Essential Basketball Drills for Beginners

What's up everybody? I am Coach Paris and today I'm going to show you the best basketball drills for beginners and I'll break them down into five skill development phases that are essential for every athlete to know, understand, and work on to build a solid foundation in the game of basketball. I have seen plenty of athletes parents wanting and expecting quick results which is normal when you have high expectations and want the best but sometimes that can get in a way of really building a good foundation within the skill development process ultimately impacting your quality of results to this day I still remember getting cut as a young sixth grader and didn't understand why I was clueless but after finding out from the coaches I learned that it was due to me not sticking to the fundamentals so after getting cut I decided to focus on the fundamentals and following a progressive development plan for the rest of my basketball career. The following season I made the seventh grade team, went on to play three years of varsity basketball and average double-digit scoring as a division one. college player. It was all because I focused on the fundamentals, utilized progressions, and these top five essential skill development phases I'm about to show you. And now as a trainer I have seen the same problems exist due to the lack of education or someone not giving athletes a phase approach blueprint with progressions or what to work on first, what to do second, and so on. All the great players such as Michael Jordan have mastered these top five skill development areas because they know and believe and trust in the process. Now let's review each phase and I'm going to explain the logic behind the order and why these are the top five phases. Now before we get started make sure you subscribe to this channel and if you're on YouTube click the alert notification right now. It's important for athletes to start working on ball handling first because of a couple reasons. It doesn't require a rim and a lot of space, which gives you the opportunity to improve faster as long as you're putting in the work. In addition, players need to take care of the ball to prevent turnovers, which will help them stay in the game longer. This phase will help improve your ball control, your protection, your triple threat, your pivoting, and dribbling. The first drill we're going to complete is a full body wrap series. We will wrap the ball around our head twice, the waist twice, and the legs twice, and then work our way back up to the top. Consider going from the head to legs and back as one repetition. When handling the ball, athletes need to have good hand-to-hand exchange, and that is done by working on your finger pad control. To prevent giving the ball away to the defense and make quicker movements with the ball, you should ensure the ball is kept close. and tight to the body. Next, we're gonna complete single leg wraps. We will complete 10 repetitions going forward and 10 repetitions reverse or in the opposite direction. When you're doing those, ensure you have a nice athletic stance and you're keeping your eyes up. Next, we're gonna complete figure eight leg wraps with one pound dribble between each full figure eight. We will complete 10 repetitions going forward and 10 repetitions going reverse or in the opposite direction. Next drill. we're going to complete a pound dribble series. We will complete five repetitions at each height, sock level, knee level, waist level, and shoulder level. In addition to ball control, athletes should work on height variation when dribbling. This will help improve your ability to recover the ball, improve your ability to change heights even when you're changing speeds. Next, we're going to work on half circle dribbles. We're going to complete 10 repetitions with the left as well as the right hand. Consider going from the front to the back as one repetition. This will prepare athletes for moving the ball from front to back when defenders are playing tight defense. This drill will improve your ability to see the court while keeping the ball away from the defenders by protecting it. Next drill is the crossover series. We're going to perform a progressive fashion of going from two dribble crossover for five repetitions to a one dribble crossover for five repetitions and then doing a continuous walkout for ten repetitions. We will utilize the lane line when performing walkouts. Consider going down and back as one repetition. The crossover is the simplest move that can be done to change directions and create space. All crossovers should include a hard pound dribble, When performing crossovers, keep the ball close to the body and outside of the defender. It is important to work on timing and space when making each crossover so that the ball is not being placed in the hands of the defender. Also, this drill will help athletes position their body and footwork before and after making each crossover. This is done by dropping your shoulder towards the defender's hip, which makes you low and quick, in addition to taking a quick, long step while crossing the ball over, keeping your body in sync. with the ball. Next drill, zigzag dribbling. We're going to complete 10 repetitions. Consider going from baseline to the top of the key and back as one repetition. This drill is great for utilizing the floor and will help you improve your right and left hand when dribbling up the floor. You will become better at utilizing angles to create space and improving your footwork when changing directions to ensure a proper footwork exchange. When performing this drill, work on two to three quick hard