This video includes the best basketball drills for beginners — organized into 5 fundamental skill development phases that are essential for kids to build a solid foundation in the game of basketball.
You can do all the youth drills at home by yourself, if you’re alone, or you can use a partner. So you can practice every day…. no excuses!
Below you’ll find the contents of the video and links to each youth basketball drill.
You can also download this FREE Beginner Workout Schedule PDF that gives you a recommended plan for beginners to follow:
https://oneupbasketball.com/beginner-workout-schedule
OVERVIEW & IMPORTANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS 0:00
PHASE 1 – BEGINNER DRIBBLING DRILLS 1:44
Full Body Wraps 2:14
Single Leg Wraps 2:45
Figure 8 Pounds 2:59
Pound Dribble Series 3:08
Half Circle Dribbles 3:36
1-Step Crossovers 3:58
Zig Zag Crossovers 5:00
Dribble Sprints 5:33
PHASE 2 – BEGINNER DEFENSE DRILLS 6:03
Quick Stance 6:53
Push Steps 7:14
Drop Steps 7:28
Closeouts 8:00
PHASE 3 – BEGINNER LAYUP DRILLS 8:33
Isolated Layups 9:19
X Layups 10:06
Wing Layups 10:55
PHASE 4 – BEGINNER SHOOTING DRILLS 11:38
Shooting Footwork 12:14
Shadow Shooting 12:55
Form Shooting 13:24
PHASE 5 – BEGINNER PASSING DRILLS 14:26
Wall Passing Series 15:04
BEGINNER WORKOUT SCHEDULE & BONUS DRILLS 16:19
Download the FREE Beginner Drills Workout Schedule here:
https://oneupbasketball.com/beginner-workout-schedule
The PDF gives you all the beginner drills and a recommended workout schedule to utilize. Plus you get a few bonus drills not included in this video.
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what’s up everybody i am coach paris and today i’m going to show you the best basketball drills for beginners and i’ll break them down into five skill development phases that are essential for every athlete to know understand and work on to build a solid foundation in the game of basketball i have seen plenty of athletes parents wanting and expecting quick results which is normal when you have higher expectations and want the best but sometimes that can get in the way of really building a good foundation within the skill development process ultimately impacting your quality of results to this day i still remember getting cut as a young sixth grader and didn’t understand why i was clueless but after finding out from the coaches i learned that it was due to me not sticking to the fundamentals so after getting cut i decided to focus on the fundamentals and following a progressive development plan for the rest of my basketball career the following season i made the seventh grade team went on to play three years of varsity basketball and averaged double-digit scoring as a division one college player it was all because i focused on the fundamentals utilized progressions in these top five essential skill development phases i’m about to show you and now as a trainer i have seen the same problems exist due to the lack of education or someone not giving athletes a phased approach blueprint with progressions or what to work on first what to do second and so on all the great players such as michael jordan have mastered these top five skill development areas because they know and believe and trust in the process now let’s review each phase and i’m going to explain the logic behind the order and why these are the top five phases now before we get started make sure you subscribe to this channel and if you’re on youtube click the alert notification right now it’s important for athletes to start working on ball handling first because of a couple reasons it doesn’t require a rim and a lot of space which gives you the opportunity to improve faster as long as you’re putting into work in addition players need to take care of the ball to prevent turnovers which will help them stay in the game longer this phase will help improve your ball control your protection your triple threat your pivoting and dribbling the first drill we’re going to complete is a full body wrap series we will wrap the ball around our head twice the waist twice and the legs twice and then work our way back up to the top consider going from the head to legs and back as one repetition when handling the ball athletes need to have good hand-to-hand exchange and that is done by working on your finger pad control to prevent giving the ball away to the defense and make quicker movements with the ball you should ensure the ball is kept close and tight to the body next we’re going to complete single leg wraps we will complete 10 repetitions going forward and 10 repetitions reverse or in the opposite direction when you’re doing those ensure you have a nice athletic stance and you’re keeping your eyes up next we’re going to complete figure eight leg wraps with one pound dribble between each full figure eight we will complete 10 repetitions going forward and 10 repetitions going reverse or in the opposite direction next drill we’re going to complete a pound dribble series we will complete 5 repetitions at each height sock level knee level waist level and shoulder level in addition to ball control athletes should work on height variation when dribbling this will help improve your ability to recover the ball improve your ability to change heights even when you’re changing speeds next we’re going to work on half circle dribbles we’re going to complete 10 repetitions with the left as well as the right hand consider going from the front to the back as one repetition this will prepare athletes for moving the ball from front to back when defenders are playing tight defense this drill will improve your ability to see the court while keeping the ball away from the defenders by protecting it next drill is the crossover series we’re going to perform a progressive fashion of going from two dribble crossover for five repetitions to a one dribble crossover for five repetitions and then doing a continuous walk out