Basketball Coaching

Perhaps you are a relatively new coach then you will need to think how practice sessions will be run. It is necessary to work out ways to coach your team that work. Coaching sessions do not just fill in time that you spend with your players. Coaching and the time in practice should be used to make your team better.

If you spend twenty minutes on a drill, is not a mere time filler, but to improve your players and the team. It is better that your training sessions are fun. All players play basketball for fun, but your coaching should also be effective.

Here are a couple of drills to get you started. Perform the drills with a with maximum intensity. Maximum efforts are vital to gain any long term improvement in your squad.

Dribbling

All players like to dribble so give everyone a ball and have them dribble in a marked area, say a half court or what is suited to class size. The objective is to get team competent at bouncing in confined areas. When everyone is dribbling then blow the whistle and give the signal to tag the other players. If someone gets tagged then they are out. Alternatively you can let them knock the ball of others away.

This drill puts the players under pressure when they are dribbling. They need all round vision, to the sides as well as behind and they need to be quick to get themselves out of the way. You can reward a knocker with a five or ten seconds immunity from being eliminated. Change the rules how you feel with your players. Brilliant way to see your squad dribbling with the ball whilst busy with pressure.

There and back drill

Great for young players and lower skill players. Have races from one end of the court to the other and back again. Either singles in pairs or teams. They go down court with their right hand, and they return with their other hand. And this is against the clock or in a race.

Anybody who loses control of the ball has to go all the way back to the start again. Add new rules as the players become more skilled. Put obstacles in the way, have them zig-zag through posts. Keep them in a very tight lane. This can be a fun exercise and it helps a lot with the basics. The fundamentals are crucial in developing their game.

Motivation helps if there are some rewards. The occasional candy bar for winners or twenty chin ups for losers can help to motivate and encourage. Some players need gentle persuasion, others need handling with a little more aggression. Understand your players and you will work out how to treat each individual.

Shooting Drill

Shooting drills are always fun and helps improve your players skills. Three misses and off creates a focus of attenton and puts the players under pressure. Each player in turn shoots at the basket and if they miss they lose a life. Lose three and you are out. An interesting variation is to have all the players shooting at the same time. The coach blows the whistle and they have five or ten seconds to get the ball in the basket. This puts the shooters receiving pressure as they not only have to score, but also time their shot so they do not collide with the shots of team mates.