dribbles before each crossover while making the crossover move just outside the lane line. Next drill is dribble sprints. We're going to complete 10 repetitions. Consider going from baseline to half court and back as one repetition. This will help you with getting up the court quick and when there is space to attack. When performing dribble sprints, ensure the ball comes no higher than mid-chest. It's important to push the ball out and run after it. Go get it! Be mindful not to dribble too far out in front where it can get stolen. Also, we will work on taking less dribbles as possible to be more effective in getting up the floor. After improving your ball handling, players should now focus on their defense. We all know defense wins games, so it's important to be able to stop your opponent or the other team from scoring. Even if you are not a great shooter or scorer yet, you can still stop the offense from scoring. Also, similar to the ball handling, this requires minimum equipment space and you can realize progression quickly by putting in the work. This phase will help improve your stands, push steps, drop steps, and closeouts. Next drill is the defensive series. We're gonna perform each phase of the defense, quick stands, push steps, drop steps, and closeout within each repetition to simulate game situations and help you improve your footwork. The first part of the drill starts with the quick stance. This will improve your hand action, meaning you need to have a dig hand for the dribble and a shot hand for the shot. We will also work on a quick stance phase which will help you stay low and have a wide stance. Players should be ready at all times and to do this we will focus on being on the balls of our feet. Second part of the drill is push steps. These will improve your ability to low and push off to beat the offense to a spot. Minimize the time your feet are off the ground all while maintaining a dig hand and shot hand. Third part of the drill are drop steps. Having a quick drop step can allow you to reposition your body in front of the offense player. Having a good drop step can allow you to reposition your body in front of the offensive player. It will also allow you to force the offensive player into a particular spot on the floor. Drop stepping properly can prevent getting blown past when the offensive player is attacking and angles up the floor. When performing drop steps, focus on keeping your feet apart and opening up your hips each time as you're drop stepping. Last part of the defensive series are close outs. These are great when running out to cover an open offensive player. Closing out properly will help you prepare for a player that is either shooting, driving, or passing. Closing out provides controlled momentum of your body and will allow you to pick up and stop the defense. When performing, focus on controlling your foot traction when running out to the offense by adding stutter feet. Adding stutter feet will allow you to slow down and control your movement as you're approaching the offensive player. Layups is the third phase. Not only must you play defense to win, but you must also outscore the other team and to do that in the simplest form, players must master the layup. This is the highest percentage shot in the game of basketball because it's so close to the rim. Players can easily increase their scoring just by making a simple layup. So once you have learned how to take care of the ball and stop the offensive player from scoring, now it's important to start taking high percentage shots. which will include layups to actually win the game. This phase will focus on layups close to the basket, at the elbow of the free throw line, and at the free throw line extended. Next drill we're going to work on is isolated layups. We're going to alternate between one foot layup and a two foot layup for each repetition on each side of the floor. For all layups, we're going to protect the ball by ripping the ball to the ear. This will help keep the ball away from the defender. When performing a one-foot layup, work on making layups with no dribbles and taking long, low strides to power up towards the basket. When performing two-foot layups, work on quick jump stops and landing on two feet. It is key to rip the ball to the ear as you're doing a jump stop or taking that last step before you lay up the ball. It's also important to position your body where your shoulder can be used for protection as well. The next drill is the X-layup drill. This will help focus on changing direction and footwork gathering before getting into a layup. We will start on the lower blocks and then explode to the elbow of the free throw line with two hard dribbles while working on foot planning and positioning of the body to attack the basket with only one dribble. You should plant your right foot when attacking the right elbow. and plant your left foot when attacking the left elbow. Start by completing 10 repetitions from the left block first and then completing another 10 repetitions from the right block. We're going to alternate between one foot layup and two feet layup on each repetition. Keep in mind the ball has to be pushed out in front towards the basket before each layup. This will help you get closer to the basket and also beat the defender from blocking your shot. Next drill. We're going to work on layups but a little further away from the basket, free throw line extended. When performing this drill, focus on starting in the triple threat position. We will work on alternating between ripping high and low and performing a one foot and two foot layup on each repetition. So for your first rep, you will rip high and