Basketball is the most popular team sport among American children. The National Sporting Goods Association, an industry group, estimates that 24.4 million children aged 7 to 17 played the sport at least once in 2009. Youth basketball training programs focus on skills and fundamentals, leaving conditioning and strength training for the teenage years.
Passing Drills
Michael O'Halloran's book "30 Youth Basketball Practice Plans" features a series of 90-minute practice plans. In a sample plan posted at The Well-Prepared Coach, O'Halloran outlines a six-phase passing drill beginning with a 10-minute dribble wave to show ball control and setting up in the transition. This is followed by a 15-minute box-out drill where players attempt to rebound missed shots.
The 20-minute passing drill is a tutorial on the two-handed chest and bounce passes, one-handed push pass, the overhead pass and the baseball pass. The coach should explain and demonstrate each pass before starting the drill. A 15-minute section covers cutting to the basket and transition drills. The session wraps up with a 20-minute passing game where each side must advance the ball down the court without dribbling, and a free-throw shooting contest.
Shooting Fundamentals
The Ultimate Youth Basketball Guide offers a series of tips to improve shooting, all focusing around BEEF -- balance, eye, elbow and follow-through. The player should maintain good balance, keep their eye on the goal, lock their elbow at a 90-degree angle and continue the shooting motion after the ball has left their hands, creating a follow-through movement. The site suggests maintaining a game intensity during practice and not simply shooting for the sake of shooting.
Transition Drill
The website Y-Coach offers a library of more than 25 youth basketball drills for offense and defense. A number of the drills focus on the transition game, converting a defensive rebound into an offensive opportunity. The Transition Drill puts three players in the key, or painted zone under the basket. An offensive player shoots to miss and transitions to a defensive role, while the rebounder looks to make an outlet pass to one of this teammates breaking towards the basket.
Footwork Training
One of the ways to improve your basketball skill is to improve your coordination. Y-Coach's footwork drill focuses on form, rather than speed. The slide step has the player sliding on the soles of their feet from the baseline to half court in a defensive stance facing the sideline. Leg hops have the player hopping on one or both legs from endline to halfcourt emphasizing height in the jump. The quick feet drill has players take short, quick steps on their toes, while the stutter step workout has players run four steps and drop into a defensive stance.
Defensive Drill
One of the oldest defensive practice programs is the mass defense drill, as outlined at Y-Coach. Players spread out on the court at least one arm's length apart and get into a defensive stance. While facing the coach, they slide on the soles of their feet and move against visual or audio cues of the coach. The players should follow the lateral direction of the coach: If the coach steps forward, the players should move backwards and vice-versa. During the drill, the players' eyes should remain locked on the coach's at all times.
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