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Simple practice drills to teach kids basketball - Shooting
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This is the second in a series of articles designed to give coaches simple practice drills to teach young players the fundamentals of basketball. As always, keep it fun and interesting for the kids. This article is going to focus on shooting.
The amount of coaching you can do to teach a young player the correct way to shoot a basketball is directly related to how old the players are. My experience is that the fundamentals of shooting will finally come into play around 4th or 5th grade (8 - 10 years old). Prior to that, kids are doing what they can just to get the ball up on the rim. My advice in those scenarios is to let the kids do what works for them which usually turns out to be a little unorthodox. You can tune in their shooting style as they get bigger, but it's best for them to realize some early successes even if their form doesn't remind you of Larry Bird.
Here are a few easy drills you can run with kids of any age to get them started in learning to shoot the basketball:
1) Layups - This is an obvious one, but allows you to assess your players' skill level, prepare for what drill to run next, and reinforce some fundamentals. I'm sure you understand this one already, but I'll get extra credit from my Dad who coached me as a kid for explaining it in detail, so here goes. Have the players start in two lines at the foul line. One line has a ball, and the first person in line dribbles towards the basket and shoots a layup. The first person in the other line follows them to the basket to get the rebound and pass the ball to the next person in the first line. Those two then go to the end of the opposite line. Not rocket science, right? A couple things to emphasize are to dribble with their head up and eyes on the basket. You can reinforce this by standing under the basket and having them yell out how many fingers you are holding up as they dribble. Next is to stress the benefit of using the backboard and shooting for the square painted there. We need to come up with a name for the phenomenon by which young kids refuse to use the backboard. I've tried many ways to motivate use of the backboard with varying degrees of success. Anyone who has the answer, post it here or send me an email. Please. (natedaytonexaminer@live.com)
2) Tapioca - Don't ask me why it's called that. It may have been made up by my high school basketball coach, but here's what you do. You place one player directly under the basket with a ball. That player takes one step out from under the basket on a diagonal so that they are in a good position to shoot a layup using the backboard. They shoot the ball in, get the rebound through the net, and step out to the other side of the rim to make the same shot from the other side. You should emphasize using the backboard (again, suggestions, I'm begging you), and can have a contest for who makes the most in a minute.
3) Knockout - This is a game where the entire team gets in a single line in front of the basket, typically at the foul line. The first two players have balls. The first player shoots from the foul line, and the second player waits for the first player to shoot, and then also shoots from the foul line. If the first player makes their shot, they get the rebound, and pass it to the next player in line who then shoots from the foul line. If the first player misses, they grab their rebound and dribble in for a layup. Their goal is to get their ball through the hoop before the player behind them does. If the player behind you gets their ball in before you, then you are knocked out. You play until there is only one player left, and they are the winner.
These drills work for players young and old. They give you, the coach, an opportunity to provide guidance on their shooting technique if the players are ready for that level of instruction. Otherwise, they get the kids used to putting the ball on the rim and through the net. If you have suggestions for shooting drills that worked for you, let me know at: natedaytonexaminer@live.com. Happy coaching, and here's hoping they all go in.
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