perform a one foot layup and then on your second rep, you will rip low and finish with a two foot layup. This drill will also improve the awareness of your footwork. On the right side of the floor, use your left foot as your pivot. And on the left side of the floor, use your right foot as your pivot. Ensure you are taking one or two jiggles when attacking the basket. Shooting is the fourth phase. Shooting is something that doesn't come overnight and it will take some time to develop and become a great shooter. This is the reason why phases one to three can be developed first. I'm not saying do not work on shooting, but I am saying that players need to have a solid foundation in the previous phases to see immediate results on the floor. Shooting will allow you to increase your scoring average by knocking down shots further away from the basket. In this phase, we will work on shadow shooting, shooting footwork, form shooting. Next drill we're gonna work on shooting footwork on a line. We will complete five repetitions using the lane line by performing the one-two footwork down the lane line and performing the hop footwork on the way back. This will help improve your foot alignment through continuous repetitions of one-two and hop footworks. When performing work on having legs loaded for power in your shot, quick stabs so that you can spend less time in the air. Ultimately improving how quickly you shoot the ball. That is important. Before each footwork, drop or spin the ball to yourself to simulate a pass and get into your footwork as the ball is bouncing up from the ground. Next drill is stationary form shooting with no rim. You can stand anywhere to complete this drill. This drill will help you focus on hand placement while ensuring your shooting arm has proper L-shape for alignment to the basket. In addition, it will help improve your accuracy of placing your ball at eye level before shooting. To have a good shot, athletes must have a good follow through wrist action for spin and arc on the ball to give it a chance to go up and over and into the basket. Next drill is another form shooting drill, but now with the rim. We will shoot at the left block, right block. and in the middle of the basket. At each spot we will perform three repetitions. Those three repetitions will include one rep with single hand release, the second rep will include shooting with the guide hand, and the third rep will include a live full motion shot. Just like shadow shooting, this drill is good for building confidence and improving your shooting form. To help build muscle memory more, we are going to progress within all points of the shooting motion at each shooting spot. We will perform this drill one to two feet away from the basket while ensuring that we have good footwork and elbow alignment. Your dominant foot should be slightly forward and aligned with the basket and your elbow should also be aligned with the basket. Because this drill includes a live shot on the last rep, focus on keeping your legs low for power and prevent your guy hand from getting in the way of your shot. Passing is the fifth phase that athletes should start developing. Just because it's the last doesn't mean that it's the least favorite. It is important to share and pass the ball to your teammates, but keep in mind passes are mainly identified after drawing in the defense from an attack off the dribble or when the defense sees you have an open layup or shot. Mastering passing is a critical skill for everyone. Failing to pass makes you more guardable and teams will have the capability of stopping you ultimately winning the game due to the lack of passing or not finding your open teammates. In this phase we will work on bounce, chest, and overhead passing. This drill will help improve your ability to utilize all the major forms of passing. When performing two hand passes these are good when there is an open path in front and you want to add more power to get it to your teammate. When passing left or right hand These are good for passing outside of the defender because they're directly in your path, right? Your path is blocked. The chest pass is quicker for passing to open teammates immediately. Bounce passes is one of the toughest passes for defenders to steal. It also softens the speed and makes it better to catch. We will work on improving where we bounce the ball on the floor to ensure better accuracy. Even though chest passes can be used for passing up the court, An overhead pass is also good for longer distance and throwing over the defense. We will work on performing 20 repetitions stepping forward with your right foot, alternating between chest bounce and overhead. And then we will perform another 20 repetitions stepping forward with our left foot, alternating between chest bounce and overhead. Lastly, stepping into your pass will help add more power. So when and how should you utilize these drills? In the video description, click the PDF link to download the Beginner Drills Workout Schedule. The PDF gives you all the beginner drills and a recommended workout schedule to utilize. Plus, you'll get a few bonus drills that's not included in this video. Remember, I got cut from my 6th grade team because I didn't focus on the fundamentals. And once I dedicated myself to learning the fundamentals, everything changed for me. So I urge you to stick to these fundamental skills in the video They will give you an amazing foundation of basketball skills for you to build on. Now leave your comments and questions below. I'll try to help you if you have any questions. But be sure to check out the PDF download with the Beginner Workout Plan right now. Go check it out.

