"Failure is acceptable, but not trying is a whole different ball park."
- Michael Jordan
Looking for youth basketball drills you can practice at home? Even if you don't have a hoop, there are still things you can do to work on your game. We've been trying out the Jr. NBA's Rookie Practice Plans, and having a lot of fun while we practice basketball fundamentals.
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See what else we've been up to.
it's all related!
How to Tie Shoelaces
Grab your favorite kicks, because we're gonna show you how to tie shoelaces. Use the practice to score points in more than 1 subject.
it's all related!
How to Inflate a Basketball
Working on your game? Gotta have the right ball to keep you motivated, and it better have some bounce to it.
Youth Basketball Drills for Beginners
Equipment
- Basketball
- Comfortable Clothing & Shoes
- Hoop (optional)
- Something to stay hydrated
Basketball Drills Without a Hoop
Basketball Passes
This video shows different types of passes: the bounce pass, the chest pass, and the overhead pass.
With the bounce pass, a player passes the basketball to another player. The basketball bounces onto the ground before it reaches the other player.
In a chest pass, a player passes directly to another player, aiming for the player's chest. With an overhead pass, a player throws the ball over their head toward the other player.
Around the World Wraps
Around the world wraps promote ball handling skills and encourage players to think of the ball as an extension of their body. For this basketball drill, practice rolling the ball around your waist, maintaining contact with your body and without dropping the ball. To increase the difficulty, try wrapping the ball around your knees.
Jump Stop Game
To practice basketball skills for footwork and conditioning, try the jump stop game. Players line up with their basketball and begin dribbling along a path. Upon queue, such as dropping your hand or calling stop, they should come to an abrupt jumping stop, with their knees bent and the ball in their hands in front of them.
If they're off balance or don't stop in time, they must move back 3 steps. The first player to reach the end wins.
Knee Tag
In Knee Tag, players pair up and one player tags the player with the ball's knees as many times as they can during the drill. The player with the ball must avoid the tags while dribbling and can only move 3 feet in any given direction. When the time is up, players switch roles.
This drill promotes ball handling skills.
Teamwork Carry
In the Teamwork Carry Drill, partners pair up and must carry a basketball between their hips along a designated path. They may not touch the ball and should keep the ball between their hips.
Drop the ball? Start over. It's ideal for partners of similar height.
Basketball Shooting Drills With a Hoop
Pick Your Shot
To play pick your shot, split your players up into groups. Each group gets one basketball. Place cones in various places around the basket that match the players' skill level.
To start, one player from each group dribbles to a cone of their choosing and shoots. If they make it, they pick up their cone and dribble back to their group, handing the ball off to the next person and going to the back of the line. If they miss, they leave the cone in place, dribble back, and hand the ball off to the next player in their group.
Depending on the ages and competitiveness of your players, this may be easier said than done. Watch out for travelers and cone thievery. It's a fun drill, no matter what happens.
What's Your Number?
What's your number encourages competitiveness among players. For this basketball drill, split the group in half and assign them numbers. Place a couple of basketballs on the ground between the 2 groups.
To start the game, call out a couple of the players' numbers. They should race to the ball and shoot somewhere on their half of the court. The first player to score a basket earns a point for their team. They should then return the balls to the center and rejoin their team.
This continues for a designated time, and the team with the most points wins.
Extend the Learning
Bring basketball into the classroom with these free printables.
FREE NBA Three-Part Cards
Who's your favorite player?
Free NBA Basketball Players Three-Part Cards
Here are tools for exploring skin tones and learning to read. Grab your FREE three-part cards to go with your favorite players. These 3-part cards are designed to be used with a collection of NBA action figures or with your favorite books.
Match the action figures to the picture cards for object-to-picture matching.
To use these NBA player cards as 3-part cards, print 2 copies and cut the labels off one of the copies. The youngest of kids can match the picture cards. As kids are mastering letter recognition and letter sounds, they can practice matching the label as well.
Any letter sounds that vary from your typical language lessons present great learning opportunities for kids.
Learning to read has never been more fun than with materials your kids are interested in.
free printable!
Teach Time
These NBA players will tell you what time it is
Learn how to tell time with NBA players. Use the printable to determine the time for each player. Draw your answer on the blank clocks - Roman numeral clocks included. Answer clocks are provided so kids can check their own work.
free NBA game!
What's Their Average?
Calculate the average for each NBA player.
Free NBA Averages Word Problems
Use the Montessori stamp game to calculate the averages described in each word problem. Kids can check their answers to see how they did. All answers are in whole numbers. There are no decimals in this printable. Simply cut out the question cards and place them on the shelf next to the Montessori stamp game for easy access.
Youth Basketball Drills for Beginners
Basketball drills with and without a hoop that you can do at home or wherever you like to play.
Materials
- Basketball
- Comfortable Clothing & Shoes
- Basketball Hoop (optional)
- Something to Stay Hydrated
Instructions
- Practice different types of passes: With the bounce pass, a player passes the basketball to another player. The basketball bounces onto the ground before it reaches the other player. In a chest pass, a player passes directly to another player, aiming for the player's chest. With an overhead pass, a player throws the ball over their head toward the other player.
- Around the world wraps promote ball handling skills and encourage players to think of the ball as an extension of their body. For this basketball drill, practice rolling the ball around your waist, maintaining contact with your body and without dropping the ball. To increase the difficulty, try wrapping the ball around your knees.
- To practice basketball skills for footwork and conditioning, try the jump stop game. Players line up with their basketball and begin dribbling along a path. Upon queue, such as dropping your hand or calling stop, they should come to an abrupt jumping stop, with their knees bent and the ball in their hands in front of them. If they're off balance or don't stop in time, they must move back 3 steps. The first player to reach the end wins.
- In Knee Tag, players pair up and one player tags the player with the ball's knees as many times as they can during the drill. The player with the ball must avoid the tags while dribbling and can only move 3 feet in any given direction. When the time is up, players switch roles. This drill promotes ball handling skills.
- In the Teamwork Carry Drill, partners pair up and must carry a basketball between their hips along a designated path. They may not touch the ball and should keep the ball between their hips. Drop the ball? Start over. It's ideal for partners of similar height.
- To play pick your shot, split your players up into groups. Each group gets one basketball. Place cones in various places around the basket that match the players' skill level. To start, one player from each group dribbles to a cone of their choosing and shoots. If they make it, they pick up their cone and dribble back to their group, handing the ball off to the next person and going to the back of the line. If they miss, they leave the cone in place, dribble back, and hand the ball off to the next player in their group. Depending on the ages and competitiveness of your players, this may be easier said than done. Watch out for travelers and cone thievery. It's a fun drill, no matter what happens.
- What's your number encourages competitiveness among players. For this basketball drill, split the group in half and assign them numbers. Place a couple of basketballs on the ground between the 2 groups. To start the game, call out a couple of the players' numbers. They should race to the ball and shoot somewhere on their half of the court. The first player to score a basket earns a point for their team. They should then return the balls to the center and rejoin their team. This continues for a designated time, and the team with the most points wins.
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