Dribbling Drills for Basketball Beginners
Dribbling is solely the act of continuous bouncing of the ball with the help of your hand, which is fundamental to basketball. However, if you wish to master the game, it is necessary to understand the tricks and tactics that come with it.
Before we dive into various dribbling drills, let’s first get our position right. Bend your knees while keeping your chest up; this will allow you to look forward and keep an eye on the floor. Try looking forward while dribbling to have a clear vision of the court. Always use your fingertips to dribble instead of your palm; spread your fingers around the ball to achieve better control over it.
Moving forward, let’s start with stationary dribbling drills:
1) Ball Slaps – Hold the ball in one hand and slap as hard as you can with the other one. Now, switch the hand and repeat it. This drill can prove to be a very effective warm-up.
Credits: Brian McCormick on Youtube
2) Wraps – There are various sorts of wraps. You can practice each one separately, and then club them together.
– Around the ankle: Wrap the ball around your ankle without letting the ball touch the ground.
– Around the waist: Wrap the ball in a circular motion around your waist.
– Around the head: Wrap the ball in a circular motion around your head.
– The figure of eight: Wrap the ball around your legs, making an eight.
Credits: jr.nba on Youtube
3) Pound dribble – This drill requires you to bend forward and dribble the ball a few inches off the ground with one hand while looking forward. Start with your right hand first and then repeat with the left hand.
Credits: Baller Boot Camp On Youtube
4) Kills – This drill involves dribbling gradually from ankle to shoulder height. Start dribbling from your ankle, and with each bounce gradually increase the height until the ball reaches your shoulder. As and when the ball reaches your shoulder, kill the ball and start from the ankle again. Execute this drill with both your hands, one after the other.
Credits: Xavier Musketeers On Youtube
Stationary dribbling drills can be a good warm-up before your daily practice routine. Next, let’s take a look at the various on the move drills that will help you scale up your game:
1. Change of Speed Dribbling – This is an excellent drill that improves your control over the ball and teaches change of pace, which is quite helpful during a match. To execute this drill, take two balls (one in each hand) and divide your sleep levels.
2. Tight Cone Ladder – This is a high-intensity drill that improves ball handling, footwork, finishing, and shooting. For this drill, set up cones on the basketball court, in a way that they lead the player towards the rim. The cones should have enough space between them for you to dribble. As you go through them, the cones should be between your legs. You can dry different combinations of dribbling, in which each time the ball lands between the cones. Finish the set with a jump shot.
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Credits: BreakthroughBBall On Youtube
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