It was all because I focused on the fundamentals, utilized progressions, and these top five essential skill development phases I'm about to show you. And now as a trainer I have seen the same problems exist due to the lack of education or someone not giving athletes a phase approach blueprint with progressions or what to work on first, what to do second, and so on. All the great players such as Michael Jordan have mastered these top five skill development areas because they know and believe and trust in the process.

Now let's review each phase and I'm going to explain the logic behind the order and why these are the top five phases. Now before we get started make sure you subscribe to this channel and if you're on YouTube click the alert notification right now. It's important for athletes to start working on ball handling first because of a couple reasons.

It doesn't require a rim and a lot of space, which gives you the opportunity to improve faster as long as you're putting in the work. In addition, players need to take care of the ball to prevent turnovers, which will help them stay in the game longer. This phase will help improve your ball control, your protection, your triple threat, your pivoting, and dribbling. The first drill we're going to complete is a full body wrap series.

We will wrap the ball around our head twice, the waist twice, and the legs twice, and then work our way back up to the top. Consider going from the head to legs and back as one repetition. When handling the ball, athletes need to have good hand-to-hand exchange, and that is done by working on your finger pad control.

To prevent giving the ball away to the defense and make quicker movements with the ball, you should ensure the ball is kept close. and tight to the body. Next, we're gonna complete single leg wraps. We will complete 10 repetitions going forward and 10 repetitions reverse or in the opposite direction.

When you're doing those, ensure you have a nice athletic stance and you're keeping your eyes up. Next, we're gonna complete figure eight leg wraps with one pound dribble between each full figure eight. We will complete 10 repetitions going forward and 10 repetitions going reverse or in the opposite direction.

Next drill. we're going to complete a pound dribble series. We will complete five repetitions at each height, sock level, knee level, waist level, and shoulder level.

In addition to ball control, athletes should work on height variation when dribbling. This will help improve your ability to recover the ball, improve your ability to change heights even when you're changing speeds. Next, we're going to work on half circle dribbles.

We're going to complete 10 repetitions with the left as well as the right hand. Consider going from the front to the back as one repetition. This will prepare athletes for moving the ball from front to back when defenders are playing tight defense.

This drill will improve your ability to see the court while keeping the ball away from the defenders by protecting it. Next drill is the crossover series. We're going to perform a progressive fashion of going from two dribble crossover for five repetitions to a one dribble crossover for five repetitions and then doing a continuous walkout for ten repetitions.

We will utilize the lane line when performing walkouts. Consider going down and back as one repetition. The crossover is the simplest move that can be done to change directions and create space. All crossovers should include a hard pound dribble, When performing crossovers, keep the ball close to the body and outside of the defender.

It is important to work on timing and space when making each crossover so that the ball is not being placed in the hands of the defender. Also, this drill will help athletes position their body and footwork before and after making each crossover. This is done by dropping your shoulder towards the defender's hip, which makes you low and quick, in addition to taking a quick, long step while crossing the ball over, keeping your body in sync. with the ball.

Next drill, zigzag dribbling. We're going to complete 10 repetitions. Consider going from baseline to the top of the key and back as one repetition.

This drill is great for utilizing the floor and will help you improve your right and left hand when dribbling up the floor. You will become better at utilizing angles to create space and improving your footwork when changing directions to ensure a proper footwork exchange. When performing this drill, work on two to three quick hard dribbles before each crossover while making the crossover move just outside the lane line. Next drill is dribble sprints. We're going to complete 10 repetitions.

Consider going from baseline to half court and back as one repetition. This will help you with getting up the court quick and when there is space to attack. When performing dribble sprints, ensure the ball comes no higher than mid-chest.

It's important to push the ball out and run after it. Go get it! Be mindful not to dribble too far out in front where it can get stolen. Also, we will work on taking less dribbles as possible to be more effective in getting up the floor.