for 10 repetitions we will utilize the lane line when performing walkouts consider going down and back as one repetition the crossover is the simplest move that can be done to change directions and create space all crossovers should include a hard pound dribble when performing crossovers keep the ball close to the body and outside of the defender it is important to work on timing and space when making each crossover so that the ball is not being placed in the hands of the defender also this drill will help athletes position their body and footwork before and after making each crossover this is done by dropping your shoulder towards the defender’s hip which makes you low and quick in addition to taking a quick long step while crossing the ball over keeping your body in sync with the ball next drill zigzag dribbling we’re going to complete 10 repetitions consider going from baseline to the top of the key and back as one repetition this drill is great for utilizing the floor and will help you improve your right and left hand when dribbling up the floor you will become better at utilizing angles to create space and improving your footwork when changing directions to ensure proper footwork exchange when performing this drill work on two to three quick hard dribbles before each crossover while making the crossover move just outside the lane line next drill is dribble sprints we’re going to complete 10 repetitions consider going from baseline to half court and back as one repetition this will help you with getting up the court quick and when there is space to attack when performing dribble sprints ensure the ball comes no higher than mid chest it’s important to push the ball out and run after it go get it be mindful not to dribble too far out in front where it can get stolen also we will work on taking less dribbles as possible to be more effective in getting up the floor [Music] after improving your ball handling players should now focus on their defense we all know defense wins games so it’s important to be able to stop your opponent or the other team from scoring even if you are not a great shooter or scorer yet you can still stop the offense from scoring also similar to the ball handling this requires minimum equipment space and you can realize progression quickly by putting in the work this phase will help improve your stands push steps drop steps and close outs next drill is the defensive series we’re going to perform each phase of the defense quick stance push steps drop steps and closeout within each repetition to simulate game situations and help you improve your footwork the first part of the drill starts with the quick stance this will improve your hand action meaning you need to have a dig hand for the dribble and a shot hand for the shot we will also work on a quick stance phase which will help you stay low and have a wide stance players should be ready at all times and to do this we will focus on being on the balls of our feet second part of the drill is push steps these will improve your ability to load and push off to beat the offense to a spot minimize the time your feet are off the ground all while maintaining a dig hand and shot hand third part of the drill are drop steps having a quick drop step can allow you to reposition your body in front of the offense player having a good drop step can allow you to reposition your body in front of the offensive player it will also allow you to force the offensive player into a particular spot on the floor drop stepping properly can prevent getting blown past when the offensive player is attacking and angles up the floor when performing drop steps focus on keeping your feet apart and opening up your hips each time as you’re drop stepping last part of the defensive series are closeouts these are great when running out to cover an open offensive player closing out properly will help you prepare for a player that is either shooting driving or passing closing out provides control momentum of your body and will allow you to pick up and stop the defense when performing focus on controlling your foot traction when running out to the offense by adding stutter feet adding stutter feet will allow you to slow down and control your movement as you’re approaching the offensive player [Music] layups is the third phase not only must you play defense to win but you must also outscore the other team and to do that in the simplest form players must master the layup this is the highest percentage shot in the game of basketball because it’s so close to the rim players can easily increase their scoring just by making a simple layup so once you have learned how to take care of the ball and stop the offensive player from scoring now it’s important to start taking high percentage shots which will include layups to actually win the game this phase will focus on layups close to the basket at the elbow of the free throw line and at the free throw line extended next drill we’re going to work on is isolated layups we’re going to alternate between one foot layup and a two foot layup for each repetition on each side of the floor for all layups work on protecting the ball by ripping the ball to the ear this will help keep the ball away from the defender when performing a one foot layup work on making layups with no dribbles and taking long low strides to power up towards the basket when performing two foot lay-ups work on quick jump stops and landing on two feet it is key to rip the ball to the ear as you’re doing a jump stop or taking that last step before you lay up the ball it is also important to position your body where your shoulder can be used for protection as well the next drill is the x layup drill this will help focus on change of direction and footwork gathering before getting into a layup we will start on the lower blocks and then explode to the elbow of the free throw line with two hard dribbles while working