9 Tips To Improve Your Dribbling & Ball Handling

Here are 9 tips from pro coach Don Kelbick.

1. Dribble the ball hard. The more time the ball spends in your hand, the more control you have of the
ball. The harder you dribble, the quicker it gets back in your hand.

2. Head up at all times. Look at the rim or a spot on the wall during all practice.

3. Use your finger tips to control the ball, not your palm.

4. Use your imagination. Picture when and how you would use each of the dribbles.

5. Teach mentality. There is too much dribbling for no reason in our game today. I like to teach that the
primary purpose for putting the ball on the floor is to get a lay-up. If you don't have an opportunity, don't
put it on the floor.

6. Basketball is a game of length. Work on lengthening the dribble. Work to get your opportunities
with 1 dribble. You don't beat defenses with your dribble. You beat people with your feet; you SEPARATE
from your defense with the dribble.

7. Basketball is also a game of angles. Try to move in straight lines. Whenever you make an "East-
West" move (something that takes you toward the sideline), re-capture a "North-South" path (direct line
to the basket) as quickly as possible.

8. Don't do things in 2 dribbles that you can do in 1.

9. Practice outside your comfort zone. Experiment; go faster than you are used to, use your imagination.
When working on new skills, don't be concerned with losing the ball. Just pick it up and do it again. If you
practice only things that are comfortable, then you will never improve.

5 Tips for Better On-The-Ball Defense

Tip #1 - Never lose your balance

If you lose balance for one second, YOU ARE BEAT!

The purpose of every offensive move is to get YOU off balance - because as
soon as you lose balance, the offense can blow by you.

This means when you're guarding the ball, you must:

 Stay on your feet and do NOT go for shot fakes. When you go for fakes, you
are beat!
 Do not lunge for the ball and get off balance.
 Stay in a WIDE stance. If your feet get too close together, you will lose
balance.
 Stay in a LOW and athletic stance. If you stand upright, you will more easily lose balance.
 Take short steps when sliding. If your feet come too close together, you will lose balance.

Tip # 2 - If the ball is below the mid-section, put your hand above the ball.

This prevents the offensive player from putting it in shooting position.

Tip #3 - If the ball is in shooting position, put your hand on the ball.

This will stop the player from shooting and you NEVER have to leave your feet (which causes you to lose balance).

Tip #4 - If the ball is above the head, place your hands under the ball and flip up.
 This keeps you out of foul trouble (because most refs only call fouls if you swing downward) and it also keeps the
player from bringing the ball down to shooting position.

Tip #5 - Keep your head lower than the offensive player's head.

That way you're getting underneath the offensive player and will be in good position to slide your feet or take a
charge.

Shooting

Being able to shoot a jump shot (or a set shot). Standing where you are and being able to knock down
a shot. Layups fall under this category as well, but jump shots and layups must both be practiced, i.e.
you won’t become great at converting layups if all you do is practice shooting jump shots. Layups are
the highest percentage shot in basketball (next to dunks). Wide open and weakly contested layups
should be automatic scores. You need to score more points than the other team in order to win.

Dribbling

Being able to move anywhere on the court with the ball, even with a defender (or multiple) guarding
you. Dribbling must be developed to the point where you don’t have to think about dribbling at all,
you keep your eyes up and think about the rest of the game.

Passing

Throwing the ball to another teammate. This requires accuracy (getting the ball to your teammate
where it’s ideal). This also requires making smart passes (not only throwing passes that the defense
won’t steal, but making the right pass at the right time). A ball being passed around is faster than any
defender.

Rebounding

Your team needs to corral missed shots, or else the other team will get the ball, forcing you to play
defense and allowing the other team an opportunity to score. You need to learn the theory of
rebounding, including proper positioning (angle in, angle out), and boxing out. Then there is the
desire. In order to be a great rebounder, you have to want the ball. The player that wants the ball the
most will get it more often than the others.

Defense

Every player on the court has to play defense. It’s not like American football where you have players
that exclusively play either offense or defense. Defense is an important part of the game, and being
able to play good individual defense (staying in front of your man, contesting shots) as well as good
team defense (defending the pick and roll, executing proper defensive rotations) is a skill that must be
developed.
TYPES OF PASSES

There are essentially two types of passes:

 Air Pass - The pass travels between players without hitting the floor.
 Bounce Passes - The pass is thrown to the floor so that it bounces to the intended receiver

Each type of pass comes with its own variations.

Basic Variations:

- Chest Pass
- Bounce Pass
- Overhead Pass
- Wrap Around Pass

Advanced Variations:
 - Baseball Pass
- Dribble Pass
- Behind-the-Back Pass
- Pick and Roll Pass

TEACHING POINTS

When teaching passing, points of emphasis should be:

 A good pass is a pass a teammate can catch

 When passing, step toward your receiver.
 When catching, step toward the pass
 Like shooting, the ball should have a backspin to it. This is accomplished by following
through on every pass.

Basic Passes
CHEST PASS

The chest pass is named so because the pass originates from the chest. It is thrown
by gripping the ball on the sides with the thumbs directly behind the ball. When the
pass is thrown, the fingers are rotated behind the ball and the thumbs are turned
down. The resulting follow through has the back of the hands facing one another with
the thumbs straight down. The ball should have a nice backspin.

