Basketball Drills

This passing drill was contributed by Matt Wheeler, Olympia High School (Orlando, FL), to the FastModel Sports Basketball Plays and Drills Library.

This is what Coach Wheeler had to say about the play:

50 passes is a competitive team drill that focuses on ball toughness, passing, screening and communication. The goal of 50 passes is to be the first team to successfully complete 50 passes without getting the ball deflected and having the passer say the name of the person they are passing to. Eliminating dribbles after the first pass increases the pressure that the defense can put on the offense, making it more difficult to complete the passes. Requiring the passer to say the name of the receiver helps to build good communication habits while under duress.

You can also find out more about FastModel Play Diagramming software by clicking this link: FastDraw

Editors’s Note from Brian. Like many drills that you use to isolate a specific skill, it also has drawbacks.

I like the fact that not dribbling forces the players to screen and cut hard away from the ball to get open. It also gives players with the basketball practice in being strong, faking passes, passing away from the defense, and pivoting.

The negatives, I see are that:

1) Players can get out of the habit of looking at the basket on the catch.
2) Looking to pass and not score
3) The movements you will see are probably not your offensive principles
4) Defense could develop bad habits of gambling for steals and getting out of position.

I see great value in emphasizing passing over dribbling and cutting to get open. So, I think it is worth adding additional rules for the drill such as allowing the offense to score and counting it towards the 50 point total, counting not looking at the basket on a catch as a turnover, running your offensive scheme in the drill (you will have a some situations each game when a dribble is picked up and the offense breaks down anyway), and requiring a player to pass to another teammate than just passed to them (unless it is a give and go.)

I know your staff could come up with other rules if you see value in working to develop the toughness to complete 50 contested passes and catches.

 

The first team to 50 passes wins.

The first offensive player with the ball on the court gets unlimited dribbles until they make a pass.

After the first pass no dribbles are allowed.

 

 

In order for a pass to count towards the total.

– Pass is not tipped by the defense

– Passer calls the name of the receiver while passing

 
 

 

On turnovers, change possession and start with an inbounds pass.

 

Below is a short YouTube demonstration of the drill. The play is not perfect in the drill, but is is probably similar to what many teams will look like as they are learning the drill.

An idea for a full court version of the shell drill from Chris Jans of New Mexico State.

You might not play these exact rules, but starting full court is a way to add a variation to your shell drill.

I hope it gets you and your staff thinking about ways to improve the drills that you currently use to teach and practice your defense.

The demonstration is using players as coaches and is with a team that has never run this drill. To me, the idea is the concepts presented and whether or not you want to use them in your program.

These videos of are hosted on YouTube, so you will not be able to access it unless you are on a server that allows YouTube access.

Click the play arrow to view the videos.

There is narration with the video, so please make sure that your sound is on.
 

6 on 4 Full Court Shell Drill

You can find out more about the Championship Productions video that this clip is from at this link: High Energy Practice Drills

This scoring workout is provided by our partners at Dr. Dish Basketball.

Like all drills that you see, you can either modify it or take parts of the drill for your use and your needs.

Please make sure your sound is on to see the video.

Click the play arrow to see the drill.

These drills are YouTube videos, so you will need to be on a server that allows you to access YouTube to see the drill.

The coach in the video is Drew Hanlen of Pure Sweat Basketball.

Here’s the basic progression of moves throughout the workout:

Jab Shot
Jab, 1 Dribble Fade (towards middle)
Jab, 1 Dribble Step Back (towards middle)
Core Shake Jumper (towards baseline)

Reaction Shooting Drill

This post is with Mike Neighbors, Arkansas Women’s Basketball Coach.

This video and other basketball coaching videos are available on the Arkansas Women’s Basketball You Tube Channel

Like all drills that you see other programs use, you can either modify it or take parts of these ideas for your use and your needs.

You might want to change where the passes come from in your version so that you are getting other shots than only from inside out passes.

Please make sure your sound is on to see the video.

Click the play arrow so see the drill.

The drill is a You Tube video, so you will need to be on a server that allows you to access You Tube to see the drill.

This post on ways to work on free throw shooting is from Mike Neighbors, Arkansas Women’s Basketball Coach.

This video and other basketball coaching videos are available on the Arkansas Women’s Basketball You Tube Channel

Like all drills that you see other programs use, you can either modify it or take parts of these ideas for your use and your needs.

Please make sure your sound is on to see the video.

Click the play arrow so see the drill.

The drill is a You Tube video, so you will need to be on a server that allows you to access You Tube to see the drill.