How To Develop Teamwork In Basketball

Basketball is designed to showcase its stars, which is why the idea of teamwork can be hard to come by on the court. When only one or two players consistently make the high profile plays, the rest of the team suffers. If you coach a selfish basketball team, your players don't all play to the best of their abilities. By building teamwork, you make your team more successful by using the talents and abilities of your players as a whole.

Step 1

Run drills that teach your players to work together. For instance, a simple passing drill in which players stand in a circle and pass the ball to each other while calling out the name of the person they pass to not only helps team members learn each other's names, but improves their passing skills. When you practice acting as a team before a game, it's easier for your players to play as a team during games.

Step 2

Distribute the authority for the team evenly throughout several players. By assigning just one player to be team captain, you send a clear message about a star player who might not want to share the spotlight. By having co-captains and allowing them to make decisions as a team, you make teamwork easier to accomplish during heat-of-the-moment decision making.

Step 3

Praise your players' team efforts on and off the court and place a higher emphasis on playing as a team rather than the overall score. Although praising passes and proper sportsmanship may not seem to affect the overall game, over time your players will see the value you place in teamwork and begin to work better together to make decisions and win basketball games.

Step 4

Participate in activities and pregame rituals as a team that help to bind your players together for better unity. Spending time off the court in a social setting helps your players develop relationships that enable them to become friends rather than just teammates. Saying a team motto, quoting a basketball great, listening to a theme song or giving your players a chance to talk before a game helps solidify your teammate bonds for a more cohesive and cooperative team.

Tips and Warnings

Adopt the hockey way of keeping statistics so your players are more likely to pass the ball and play as a team to improve their statistics and become more proficient players. In basketball, assists are defined as a pass directly leading to a basket. Hockey defines assists as a pass that leads to another pass leading to a goal.