After improving your ball handling, players should now focus on their defense. We all know defense wins games, so it's important to be able to stop your opponent or the other team from scoring. Even if you are not a great shooter or scorer yet, you can still stop the offense from scoring.

Also, similar to the ball handling, this requires minimum equipment space and you can realize progression quickly by putting in the work. This phase will help improve your stands, push steps, drop steps, and closeouts. Next drill is the defensive series. We're gonna perform each phase of the defense, quick stands, push steps, drop steps, and closeout within each repetition to simulate game situations and help you improve your footwork.

The first part of the drill starts with the quick stance. This will improve your hand action, meaning you need to have a dig hand for the dribble and a shot hand for the shot. We will also work on a quick stance phase which will help you stay low and have a wide stance. Players should be ready at all times and to do this we will focus on being on the balls of our feet.

Second part of the drill is push steps. These will improve your ability to low and push off to beat the offense to a spot. Minimize the time your feet are off the ground all while maintaining a dig hand and shot hand. Third part of the drill are drop steps.

Having a quick drop step can allow you to reposition your body in front of the offense player. Having a good drop step can allow you to reposition your body in front of the offensive player. It will also allow you to force the offensive player into a particular spot on the floor. Drop stepping properly can prevent getting blown past when the offensive player is attacking and angles up the floor.

When performing drop steps, focus on keeping your feet apart and opening up your hips each time as you're drop stepping. Last part of the defensive series are close outs. These are great when running out to cover an open offensive player.

Closing out properly will help you prepare for a player that is either shooting, driving, or passing. Closing out provides controlled momentum of your body and will allow you to pick up and stop the defense. When performing, focus on controlling your foot traction when running out to the offense by adding stutter feet. Adding stutter feet will allow you to slow down and control your movement as you're approaching the offensive player.

Layups is the third phase. Not only must you play defense to win, but you must also outscore the other team and to do that in the simplest form, players must master the layup. This is the highest percentage shot in the game of basketball because it's so close to the rim. Players can easily increase their scoring just by making a simple layup. So once you have learned how to take care of the ball and stop the offensive player from scoring, now it's important to start taking high percentage shots.

which will include layups to actually win the game. This phase will focus on layups close to the basket, at the elbow of the free throw line, and at the free throw line extended. Next drill we're going to work on is isolated layups.

We're going to alternate between one foot layup and a two foot layup for each repetition on each side of the floor. For all layups, we're going to protect the ball by ripping the ball to the ear. This will help keep the ball away from the defender.

When performing a one-foot layup, work on making layups with no dribbles and taking long, low strides to power up towards the basket. When performing two-foot layups, work on quick jump stops and landing on two feet. It is key to rip the ball to the ear as you're doing a jump stop or taking that last step before you lay up the ball. It's also important to position your body where your shoulder can be used for protection as well.

The next drill is the X-layup drill. This will help focus on changing direction and footwork gathering before getting into a layup. We will start on the lower blocks and then explode to the elbow of the free throw line with two hard dribbles while working on foot planning and positioning of the body to attack the basket with only one dribble.

You should plant your right foot when attacking the right elbow. and plant your left foot when attacking the left elbow. Start by completing 10 repetitions from the left block first and then completing another 10 repetitions from the right block. We're going to alternate between one foot layup and two feet layup on each repetition. Keep in mind the ball has to be pushed out in front towards the basket before each layup.

This will help you get closer to the basket and also beat the defender from blocking your shot. Next drill. We're going to work on layups but a little further away from the basket, free throw line extended. When performing this drill, focus on starting in the triple threat position.

We will work on alternating between ripping high and low and performing a one foot and two foot layup on each repetition. So for your first rep, you will rip high and perform a one foot layup and then on your second rep, you will rip low and finish with a two foot layup. This drill will also improve the awareness of your footwork.

On the right side of the floor, use your left foot as your pivot. And on the left side of the floor, use your right foot as your pivot. Ensure you are taking one or two jiggles when attacking the basket. Shooting is the fourth phase. Shooting is something that doesn't come overnight and it will take some time to develop and become a great shooter.

