each participant tries to be innovative about the kind of pass they use.