When throwing a chest pass, the players should strive to throw it to the receiver's
chest level. Passes that go low to high or high to low are difficult to catch.

BOUNCE PASS

The bounce pass is thrown with the same motion however it is aimed at the floor. It should be thrown far
enough out that the ball bounces waist high to the receiver. Some say try to throw it 3/4 of the way to the
receiver, and that may be a good reference point to start, but each player has to experiment how far to
throw it so it bounces to the receiver properly. Putting a proper and consistent backspin on the pass will
make the distance easier to judge.

OVERHEAD PASS

The overhead pass is often used as an outlet pass. Bring the ball directly above your forehead with both
hands on the side of the ball and follow through. Aim for the teammate's chin. Some coaches advise not
bring the ball behind your head, because it can get stolen and it takes a split-second longer to throw the
pass.

WRAP AROUND PASS

Step around the defense with your non-pivot foot. Pass the ball with one hand (outside hand). It can be
used as an air or a bounce pass. You will often see the wrap-around, air pass on the perimeter and the
wrap-around, bounce pass to make an entry into the post.

Advanced Passes

BASEBALL PASS

A baseball pass is a one-handed pass that uses the same motion as a baseball throw. This is often used to
make long passes.<br
Be careful with young kids. You don't want them throw their arms out.
DRIBBLE PASS

The dribble pass is used to quickly pass the ball with one hand off of the dribble. This can be an air or bounce pass. You'll
see Steve Nash do this all of the time.

BEHIND-THE-BACK PASS

A behind-the-back pass is when you wrap the ball around your back to throw the ball. It is used to avoid the defender
when making a pass across the front of you would be risky. It can also be used to throw the ball to a player trailing on the
fast break.

I would not recommend to use this pass during a game until heavily practiced.

PICK AND ROLL PASS

This is a pass that is used when the defenders double-team or switch on the pick and roll. If dribbling to the right, your left
side is facing the target and you bring the ball up from your right side to throw the ball overhead to the screener who has
either rolled to the basket or popped to the perimeter. The pass is used to shield the ball from the defender, and many
times is thrown in "hook shot" fashion. Advanced players can do this while slightly fading away from the defender. </br

Serving drills[edit]
“Around the World” is a serving drill, and its purpose is for players to practice serving to the six different zones
on the court.[2][3] Being able to serve and target any area on the court is a valuable skill to have, especially when
playing an opponent.
Rules of “Around the World”[edit]
1. Split the volleyball team in half into two teams, half of the team goes to one side of the court, and the
other half goes to the opposite side of the court.
2. Each team will then designate one person to sit in zone 1 on the side of the court they will be serving
the ball to.
3. The teams will then serve to zone 1 on the court in order for their teammate sitting in zone 1 to catch
the ball.
4. Once the teammate that is sitting on the court has caught the volleyball, they will run to the other side of
the court where the team is, and a different teammate will run to the other side of the court and sit in
zone 2.
5. Repeat the steps above until the teammate sitting in zone 2 has caught the ball. Continue these steps
through zone 6 on the court.
6. The first team to serve all six zones on the court and have their teammates catch the ball in those areas
wins the drill.

Serve-receive/passing drills[edit]
Servers vs. Passers is a drill that gives teams the opportunity to practice their serve-receive skills.[4] The goal of
this drill is to improve the skills of passers and encourage aggressive serving.[5]
Rules of "Servers vs. Passers"[edit]
1. Select three players on the team to be passers. The passers will go to areas 1, 6, and 5 on one side of
the court.
2. Select a target to be in the setter position, area 2, on the court.
3. The rest of the players will be the servers on the opposite side of the court from the passers. The
servers will serve to the other side of the court.
4. The passers will pass the served balls to the target in the setter position.
5. The goal of the drill is to pass directly to the target in the setter position within a one-foot radius of the
target. If the passers can pass the served ball within a one-foot radius of the target, this is considered a
“good” pass and the passers will get a point.
6. If the passers cannot pass the ball within a one-foot radius of the target or the server gets an ace, the
servers will get a point. The first group (either servers or passers) to get to ten points (or any point
value you choose) will win the drill.
Setting drills[edit]
A popular setting drill is called the “Front-Back Challenge." The purpose of this drill is for the setter to feel
comfortable adjusting to last minute directions on where to set the ball, as well as practice consistently setting
the ball to any of the front row hitters: outside, middle, and right side.[1]
Rules of "Front-Back Challenge"[edit]
1. A setter goes to zone 2.
2. Have players stand in as targets in the outside hitter position, middle hitter position, and right side hitter
position.
3. The coach tosses balls to the setter (or a passer passes to the setter).
4. The coach yells out “front” or “back” before the ball reaches the setter. If “front” is called out, the setter
must set the ball in front of him/herself to either the middle hitter or outside hitter. If “back” is called out,
the setter must back set the ball to the right side hitter.
5. Have the setter complete 30 set balls in the correct direction.

