We’ve all played knockout or elimination or lightning before which is a shooting game. We used to play a ball handling game that we called knockout as well and it was just as fun and a little more physical.

Knockout involves giving each player a ball and confining them to a certain area on the court. I suggest that you start the area larger and shrink it as players leave the game but I’m getting ahead of myself. 1st: EAch player has a ball in hand within a certain boundary, say halfcourt. EAch player begins to dribble while trying to knock the other players dribble or ball away. If a dribble is lost or a player goes out of bounds he is out. If a player commits a foul he is out, but the offense must call the foul here. Once players get knocked out shrink the floor so the remaining players have less room to maneuver.

Players must be able to dribble with both hands if they are to be good at this game. It is very important to use your body as well to protect the ball.

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This is another simple drill that players can do anywhere on the court or at home really. First, just take the ball and set it on the floor in front of you.

This is not a dribbling drill, just a drill to work on fingertip strength and control while getting used to the ball in your hands. Keep your legs and arms straight and just bend at the waist. Reach down and start to flip the ball from hand to hand making sure that you keep it only in your fingertips. Keep the ball off the floor and focus on making sure that the ball is above your toes and not hitting the ground. Go for 30 seconds without an error before changing spots. When you change spots simply bring the ball up to your waist level and flip is back and forth there as well making sure that your arms are extended out and the ball is only touching your fingertips. Once you have done that level for 30 seconds then take the ball and go above your head with it for 30 seconds following the same rules.

If you are coaching players you can have them do this drill all at once if you’d like as each practice should have time devoted to ball handling drills.

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Another great ball handling drill is call the escape drill and can be done on any half court or an even smaller area and you’ll understand this more as i explain the drill to you.

The escape drill involves 3 players with one player dribbling the ball and two people playing defense. The player with the ball starts at the baseline with the 2 defenders at the foul line. The player begins dribbling in an attempt to make it to half court without losing control of the ball or having it get stolen or tipped away. Defenders are not allowed to foul but are allowed to be as obnoxious as legally possible. The idea is to try to rattle the ball handler to force a turnover. If the ball handler is any good he’ll be able to complete this drill relatively easily because typically the defense doens’t have a solid enough plan. However, when it becomes too common for the offense to break the pressure simply add a 3rd defender to make it more difficult.

The key to the drill is moving quickly while keeping the dribble low. If the ball hander is slow in his moves it will be too easy for the defense to force a mistake.

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A simple drill that can be done to improve ballhandling and change of direction is the dribble weave. For coaches of young players, it is very important to take time each practice to work on individual skills and this is a good one to help with ball handling.

Set up chairs or cones in a line up and down the court. If you only have half court access then use that for the drill. Line them on both sides of the floor. I prefer a chair because it is more of a realistic obstacle but if you can’t get chairs or use chairs then cones will work.

Form lines on each side of the floor with the ball at the front of the line. Players should dribble weaver through the cones making sure that they are changing hands as they go and crossing over correctly. You can make this a competitive drill if you’d like but only do that once the players are competent at the drill.

It isn’t a bad idea to take the cones and place them all over as well so that players really have to work on a solid crossover or change of direction. It also helps the players if they are timed, but only as they progress to that point.

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Young coaches are always looking for drills or practice ideas that will help the kids get better at certain areas of the game. One of the most basic is the down and back drill.

The down and back drill is done by having your team for 1-3 lines on the baseline of the court. Each line has equal players in it and the front of each line has a ball. On the coaches whistle, the players all start dribbling toward the opposite end of the court with the right hand. When they reach the baseline they should change hands and dribble the rest of the way with the left hand.

Some things to focus on and remember with this drill:

1. The least amount of dribbles the better. The player should push the ball in front of him making the most of each bounce.

2. The eyes should always be up so as to see the floor.

3. The dribble should go no higher than the waist so that it is easier to control.

The first team that gets done without losing control of the ball wins.

