Toughness Drills

Basketball Drills 2 on 2 Deny and Grind Drill

By Brian Williams on June 5, 2014

This drill came from Drew Hanlen.

Drew is an NBA Strategic Skills Coach & Consultant that has helped over 25 NBA and NBA pre-draft players.

He is the Head Skills Coach for Pure Sweat Basketball.

He has run his internationally renowned Elite Skills Clinics in over 30 states and 4 countries over the past four years.

The drills was posted on Fast Model Sports Library. It is a reference of thousands of plays and drills that have been submitted by coaches all around the world. You can take a look at it’s content at this link

Team 1 plays live 2v2 against Team 2.

Team 1 gets three passes to score.

Players get three dribbles max each time they have possession of the ball.

Team 2 takes the ball out, regardless if they get a stop or get scored on and inbounds the ball to Team 3, who will be face-guarded by Team 1. Team 3 must catch the ball in front of Team 1. No over-top passes. If Team 1 gets a steal on an inbounds pass or a 5 second call, they are awarded 5 points. If they get a 5 second call, they get the ball and get to transition against Team 3, who loses their offensive possession. If they get a steal, they can try to covert against Team 3. If they score, Team 2 takes out the ball and again tries to inbound the ball to Team 3. If they get stopped, Team 3 just takes off and plays full-court 2v2 against Team 1.

As soon as Team 3 successfully receives the inbounds pass (or stops Team 1 if they stole the inbounds pass and played live), they play full-court 2v2 against Team 1. No over-top passes until the handler gets passed half-court. After Team 2 scores or gets stopped, Team 1 will inbounds the ball to Team 4, while Team 2 denies. Drill continues. Continuous 2v2 full-court with inbounds denial.

2pts for a made 2pt FG, 3pts for a made 3pt FG, 5pts for a 5sec call or steal on an inbounds pass.

Basketball Team Toughness Drill

By Brian Williams on May 14, 2014

This drill came from Drew Hanlen’s Pure Sweat Basketball Team Toughness Drill Book.

Drew is an NBA Strategic Skills Coach & Consultant that has helped over 50 NBA and NBA pre-draft players.

Drew is the founder and Head Skills Coach of Pure Sweat Basketball.

He has run his internationally renowned Elite Skills Clinics in over 30 states and 4 countries over the past four years.

Pure Sweat Combo Drill

Set Up: Two ball handlers will start with basketballs near the 28-foot marks in adjacent corners. Two passers will start in adjacent corners opposite of the ball handlers.

Two defenders will start inside of each lane on both ends of the floor. All the additional players will start in lines behind the passers.

Step 1: Ball handlers will pass their balls ahead to the passer in front of them on the opposite end of the court then sprint to the elbow or three-point line on the opposite end of the court, depending on their shooting range. Passers will pass the balls back to the original ball handlers once they get to their shooting range for a jump shot.

Step 2: On the flight of the shot, the passer will crash the glass. while the defender will sprint and box out the crashing passer. Both players will pursue the rebound until one player secures the ball.

Step 3: Whoever secures the rebound will dribble outside of the three-point line then pass the ball ahead to the passer in front of them on the opposite end of the court, and then sprint to their range for a jump shot. while the player that did not get the rebound will stay in the lane as the next defender. The shooter wilt rotate to the back of the passing tine that they received the ball from.

This drill came from Drew Hanlen’s Pure Sweat Basketball Team Toughness Drill Book.

Basketball Drills 5 Lane Passing

By Brian Williams on February 18, 2014

I have not used this drill, but it is one that I think is worth experimenting with for 10 or 15 minutes to see if it is worth continuing to use in your program.

I think it is worth experimenting with new ideas each week in practice to see if they will improve your program.

I have posted a similar drill using 3 lanes previously.

Here is the link to the video if you missed it: 3 lane sureness drill

With 5 lanes in the drill, one of the main teaching points is spacing on the passes.

