Sometimes as basketball junkies we focus on the ‘cool’ stuff.  I focus on different offenses or defensive schemes.  I like looking at things from different perspectives and angles and to study the great game of basketball sometimes to overkill.

Yesterday i went by the gym where a coach was working with some younger players and I was very impressed.  He was coaching a girls team and the first thing that he had them working on was a running layup.  The players could dribble and pass and even shoot the ball fine but they were clearly struggling with the running layup.  He took several minutes and went over it and over it until they were all able to successfully complete a layup where they dribbled and went off the correct foot.  The best part was how patient he was with them. 

To the average basketball junkie the drill may have seemed useless and pointless but this is something that is a real building block of basketball and the coach saw it and made it a focus.  I wish we had more coaches like him working with our boys and girls players.

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Last night I was listening to the post game interview with Jerry Sloan.  The Jazz had just come off a win against a depleted Milwaukee team and Sloan was in an engaging mood for him.  He was discussing some of the issues his team has especially stopping teams from getting offensive rebounds.  One of the things he mentioned was ‘he wasn’t going to be running any hamburger drills’.   I started laughing because I had a middle school coach who put us through ‘hamburger drills’ and they were good but someone always got hurt.

I’ll put it this way…when kids spend a lot of time wrestling physically and being aggressive you know it is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.  The ‘hamburger drill’ was that way but it was very effective in creating physical players or players who weren’t afraid of physical contact.  It is called the ‘hamburger drill’ because if you take a hamburger and throw it in the air the person who gets it is the one who wants it the most.   The drill goes like this…

In practice create a 3-3 or a 2-2 situation where there is space on the half court.  One group plays defense and the other plays offense.  When the coach puts a shot up it is fair game to go get the ball.  You do whatever you can to get the ‘hamburger’ or in this case the ball.  Teams earn points for rebounds with the offense getting 2 points per rebound and the defense getting 1.  The coach takes 5 shots and whoever has the most points wins.  The losing team goes to defense and the winning team goes off the court for the time being.  Teams quickly learn to get the rebounds to get off the court because it is a tough physical drill if done correctly.

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Every season players dread the conditioning aspect of preparation.  They want to just show up and scrimmage and then get into practice without anything else associated with it.  It’s normal, but the best players understand how important preparation is.

I was married relatively young at age 21 and was married in May.  Basketball was going to start up in August and I was convinced that I was going to spend my summer training and preparing for the coming season.  Soon enough I realized that I wanted to spend much more time with my wife than I did running in the hills of Nevada in 120 degree heat.  I did some training but not nearly as much as I should have.

When the team got together and practice started I felt good but then the good conditioning really started and our coach threw us out on the track to start our real running.  I’ve never been a solid distance runner but was very fast so I excelled doing the 100-200 meter runs but struggled doing the others.  One particular day we were going to be running 400 meters which is a full lap and I’d honestly never done this before.  When the coach told us to go I took off running and at 200 meters I was beating everyone by a great distance.  I thought I was going to cruise all the way around and beat everyone by 50 meters.  Sure enough at about 300 meters I couldn’t breathe anymore and nearly collapsed.  I immediately went off to the side and threw up a few times and felt horrible.  It was then I realized just how out of shape I truly was. 

As the preseason went on I got better and better but I had to play catch up to others who had done their work correctly in the offseason.  I learned something very important that day in that you only get to play basketball for a short period of time and you deserve to push your talents to the limit by working as hard as you can while you can.  Take the time and get outside and train.  Get in the weight room and push yourself.  Never settle and think ‘well I’m good enough right now without doing those things’.  That is only true for a short period of time and then when that window closes you need all the help you can get.

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I love writing about different drills that can be done and the stance and slide is one of them.  This is a defensive drill that can be done as an individual or as a collective team. 

To perform the drill start on one side of the court with a foot on the sideline out of bounds.  One hand should be up and the other hand should be down in good defensive position.  Make sure the knees are bent with your shoulders back and not hunched over.

When the whistle blows players slide all the way to the other end of the court.  This is a timed drill with times being written down or documented.  If you are doing this by yourself then have a stopwatch with you so you can track your times.  If on a team make sure that each player is working hard and trying to improve.  When the stamina improves then have them go side to side without sacrificing technique.

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The wheel passing drill can be done at any level of play and start at a young age.

