Basketball Skill Drills for Kids

Teaching young basketball players the game involves skill building and repetition. While all young players love the thrill of seeing one of their shots fly through the basket, there's much more to the game than just shooting. To help young players improve at the game, ball handling, defensive skills and shooting drills are all necessary. Players can enjoy themselves as they work at the drills.

  1. Think Fast

    • This drill will help young players learn to dribble with both hands. Many young players have the tendency to dribble with their dominant hand and they fear dribbling with their other hand. All good ball handlers learn how to do this. You can teach your young ball handler to dribble with both hands. Have him dribble across mid-court with either hand and then send a defender directly at the ball. This will force him to switch hands. As soon as that happens, have the defender switch positions again and get in front of the ball again. The ball handler will have to switch hands again. Soon he will be dribbling well with both hands.

    Catch and Shoot

    • This drill involves three players. Have your ball handler dribble the ball across mid-court and come to a stop at the top of the key. Have two players located on either side of him, with one on the left baseline and one on the right wing. Have the ball handler pass to one of the players. If he throws to the player on the left baseline, the player on the right wing will run at him and try to defend him. The player on the left baseline needs to catch and shoot the ball in one motion. The idea is to get rid of the ball quickly to avoid the blocked shot while shooting accurately. Run the drill again, with the ball handler distributing the ball to both players.

    Defensive Shuffle

    • Defense is the key to team play and it is more about effort than talent. You should be able to teach all your players to play active and effective defense. Have each player line up on the near sideline and get in an active defensive position with knees bent and his hands spread apart. As you blow your whistle, each player should shuffle their feet and move all the way across the court as quickly as possible. Shuffling means not crossing the ankles. This will help your defensive players stay on balance and play effective defense. When the players get to the far side of the court, they sprint back to the starting position. Run the drill three times.