The development of fundamental skills is one of the important aspects of playing youth basketball. When these skills are learned at an early stage of the player's development, they serve as a building block for more advanced strategies and techniques that are used as the player gets older. Practicing skill-building drills is an effective, smart way to develop basketball skills.
Ballhandling Familiarity
Being familiar with the basketball is the key to successful ballhandling. The more time that a child spends playing with the basketball, the more natural the relationship will become. This means that it is important to frequently have a basketball nearby. While doing normal things like watching television or listening to the radio, the child can practice passing it around his waist, shooting it into the air or spinning it on his finger. Even though holding the ball has very little to do with the actual skills on the court, the time spent in the balls presence will improve his feel and ballhandling abilities.
Ballhandling Drills
Performing ballhandling drills develop important skills for young players, regardless of whether they are practicing the drills alone or with a teammate. While your child is alone, have him use his nondominant hand to practice dribbling. By developing skill using his weak hand at a young age, he'll have an upper hand on future opponents and teammates.
Once your child becomes comfortable using both hands to dribble, he should focus on the crossover dribble. With this drill, he will quickly transition the ball from his dominant hand to his nondominant hand. An effective crossover dribble doesn't have to be fancy or go between the legs. It should be effective, controlled and quick.
Quickness
Use the spider drill to develop quickness. To perform the drill, have the player stand over the ball. She should start with a single dribble with the right hand and follow it with a single dribble with the left hand. Repeat these movement while alternating her arms behind her body and in front of her body. There will be a total of four dribbling moves that are alternated as quickly as possible. The ball should remain in the center of her stance at all times.
Once she masters the spider drill, have her perform the drill while walking both backward and forward. According to Y-Coach.com, this drill helps develop a feel for the ball and quick hands.
Shooting
Every player loves to shoot the basketball. When a player first starts playing the game, the hoops are often too high or the basketballs are too heavy. According to Coachesclipboard.net, he may begin to develop poor shooting habits, such as using both hands to push the basketball in the direction of the basket because of this. For young children to perform this drill, use a smaller basketball or lower the basket to around 7 feet. Start close to the net and have him shoot the ball with one hand while holding the other behind his back. Have him use the palm of his hand to hold the ball, turn the palm in the direction of the hoop and make a right angle with the elbow. Using a quick flick of the wrist, have him shoot the basketball and follow through.
This drill can be difficult when first starting out, but it teaches players that the nondominant hand should not be used as a main component of the shot; but rather, it should serve as a guide.
Defense
Defense is a skill that is often overlooked in youth basketball. According to Online-basketball-drills.com, the foot fire drill helps players develop quick feet and proper defensive posture. To perform the drill, have the child stand in a defensive stance with her legs bent and a little more than shoulder-width apart. She will await your commands. Every time you yell the word "fire," she must stay in the defensive stance while rapidly tapping her feet. When giving commands, you must point in any direction. As you point, she slides in that direction while still holding her stance. Another command you can yell is "loose ball." When you shout this, she should dive to the floor to recover the loose ball, get back on her feet as quickly as possible and restart foot fire. Although this drill can be exhausting, it develops endurance and strong defensive posture.
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