5 players or more should surround the 3 point line with one player in the middle of the key. The player in the middle takes a ball and makes a chest pass to the 1st player who passes it back as the ball goes to each player around the wheel who in turn pass it back to the person in the key. It is a simple exercise that once mastered should get harder when additional balls are added.

When you add additional balls make sure that the passes are coming from the same general direction and not on the opposite side of the wheel. Once you have mastered a couple balls then change up passing styles. Go from chest pass to bounce pass to overhead pass to 1 handed pass. The passes should be crisp and the ball should not be dropped doing this drill. Make sure the passes are all hitting the targets above the waist and that each player has their hands up waiting to catch the pass.

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This is a simple drill that is done with team members or just 2 people at the gym working on improving.

One line of players goes on the right side behind the 3 point line with the ball(LINE A). Another line of players stands at the top of the key(LINE B).

Line A player takes the ball and passes to the player in LINE B. Once the pass is made Player A makes a hard cut to the basket where he is passed the ball and makes a layup. Player B runs to the basket to rebound the ball and if the shot is missed you will follow the shot for a rebound and layup.

This should be done using the right hand and the left hand. Try to make as many consecutive as possible.

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Another drill in our series of ballhandling drills for young coaches. This one is very simple to do and can be made more difficult if you’d like.

Players line up with a partner and get about 15 feet apart. For younger players start closer, but the skill level really determines this. Play catch back and forth with the ball with each pass alternating between a chest pass and a bounce pass. You should make sure you are focusing on catching the pass as much as throwing it. Catch the pass by going to meet the ball and stepping toward the person throwing the pass.

If you want to make the drill more difficult you can add types of passes like overhead passes, one hand passes(either right or left, not football style). Have the players move if you want to and also increase the distance between the two.

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The 3 man weave is a drill that is timeless. It has been around for a long time with teams performing this drill during practices and pregames all over the world. Let’s explain how this drill works for the beginning coach and/or player.

Start at half court with 3 evenly spaced lines. For the sake of the blog we’ll call the players a, b and c. Player A is on the left, B in the middle and C on the right. Player B starts with the ball and passes to A. When the pass is made he runs behind him. The most simple part to the drill is understanding that when you pass you go behind the person you passed the ball to. Player A passes to player C and player A goes behind C while the players move closer to the basket. In a half court drill there should only be a couple passes made before the layup is attempted. ON the last pass, the player closest to the basket shoots and makes a layup.

The drill should be done without miscue and turnover. The ball should never touch the ground and is a great example of teamwork and fluidity. At first the players will struggle knowing where to go so constantly remind them to pass and go behind the person they passed to.

When they have made the transition to half court then have them do the drill full court without mistakes.

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This is another in our series of simple passing drills for beginning coaches and players. This drill is done by 3 players forming a triangle 10-15 feet apart. I prefer starting the triangle smaller and then making it bigger. 1 Defender then stands in the middle of the triangle and tries to cause a turnover. If the defender steals the ball or knocks it away then the person who passed the ball goes to the defensive position.

The defender should be very aggressive and focus on mirroring the ball. This drill shouldn’t be about taking a lot of chances on defense but being solid and strong and trying to knock the ball away. On offense the players should remember to pivot and use ball fakes. Coaches will find very quickly which players aren’t strong with the ball and who needs help working with pressure. Make sure each offensive player is using correct fundamentals and isn’t traveling either.

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One of the simplest yet most effective passing drill is the stationary passing drill. This is easy to use for beginning coaches and players or for any players who have problems with basic passing skills.

Players line up straight across from a partner 10-15 feet away from each other. Players pass the ball back and forth focusing on a couple items:

1. Chest Pass- Just as important to teach the player how to catch the pass as it is to throw the pass. To throw the pass make sure the player is stepping towards his target and throwing the ball hard. Do not allow players to throw soft passes. When receiving the pass make sure they meet the ball and have their feet in position. That means that the player receiving the pass should be able to catch the ball and be ready to either pass, dribble or shoot.

2. Bounce Pass- My least favorite pass unless the situation calls for it. Teach players the same fundamentals as the chest pass. Make sure that each pass has something on it.

3. Overhead Pass

To make the drill more interesting throw a defender in the middle and don’t allow a pass to be thrown over the defenders head too high. Players should always have their knees bent and their hands up.

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