You can't run before you can walk and you can't play basketball before you can dribble. Handling the basketball is the first step toward playing the game, but it's not a skill that comes easily. Fortunately, there are plenty of aids to help you become a standout dribbler.
Getting Started
Don't worry about dribbling between your legs or maneuvering the basketball behind your back. Kids learning how to dribble need to take it much slower, and the cone drill is the best way to get started. Simply put a series of cones five or six feet apart and practice dribbling straight ahead and then around each cone. This allows the young player to get a feel for dribbling and also turning with the basketball, and it's an effective beginning exercise.
The Next Step
Just about everyone can dribble a basketball up and down the court, but what happens when there is a defender? The task becomes much tougher. A time-tested aid to help the beginning dribbler is best known as sharks and minnows. One player (shark) stands at midcourt without a basketball and the rest of the players (minnows) line up at the baseline with basketballs. On the whistle, the minnows try dribbling down the court to the opposite baseline while controlling the ball. If the shark knocks the ball away, the minnow becomes a shark and the drill proceeds until only one player remains.
Getting Crowded
Sharks and minnows is a great drill for navigating the length of the basketball floor, but basketball is often played in much tighter space. A good aid to excel in this area is placing several players (up to 10) in the lane between the free-throw line and basket. Each has a basketball, and the object is to knock the ball away from the other players. The last one dribbling wins the drill, and it teaches you how to not only control the basketball, but to use your body for protection.
Double Time
Most basketball players are right-handed or left-handed when it comes to dribbling. Why not be proficient with both? Line on one baseline against at least one player, preferably more. You'll have a basketball in each hand, and the race is on down the floor to the opposite baseline. Whoever gets there first with control of both basketballs is the winner. It's a skill that can be developed over time, and being able to dribble with either hand makes a player twice as dangerous.
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