Dribble Tag
A playful warm-up where everyone – the tagger too – dribbles their own ball. Children practise dribbling with their eyes up, changing direction and protecting the ball with their body.
Red Light, Green Light
The classic game with a ball: players dribble across the court on the coach's calls. It trains ball control, stopping under control (the jump stop) and starting and changing pace with the ball.
Passing Through Gates
Pairs pass to each other through small gates of cones, then move on to a new gate. Children practise the chest pass, catching with two hands and looking up before they pass.
Two-Line Lay-Ups
The classic lay-up drill with a shooting line and a rebounding line. Players practise dribbling to the basket, taking two steps and laying the ball off the backboard – and grabbing the rebound and feeding the next shooter.
Partner Passing Up the Court
In pairs, players run the full length of the court passing to each other on the move and finish with a lay-up. The drill trains passing on the run, leading the receiver and catching at speed.
3v2 to 2v1 Fast Break
Three attackers run a fast break against two defenders in tandem. When the defence gets the ball it goes straight back 2-on-1 the other way. The drill trains decisions at speed, filling the lanes and the quick switch from offence to defence.
Shell Drill
4v4 with the attackers outside the 3-point line. The defence moves on every pass – on ball, deny one pass away, help two passes away – stops the drive, closes out after the kick-out and the skip pass, and boxes out.
Motion Offence: Pass and Cut
Five out with the basic rules of motion offence: pass and cut, fill the empty spot, reverse the ball, screen away and drive and kick. First without defence to learn the movements, then with it.
Transition 4v4
Four against four over the full court without a break. The team that concedes starts straight away the other way. It trains transition in both directions: getting back, picking up the ball, running the lanes and using the numbers advantage.
Breaking the Press
Inbounding against a full-court 2-2-1 press. The team learns to get out of the trap, reverse the ball through the inbounder, find the player in the middle and throw ahead – to finish with numbers before the press gets back.
Follow the Leader with a Ball
Pairs, each player with a ball. The leader dribbles wherever they like, changes direction and freezes – the follower copies everything from just behind. Then the roles swap. Children practise dribbling with their eyes up, changing direction and stopping under control.
3 v 1 in the Square
Three attackers in the corners of a square and a defender in the middle. The player with the ball always has two passing options, because the player diagonally opposite moves to the free corner next to the ball. Trains passing, moving without the ball and reading the defender.