You can vary the drill by making teams compete against each other for the least amount of passes required for completion or by timing each team.

This drill emphasizes man-to-man defensive coverage, develops the ability to pass and catch under pressure, and develops team communication and court spacing.

It is a great way for players to develop the ability to get open.

The drill is very effective in teaching intensity and internal motivation, resetting without dwelling on the mistake, and working together.

Assign each pair to play in one of the 5 lanes as designated on the diagram. Neither member of this pair is allowed to go outside of their lane.

You can use floor tape or markers such as cones or spots from PE classes to mark the lanes.

Offense moves the ball up the court; with every offensive player having to receive a minimum of 2 passes. (You can try the drill with and without this rule to see which way works best for your team.)

The offense has completed the drill successfully when one of the offensive players receives a pass while standing on the opposite baseline.

Once an offensive player receives a pass, they must yell out the number of passes they have received. This will help the offense know when all 5 players have caught 2 passes if you are using that rule.

RULES FOR THE DRILL;

1. No dribbling. Get your players used to pivoting under pressure.

2. If the defense steals the ball or causes it to go out of bounds, the offense must reset at the baseline. Insist that your players reset without instruction.

3. A loose ball can only be retrieved by the person in the lane it is in.

This drill was submitted by Denita Dyck

Basketball Drills Triangle Ball Toughness

By Brian Williams on February 12, 2014

This post was created by Kyle Gilreath. He is NBA Client Services Manager for FastModel Sports.

He is the Head Basketball Coach at Astronaut High School in Florida. He served as an undergraduate manager as well as graduate assistant for the Florida Men’s program under Billy Donovan.

I found the drill on FastModel’s plays and drills library.

It contains over 2000 drills and plays in the library. Here is the link. FastModel Drills and Plays Library

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

Kyle also has a very good blog you should check out. Here is the link to it: Words on the Bounce

Here is what Kyle wrote about the drill:

This is a great offensive and defensive peer pressure drill that can help your players improve their toughness.

x1 and x2 trap 1.

1 must be strong with the ball trying to pass to 2 or 3.

1 must utilize pass fakes to lead x3 and pass to the open man.

If 1 passes to 2, x2 and x3 become the new trappers.

Drill continues until the defense gets a deflection or causes a turnover.

Basketball Drills Team Fire

By Brian Williams on January 14, 2014

This is a short video of a tweak to the 3 on 2 continuous full court transition drill that can be used as a toughness drill.

Make sure your sound is on as you watch.

The drill starts out as “no dribble” and then the players are allowed one dribble at about the 3 minute mark.

My other takeaway from this drill is calling “other way.” I believe it is important to tell players why you are giving possession to the other team, but it is a great way to emphasize your teaching points.

Players don’t pay attention to your fundamental areas of emphasis, so they lose the ball in practice, just like they will in a game when they don’t pay attention to details.

The drill is a sample from the All Access Practice DVD with California State Junior College Championship Coach Ed Madec. Click the link for more information about the DVD. All Access Basketball Practice with Ed Madec

Click the play arrow to see the video.

Basketball Drills Alford Toughness Shooting

By Brian Williams on October 30, 2013

This video is of Steve Alford putting a player through a toughness shooting drill. It is a good way to get some toughness and conditioning at the end of an individual workout or practice. It forces players to make shots when tired. Either time how quickly each player can complete the drill or count the number of shots it takes to get to 21.

I like to end individual development workouts with a toughness drill. I like to have a variety of 3 or 4 of them. I hope you can use this in the toughness drills section of your workouts and practices.

I have also listed some skill development drills that have already been posted on the site below the video.

If you are interested in learning more about the entire DVD that this sample came, click this link. Anyone who purchases anything from the store receives one of my basketball coaching eBooks as a bonus. Just email me and let me know which one you would like to receive!

Make sure your sound is on

Click the play arrow to see the drill

Below are links to other skill development drills that are posted on the Coaching Toolbox: