Third Grade Girls Basketball Drills

When girls reach the third grade, many are just beginning to play organized basketball. As a result, they must first learn the fundamentals of the sport to develop more advanced skills. Drills can help third grade girls become familiar with these skills. They can be done at organized practice sessions ore at home alone. They only require a ball and a third grader who is willing to learn.

  1. Dribbling Drill

    • In order for a player to move the ball up and down the court, she must be able to dribble the basketball. This skill is taken for granted by older players, but many third graders have never dribbled a basketball.

      A girl should begin this drill by dribbling the ball with her right hand while keeping her left hand behind her back. This ensures she won’t dribble the ball with two hands, which is illegal. She should dribble the ball with her right hand for two minutes, doing her best to avoid stopping or losing control of the ball. She should then switch to dribbling with her left hand and repeat the drill.

      Once the player becomes more comfortable with the concept of dribbling, movement can be added to the drill. The player can use the concepts from the original drill, but walk back and forth while dribbling the ball. Later she can speed up from a walk, to a trot, and finally to a sprint.

    Passing Drill

    • There are two main forms of passing in basketball: the chest pass and bounce pass. All players need to know how to use both forms in order to play basketball.

      In a chest pass, the ball travels between players without touching the court. As the name suggests, the chest pass is executed by bringing the ball back against your chest, then pushing it outward toward the player receiving the ball.

      In a bounce pass, the ball bounces one time off of the basketball court on its path from the passer to the receiver.

      Have two girls stand 10 feet apart and throw chest passes to each other for two minutes. After the two minutes are up, the girls should switch to throwing bounce passes to each other. As the girls become comfortable with the drill, the distance between the two can be increased. The drill can also be performed with only one player by using a wall to throw passes to.

    Shooting Practice

    • Scoring can be difficult for third grade girls because the hoop is 10 feet high, no matter how old or big you are. As a result, most baskets are going to be scored from very near the hoop at this age group.

      Before attempting to shoot at an actual basket, a girl can get used to the motion of shooting a basketball by lying on her back and shooting the ball into the air. This drill improves arm strength because it takes a girl's legs and the rest of her body out of the equation. The girl should try to throw the ball progressively higher as the drill goes on.