Sabino Girls Basketball 2008-09
Workout Drills

View Skills and Drills for Better Ball Handling - Video Demonstrations

Off Season Workout

Tips and Advice: Ball Handling

Move the ball around your legs as in the Figure Eight Drill, but in addition, run in place.

To start this basketball drill, place your left foot ahead of your right and bounce the ball between your legs from your right hand to your left. As the ball gets to your left hand shift your feet so that your right leg goes ahead of your left and bounce the ball back between your legs. This shifting of your feet will occur with every bounce.

Spread your legs, bend at the waist, put the ball through your legs, around one leg, back through your legs, and around your other leg, making a figure eight. This will help you get a feel for the basketball as you move it around. Keep your head up not looking at the ball and increase your speed.

A great way to become comfortable with the basketball is to take it and circle it around your head, then around your waist, and, finally, around your knees. Reverse direction and take the ball back up--around the knees, waist, and head.

With 2 hands, make a bounce pass between your legs from front to back and catch the ball with 2 hands behind you. Then bounce the ball through your legs from the back to the front, and catch the ball in front of your body. This is a good drill for body awareness.

While doing bent-knee sit-ups, dribble up with your right hand as you sit up, and around your feet, then switch hands to your left as you go back down, and then dribble with your left hand as you sit up, back around your feet, switching back to your right hand. Continue as quickly as possible.

This drill can go from baseline to half court. Step forward with your left leg and pass the ball from your right hand to your left under your left leg. As you take your next step with your right leg, pass the ball from your left hand to your right under your right leg. Continue this pattern all the way down the floor.

This is a drill to practice your ball handling. Dribble the ball as quickly as possible in a figure 8 through and around the legs. Use the fingers when you dribble, and dribble very low and quickly. Switch from the right to the left and back to the right. Example: start with the right hand dribbling the ball in front and then dribble through your legs with your right hand, switch to your left hand and dribble from the back, around your left side to the front and back through you legs... then switch to your right hand behind the body and around the right side. Try to go as fast as possible, and your dribbling skills will improve with daily practice.

This is another ball handling drill that seems very difficult at first, but with daily practice, will improve your handles. This drill is called touch-touch-touch because that is what you do... while keeping the ball between your legs, you touch the ball once with your right hand (fingers) in front, then with your left hand (fingers) in front, then with your right behind you, and then with your left behind you. Continue in this manner as fast as possible. Before long, you will master this skill.

Hold the ball out in front of you and pass it back from hand to hand using only your finger tips. Go from out in front of your waist to above your head and back. This will help you develop the finger tip control that you will need to properly handle the ball.

This is a drill that helps increase the strength in your fingers. Hold the ball in front of you at eye level with two hands. By squeezing your fingers and thumb together with one hand at a time, you move the ball from one hand to the other as quickly as you can.
More finger and arm strength will improve your ball control.

Around the World: Circling the basketball first around your head, than your waist, Finally, put your legs together and take the ball around both legs at the knees. Then spread your legs, bend at the waist, and take the ball around one leg. Then the other. This will give you a feel for the basketball and help you become more comfortable in your ball handling. A good hand speed and coordination drill, also great conditioner for your arms

The ball is moved around the outside of the left leg from the back to the front. Then it is passed in front of your body and around the outside of your right leg from front to back. Now the ball is between your legs at the back of your body. Bounce the ball, and as it is bouncing, reverse your hands, bring your right from the back to the front and your left from the front to the back. Catch the ball before it bounces again. Continue to do figure eights.

For this drill, follow the procedure described in the Figure Eight Drop Drill, except that when you bounce the ball, your movement will be reversed. After the bounce, circle the ball around the outside of your right leg, in front of your left leg, and around your left leg from the front to the back.

This is a drill to work on your ball handling. Hold the ball between your legs, with both hands on the ball, right hand in front and left hand in back. Quickly switch your hands, (now left hand in front and right hand in the back), without letting the ball touch the ground. Do as quickly as possible...this drill is one of the hardest to master... but it just takes lots of practice.

Tips on: Basketball Shooting Drills

Because form is so important in shooting, work on making that form a habit is very important. An easy way to do this is to lay on your back and shoot the ball straight up into the air. It is very easy to check on the position of the ball, follow through, and rotation. The ball should go straight up and come straight down with proper back spin. This can be done before going to sleep at night or while watching TV during commercials.

A great way to practice your shooting is to play a game against yourself called 7-Up. Start by taking a shot that you have to make seven consecutive times before moving on. For instance, when starting out, you might want to shoot layups. If at any time you miss, start over until you have hit seven consecutive.
After hitting seven consecutive shots, move on to a slightly more difficult shot that you have to hit six consecutive times. Continue shooting until you are shooting a shot that you have to make just one time.
Remember, each shot should be slightly more challenging than the last. You can get quite a good workout this way.

To solve the problem of arm position on your shot, learn where your shooting pocket is. Let your shooting arm hang down at your side and swing it back and forth and several times. Swing it up toward your shoulder and hold it when it stops. This position is your shooting pocket and is the position that the ball should be in when you begin your jump shot.

Additional Drills and Information

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