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Each player should have a ball in their hands and stand in a stationary position. The player takes the ball and dribbles the ball from hand to hand for 30 seconds. Make sure each player is dribbling the ball below the knees and with the head up. Make the players go error free for 30 seconds or they must start over. Error free includes keeping the dribble below the knees and with the head up for 30 seconds without losing the ball or looking down.

Once that part is down then have the players stick one leg out and practice bouncing the ball between one of their legs for 30 seconds with the same fundamentals as before.

Once they are able to do the above drills then work speed into the mix and have the players count how many they can do in a 30 second period of time. Competition is always good.

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We have a lot of young players who are learning to take care of the basketball and the finer points of ball handling. One of the best drills for young players to perform is a between the legs drill.

This drill isn’t done by simply standing up and bouncing the ball between your legs. This is done by maintaining a low dribble and controlling the ball as you dribble between the legs. First, with your right leg extended ahead of the other take the ball and start to dribble all the way around your right leg using one hand. Do that for 30 seconds before changing legs and changing hands. Once you have gone error free for 30 seconds with each hand then start to go in figure eight pattern changing hands along the way. The ball must remain below your knees at all times and your head must be up. Focus on feeling for the ball.

Once you have that down then go in reverse directions.

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For coaches and players alike it is important to take time each practice and devote it to handling the basketball. Though I believe that the best ballhandlers work on their skills year round it is still important enough to allucate time at practice.

One of the drills that should be done and taught is the behind the back drill. I’m not saying that a behind the back dribble has to be part of every players arsenal, but I am saying that the drill will naturally improve you in that area.

Here’s how it works:

For coaches: Form equal lines and have the player at the front of each line take the ball and alternate dribbling behind the back from the right to left hand and left to right hand. Make sure that the knees are bent and the head is up. Don’t allow any player to be hunched over with his neck looking for the ball. This isn’t easy at all to do at first but with continual practice it does get better.

As the player progress you can start them moving up the floor with each step equalling a dribble hand change. Once players get to half court without a mistake they are ready to step it up further but going at a faster pace.

Players: You can do this by yourself whenever you have the time or when you are in your driveway. Do the drill until you master it and then move to another one and another one.

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A great shooting drill for young players is spot shooting.  This helps players develop muscle memory from different areas of the court and as a coach it helps you learn where players are comfortable shooting from and where they have the highest percentages.

To begin the drill identify 5-10 spots on the floor and have them marked if you want to.  Take groups of 3-4 players and have them start at spot 1.  Player 1 shoots the ball and rebounds his own shot and passes to the next person in line.  Player 1 gets in the back of the same line and the drill continues for 1 minute.  Once a minute passes players change to spot 2 and continue the drill.  Coaches should keep track of percentages to judge improvement over time so keep a clipboard handy and a notebook if necessary.  This drill will run straight for 10 minutes and it isn’t a bad idea to run them through it more than once if they really struggle.

If you have younger players that you are coaching then have them shoot closer distances.  If you want to make it a contest then split the teams up and have them start at different spots and make it a contest.  I’m all for competitive games.

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One of my favorite times to shoot the ball is off a cut.  It is easy for me to set my rhythm and my feet and mentally prepare for a pass and shot.  Players that go into cuts with indecision will either not get the shot off when it is available or they simply will miss the shot because of lack of mental preparation.

To practice this form two lines of players on each side of the floor free throw line extended at 45 degree angles.  One line passes the ball and the other line shoots the ball.  The players in the shooting line will run hard down to the low block and then V cut hard toward the foul line.  On the way to the foul line the passer throws a solid chest pass to the shooter who goes right into the shot.  Players rotate lines and then switch sides.  The drill shouldn’t go slowly though and players should be moving quite a bit.  The player shooting the ball should concentrate on getting his feet set as well as getting the shot off quickly.  If your players are missing these shots over and over then have them start closer than the foul line or have them simply go slower until they understand the drill.

This drill can be used on all areas of the court and make sure players are going in and out of their cuts at a good speed.

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