Blocking drills[edit]
Blocking is a key component in the game of volleyball, and is the first line of defense against an attack. [6] A drill
that allows players to work on their blocking skills is called "Blocking Various Attacks]." [7] The purpose of this
drill is to teach blockers to block a variety of attacks that will come from the opponents side of the court.
Rules of "Blocking Various Attacks"[edit]
1. Put 3 blockers on one side of the net in left front, middle front, and right front.
2. Have the coach stand on a large block on the other side of the net in the front row directly across from
the blockers.
3. The coach will slap the ball and turn and raise their shoulder in the angle of any of the blockers and hit
the ball.
4. The blockers will penetrate their hands over the net in order to block the attack. If the coach angles
towards the outside, the outside blocker and middle blocker will block the left side together. If the
coach angles towards the middle, the middle blocker will block. The player could also put up a triple
block (the middle blocker, outside blocker, and right side blocker all block the middle front attack
together). If the coach angles towards the right side, the right side blocker and middle block will put up
a double block on the right side of the net.
5. To make this drill more game like, replace the coach on the block with an actual setter and 3 hitters on
the opposite side of the net.

Digging drills[edit]
Digging is another key component in that it is the second line of defense against an attack in the game of
volleyball. A drill that allows players to hone their defensive digging skills is called "Digging Drill". [7] The purpose
of this drill is for players to practice absorbing the ball.
Rules of "Digging Drill"[edit]
1. Put 3 players on the court in back row defensive positions in right back, middle back, and right back.
2. Have another player standing in the as a target in the setter position.
3. Have the coach positioned on the same side of the court in the front left or front right position facing the
3 back row defensive players.
4. The coach will hit down balls at various speeds to the back row players.
5. The back row players will have to dig the ball to the target position.

Four Corners – Footwork Drill

Overview:
This is a great drill for working on jump stops, pivoting, and passing.
 It will allow the coach to teach the different kinds of pivots and is a drill the players enjoy doing.

Setup:
The coach must first create a large square in the half-court by placing four cones an even distance
apart. There must also be another cone or D-man in the exact middle of the square. You can see
where I recommend placing these cones in the diagram.

Split your team up into four groups and send each group to a cone. The cones will be the starting
position for each line.

The person at the front of each line has a basketball.

How it Works:
The first thing the coach must do is tell the players which way they’ll be passing (either right or left)
and which kind of pivot they should use.

When the coach calls out ‘go’, each player with a basketball dribbles in towards the middle cone,
performs a jump stop a couple of feet away, pivots, and then passes to the next line before joining the
end of it.
The next player in the that catches the basketball does not start until the coach has called out ‘go’
again.
Coaching Points:
 Each player must be pivoting the same direction so that two balls don’t end up being passed to one
line. Do make sure to reverse the direction half way through the drill.
 Use front and reverse pivots and make sure players aren’t traveling.
 Explain to the players it’s better to jump stop with a small hop. The higher they jump, the more off-
balance they’ll be when they land.

Red Light, Green Light – Footwork Drill

Overview:
This is a simple but effective drill that will improve and allow you to teach jump stops and pivoting.

I have used this drill with every single youth team I’ve coached.

Setup:
The drill starts with every player line up along the baseline holding a basketball.

If you have more than 10 players, I recommend creating two lines.

How it Works:
Everyone starts on the baseline in triple threat position.
 The coach will then lead the players up the court by calling out ‘go’ and ‘stop’. On go, the players
begin dribbling at a comfortable pace towards the opposite end of the court. When the coach says
stop, the players must immediately perform a jump stop.

This continues until the players reach the other end of the court.

Once your players are comfortable with the jump stops and are performing them correctly, you can
make the drill more advanced by adding pivots.

You can either say ‘pivot’ and allow them to pivot either way. Or you can be specific and say ‘right
foot pivot’ or ‘left foot pivot’.
Coaching Points:
 Players must not jump too high on the jump stops.
 Make sure players in good stance when they land after the jump stop. Knees bent and head up.
 If adding pivots, make sure players don’t raise out of their stance when pivoting.

Explode, Pivot, Pass – Footwork Drill

Overview:
This drill focuses on basic footwork fundamentals. It’s a really quick and simple drill to run. Your team
can get a lot of benefit out of it even if it’s only run for 5 minutes.

Setup:
Players get into groups of 2 or more. I prefer 3 players in each group if possible.

Each group has one basketball and should start in a straight line behind either the sideline or the
baseline.

How it Works:
The player starting with the basketball must begin the drill behind the line in triple threat stance.

Their first action is to take two explosive dribbles out from the line and then perform a controlled jump
stop.

After the jump stop, the player pivots 180 degrees until they’re facing their group and makes a strong
chest pass to the next person in line. They then jog to the end of the line.

The three main things coaches are looking at are:

 1. No traveling when exploding off the dribble.
2. A controlled jump stop.
3. A controlled pivot.

This process continues for a set amount of time.

Coaching Points:
 The player receiving the basketball should be starting in a low stance and showing target hands.
 Players must explode out with the dribble. Don’t allow them to go half-speed.
 Switch up which kind of pivot the players use. It can be forward or reverse, and with their left or right
foot.