Basketball: Dribbling Drills

Check out these basketball drills that will help improve your ball handling skills!

1. Power Crossovers - Power dribble in your right hand, and then quickly bounce the ball to your left hand. Power dribble with your left hand for a few seconds before bouncing the ball back to your right hand.

2. Dribble Blindfolded - Wrap a cloth around your head as a blindfold, or you could simply close your eyes...no peeking. Power dribble a ball for at least 60 seconds. This drill helps you enhance your tactile sense of the ball. You can enhance the drill by performing it in the center of a deserted basketball court, walking around while dribbling. To make the drill even more challenging, try power dribbling two balls, one in each hand, while being blindfolded and slowly walking around a deserted basketball court.

3. 10-5 Repeats - This drill exercises power dribbling with one hand at a time. Choose which hand your would like to practice. Power dribble for 10 seconds, then soft dribble for 5 seconds. Repeat multiple times. This exercise teaches your arm muscles how to alternate between various dribbling speeds that occur during game play.

4. Dribble Between Legs While Walking - In order to do this drill you will need a segment of floor, such as a basketball court floor, a street's sidewalk, or a wide hallway that is deserted. Power dribble while walking up and down the walkway. Power dribble the ball between your legs to practice fancy dribbling skills. To enhance the drill, perform the drill at a quicker walking pace, maybe at a light jogging pace.

 5. Double Ball Power Dribbling - Power dribble two balls, one in each hand. This will increase your arm strength for dribbling and enhance your dribbling control. Since you can't look at both hands at the same time, this drill will also practice your ability to power dribble without looking at the ball.

6. Power Dribbling Sprints - This drill requires you to power dribble for an extended period of time and run back and forth on the basketball court. Stand at one end of a basketball court. Dribble to the nearest foul line, and then return to the baseline. Dribble to the middle of the court, and then return to the baseline from which you started. Dribble to the farthest foul line, and then return to the baseline from which you started. Finally, dribble the entire length of the court, and return to the baseline from which you started. This entire continuous power dribbling exercise counts as one complete cycle of the drill. Repeat multiple times to practice your dribbling, speed, and direction-changing abilities.

7. Chair Dribbling - Set up 3 chairs or cones in a line, spacing each chair/cone 10 feet apart. Power dribble around the chairs/cones in different shapes, such as figure-eights, circles, or any shape. Use your imagination.

8. Dirt dribbling - This drill actually requires you to leave the basketball court and find a patch of dirt. Do a Power dribble on the dirt for 1 or 2 minutes. You will need to power dribble the ball even harder than usual in order to get the ball to bounce on the dirt. This drill is an extremely good arm workout with power dribbling.

Start with just a few of these exercises, and then expand your workouts to include more drills. You can also modify the drills to be more challenging by increasing the number of repetitions or slightly modifying the drill.

Basketball: Improve Your Jump Shot

Basketball: Getting Better

 "When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals." - Michael Jordan

What it means: The fundamentals of any sport are essential. You always have to go back to basics, because if you can't get the little things right, how are you ever going to be able to accomplish complicated moves?

"When it gets down to it, basketball is basketball." - Larry Bird

What it means: When your in the middle of an important game or championship, the game of basketball is still the same as it ever was. Don't get ahead of yourself, just play the game you have been taught to play and you will do fine.

"I think someone should explain to the child that it's ok to make mistakes. That's how we learn. When we compete, we make mistakes." - Kareem Abdul Jabbar

What it means: Sometimes people expect an athlete to do everything perfectly, but it is impossible. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, even he made mistakes. It takes time and effort to perfect something, and we have to make mistakes so we can learn from them and correct ourselves to become better.

"If you're afraid of failure, you don't deserve to be successful." Charles Barkley

What it means: You should never be afraid to fail, because then you will not take chances to become better.

Tip of the day: Shooting - Follow the BEEF model. Balance, Eyes, Elbow, Follow Through.

Don't be afraid to take chances or make mistakes, because you can always learn from them and get better.

Even the professionals make mistakes, practice and hard work will allow you to become a better ball player.