This is the reason why phases one to three can be developed first. I'm not saying do not work on shooting, but I am saying that players need to have a solid foundation in the previous phases to see immediate results on the floor. Shooting will allow you to increase your scoring average by knocking down shots further away from the basket.

In this phase, we will work on shadow shooting, shooting footwork, form shooting. Next drill we're gonna work on shooting footwork on a line. We will complete five repetitions using the lane line by performing the one-two footwork down the lane line and performing the hop footwork on the way back.

This will help improve your foot alignment through continuous repetitions of one-two and hop footworks. When performing work on having legs loaded for power in your shot, quick stabs so that you can spend less time in the air. Ultimately improving how quickly you shoot the ball. That is important.

Before each footwork, drop or spin the ball to yourself to simulate a pass and get into your footwork as the ball is bouncing up from the ground. Next drill is stationary form shooting with no rim. You can stand anywhere to complete this drill.

This drill will help you focus on hand placement while ensuring your shooting arm has proper L-shape for alignment to the basket. In addition, it will help improve your accuracy of placing your ball at eye level before shooting. To have a good shot, athletes must have a good follow through wrist action for spin and arc on the ball to give it a chance to go up and over and into the basket. Next drill is another form shooting drill, but now with the rim.

We will shoot at the left block, right block. and in the middle of the basket. At each spot we will perform three repetitions.

Those three repetitions will include one rep with single hand release, the second rep will include shooting with the guide hand, and the third rep will include a live full motion shot. Just like shadow shooting, this drill is good for building confidence and improving your shooting form. To help build muscle memory more, we are going to progress within all points of the shooting motion at each shooting spot.

We will perform this drill one to two feet away from the basket while ensuring that we have good footwork and elbow alignment. Your dominant foot should be slightly forward and aligned with the basket and your elbow should also be aligned with the basket. Because this drill includes a live shot on the last rep, focus on keeping your legs low for power and prevent your guy hand from getting in the way of your shot. Passing is the fifth phase that athletes should start developing. Just because it's the last doesn't mean that it's the least favorite.

It is important to share and pass the ball to your teammates, but keep in mind passes are mainly identified after drawing in the defense from an attack off the dribble or when the defense sees you have an open layup or shot. Mastering passing is a critical skill for everyone. Failing to pass makes you more guardable and teams will have the capability of stopping you ultimately winning the game due to the lack of passing or not finding your open teammates. In this phase we will work on bounce, chest, and overhead passing.

This drill will help improve your ability to utilize all the major forms of passing. When performing two hand passes these are good when there is an open path in front and you want to add more power to get it to your teammate. When passing left or right hand These are good for passing outside of the defender because they're directly in your path, right?

Your path is blocked. The chest pass is quicker for passing to open teammates immediately. Bounce passes is one of the toughest passes for defenders to steal. It also softens the speed and makes it better to catch. We will work on improving where we bounce the ball on the floor to ensure better accuracy.

Even though chest passes can be used for passing up the court, An overhead pass is also good for longer distance and throwing over the defense. We will work on performing 20 repetitions stepping forward with your right foot, alternating between chest bounce and overhead. And then we will perform another 20 repetitions stepping forward with our left foot, alternating between chest bounce and overhead.

Lastly, stepping into your pass will help add more power. So when and how should you utilize these drills? In the video description, click the PDF link to download the Beginner Drills Workout Schedule. The PDF gives you all the beginner drills and a recommended workout schedule to utilize. Plus, you'll get a few bonus drills that's not included in this video.

Remember, I got cut from my 6th grade team because I didn't focus on the fundamentals. And once I dedicated myself to learning the fundamentals, everything changed for me. So I urge you to stick to these fundamental skills in the video They will give you an amazing foundation of basketball skills for you to build on. Now leave your comments and questions below. I'll try to help you if you have any questions.

But be sure to check out the PDF download with the Beginner Workout Plan right now. Go check it out.

Transcript for:Essential Basketball Drills for Beginners

Transcript for:
Essential Basketball Drills for Beginners