Basketball Dribbling Drills - Stationary Drills
By Dr. James Gels, From the Coach’s Clipboard Basketball Playbook"Helping coaches coach better..."
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Youth teams should do these stationary drills at the start of each practice, all season long. We usually precede these drills with our ball-handling drills. Do each of these drills for 30-60 seconds and move on so you can get through them rather quickly. Daily repetition will make the difference. Players can do these drills at home too, and in the off-season. Coaches use/print this list of our standard ball-handling and dribbling circle drills - Stationary Circle Ball-Handling and Dribbling Drills.
At practice, I have one of our better dribblers, or a varsity player(s), lead the drill at center court. The team spreads out in a circle around the leader who performs the various dribbling drills, while the other players follow his/her lead.
See the video clips of all these drills.
Up and Downs - Pound Dribble
Start by dribbling the ball in front of you so that the ball reaches your waist high. Gradually, bounce the ball harder and harder until you are dribbling the ball as high as you can without jumping. Then gradually dribble the ball lower and lower until you are on one knee, finishing as close to the floor as possible. Pound the ball quickly to keep it going. Then do it with the other hand.
Dribble the ball waist high, then suddenly "kill" it by dribbling it as low as you can, hold this for a few seconds, then bring it back up to waist high. Do this several times with each hand.
Circle Dribbles
This drill is similar to "Circles" (see Ball Handling) except now the ball is dribbled. Extend the left leg forward and dribble the ball low around the leg in a circular fashion. Then do it around the right leg. After doing each leg, then try the "Figure 8" dribble.
Figure Eight
This drill is similar to the ball-handling figure eights drill except now the ball is dribbled through your legs in a figure-eight motion. Use both hands and be sure to look up while doing this drill.
Back and Forth Under the Legs
Get crouched over with your right knee and leg forward. V-dribble the ball behind the extended leg. Repeat behind the other leg.
Crossover Dribbles
Dribble with your right hand. Bounce the ball once on the right side, then cross the ball over in front of you by bouncing it to the left. The left hand now bounces it once, and then crossover back to the right, where the right takes over again. Repeat this procedure. Make the cross-over low and quick.
V-Dribble in Front
Start with the right hand and dribble once on the right side. Then dribble the ball in front you, as if you were going to cross over to the left side. Instead of getting it with your left hand, roll your right hand over the top of the ball, and bring it back to the right. Also practice it with the left hand. Getting the feel of rolling your hand over the top of the ball will help you with your "in-and-out" dribble move.
Side V-Dribble
Now do the v-dribble on the side - the "push-pull" dribble. Do both left and right hands.
For more difficult drills, try these:
Spider dribble
Windmill dribble
Butterfly dribble
Shuffle dribble
Related pages:
- 2-Ball Dribbling Drills
- Dribbling for details of the control dribble, speed dribble, crossover dribble, in and out dribble, hesitation dribble, behind the back dribble, and through the legs dribble, spin move, and back-up dribble.
- Stationary Circle Ball-Handling and Dribbling Drills... coaches use/print this list of our standard ball-handling and dribbling circle drills.
