Below are basketball drills that are based on SoccerHelp Practice Games. You will find that these basketball drills are fun, easy to set up and teach players to play fast while under pressure.

If you develop a basketball drill that is a good practice game, please let David know by emailing him at Contact David. If we use your game or drill or your adaptation of a SoccerHelp game, we will send you 50 free motivational iron-on patches. See below for more about this.

Note that our basketball drills are actually "Practice Games" that are fun and involve keeping score, so there is pressure and players learn to play fast. We do NOT use elimination games, so all players continue to play. These Games allow the coach to monitor each player's progress. Our Practice Games minimize lines and maximize activity, so coaches can achieve more in less time. Players are more likely to come to practice if games are fun and lines are minimized. Games that are competitive and create traffic and chaos better prepare players for real games by getting them used to traffic, chaos and fast transitions.

If you send us a basketball drill that we use we will send you 50 free motivational iron-on patches. An example is "Basketball Dribble Tag" below that was submitted by a coach in Ohio. We prefer drills that are games because that creates competition to perform the activity fast, and that creates pressure. Also, try to minimize lines and maximize involvement. OR, adapt one of our games like "Driving School" or the "Bunching Up" game. You can send David an email here Contact David to Submit a Basketball Drill

Below are links to some SoccerHelp games that can be adapted AND below that links to games and drills that have been submitted by coaches.

SoccerHelp games that can easily be adapted for basketball (if you come up with good variations of these, please send them to me at Contact David at SoccerHelp and if I add it to the games below we will send you 50 free basketball patches of your choice (in multiples of 10).

1. "Dribble Across A Square™" (U-8 & up) * * * * (Definitely try this) Teaches dribbling in traffic while looking up, composure in traffic and while under pressure, peripheral vision, instinctive reactions, how to recognize and accelerate into Open Space (which is how to Breakaway), court vision and other things that are hard to teach. Quick and easy to set up. A great warm-up. This is the best way to teach dribbling and is an excellent warm-up. Playing this in a small square teaches "Control Dribbling", and making the square larger will teach players how to "Breakaway" (how to look for Open Space, accelerate into it, and Speed Dribble). I recommend playing it as a warm-up to start every practice. This drill teaches control dribbling, speed dribbling, to look up while dribbling, turning, peripheral vision, instinctive reactions, getting used to traffic and protecting the ball in traffic, looking for "Open Space" & how to use Open Space, acceleration into Open Space, how to "Breakaway", "Court Vision", poise and confidence when dribbling the ball. It helps children's brains learn to process a lot of activity and to make correct, instinctive decisions and maintain composure when under pressure and in heavy traffic. It is self-teaching and the coach can help the players by giving them "tips" at the end of each game to help them improve. You will see definite results within 3 practices. Quick and easy set-up and 100% onball. Can be played 3 times in less than 10 minutes. Age 8 and older.

2. "Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race™" (U-8 and older) * * * * (Definitely try this) This is my favorite game for players U-8 and older. It teaches Aggressive Receiving, passing while running and under pressure, speed dribbling, turning, the importance of first-touch, one-touch control, and teaches receivers to move to the ball and how to receive the ball at game speed and while under pressure. This game is self-teaching and the coach can help the players by giving them "tips" that allow them to improve. Perhaps the most important thing this game can teach is "Aggressive Receiving". You can read about the benefits of "Aggressive Receiving" on the bottom of the instructions for this game on SoccerHelp. You will see fast results, the set-up is easy and every player is either a dribbler/passer or a receiver.

3. "Driving School™" (U-6 to U-10) * * * * This game teaches control dribbling, using the bottom of foot to stop the ball, pullbacks, and using outside of right foot and left foot. Easy set-up and 100% onball.

4. "Bunching Up, Spread Out To Attack, Create Space Soccer Drill™" (Ages 7-12) I think this drill might be useful for youth basketball- please let me know. It teaches players not to Bunch Up and to Spread Out to Attack so they Create Width and Space, and starts to teach Movement Off the Ball and Team Attacking, Ages 7-12

Basketball Drills that I Developed:

1. Play Defense With Your Feet Basketball Drill - This basketball drill is based on a comment I saw on TV by the great coach Bobby Knight who said "Play defense with your feet, not your hands." It teaches 1v1 Attacking and Defending and can be played as a game where score is kept.

Basketball Drills and Games Submitted by Basketball coaches:

1. Basketball Dribble Tag Game

A couple of other sections you might find useful are:

4-Step Plan for Successfully Motivating Players, Teams, Athletes and Students Why every coach, parent, teacher and manager needs a motivational plan. 4-Step Plan for Successfully Motivating Players, Students and Anyone - List, Incentivize, Praise, Reward (LIPR). Tips for Developing Your Motivational Plan (Do's, Don'ts and Ideas): How to Give Effective Positive Encouragement and Praise That Gets the Results You Want.

200 of My Favorite Motivational Coaching Quotes Over 200 of the Best Motivational Coaching Quotes by Vince Lombardi, John Wooden, Bear Bryant, Dean Smith, Pat Riley, and many others. For example: "Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts." John Wooden and "If you're going to make every game a matter of life or death, you're going to have a lot of problems. For one thing, you'll be dead a lot." Dean Smith