on foot planting and positioning of the body to attack the basket with only one dribble you should plant your right foot when attacking the right elbow and plant your left foot when attacking the left elbow start by completing 10 repetitions from the left block first and then completing another 10 repetitions on the right block we’re going to alternate between one foot lay up and two feet lay up on each repetition keep in mind the ball has to be pushed out in front towards the basket before each layup this will help you get closer to the basket and also beat the defender from blocking your shot next drill we’re going to work on layups but a little farther away from the basket free throw line extended when performing this drill focus on starting in the triple threat position we will work on alternating between ripping high and low and performing a one foot and two foot lay up on each repetition so for your first rep you will rip high and perform a one foot lay up and then on your second rep you will rip low and finish with a two foot layup this drill will also improve the awareness of your footwork on the right side of the floor use your left foot as your pivot and on the left side of the floor use your right foot as your pivot ensure you are taking one or two dribbles when attacking the basket [Music] shooting is the fourth phase shooting is something that doesn’t come overnight and it will take some time to develop and become a great shooter this is the reason why phases one to three can be developed first i’m not saying do not work on shooting but i am saying that players need to have a solid foundation in the previous phases to see immediate results on the floor shooting would allow you to increase your scoring average by knocking down shots further away from the basket in this phase we will work on shadow shooting shooting footwork and form shooting next drill we’re going to work on shooting footwork on the line we will complete five repetitions using the lane line by performing the one two foot work down the lane line and performing the hot footwork on the way back this will help improve your foot alignment through continuous repetitions of one two and hot footworks when performing work on having legs loaded for power in your shot quick stab so that you can spend less time in the air ultimately improving how quickly you shoot the ball that is important before each footwork drop or spin the ball to yourself to simulate a pass and get into your footwork as the ball is bouncing up from the ground next drill is stationary form shooting with no rim you can stand anywhere to complete this drill this drill will help you focus on hand placement while ensuring your shooting arm has proper l shape for alignment to the basket in addition it will help improve your accuracy of placing your ball at eye level before shooting to have a good shot athletes must have a good follow through wrist action for spin and arc on the ball to give it a chance to go up and over and into the basket next drill is another form shooting drill but now with the rim we will shoot at the left block right block and in the middle of the basket at each spot we will perform three repetitions those three repetitions will include one rep with single hand release the second rep will include shooting with the guide hand and the third rep will include a live full motion shot just like shadow shooting this drill is good for building confidence and improving your shooting form to help build muscle memory more we are going to progress within all points of the shooting motion at each shooting spot we will perform this drill one to two feet away from the basket while ensuring that we have good footwork and elbow alignment your dominant foot should be slightly forward and aligned with the basket and your elbow should also be aligned with the basket because this drill includes a live shot on the last rep focus on keeping your legs low for power and prevent your guy hand from getting in the way of your shot [Music] passing is the fifth phase that athletes should start developing just because it’s the last doesn’t mean that it’s the least favorite it is important to share and pass the ball to your teammates but keep in mind passes are mainly identified after drawing in the defense from an attack off the dribble or when the defense sees you have an open layup or shot mastering passing is a critical skill for everyone failing to pass makes you more guardable and teams will have the capability of stopping you ultimately winning the game due to the lack of passing or not finding your open teammates in this phase we’ll work on bounce chest and overhead passing this drill will help improve your ability to utilize all the major forms of passing when performing two hand passes these are good when there is an open path in front and you want to add more power to get it to your teammate when passing left or right hand these are good for passing outside of the defender because they’re directly in your path right your path is blocked the chest pass is quicker for passing to open teammates immediately bounce passes is one of the toughest passes for defenders to steal it also softens the speed and makes it better to catch we will work on improving where we bounce the ball on the floor to ensure better accuracy even though chess passes can be used for passing up the court an overhead pass is also good for longer distance and throwing over the defense we will work on performing 20 repetitions stepping forward with your right foot alternating between chest bounce and overhead and then we will perform another 20 repetitions stepping forward with our left foot alternating between chest bounce and overhead lastly stepping into your pass will help add more power so when and how should you utilize these drills in the video description click the pdf link to download the beginner drills workout schedule the pdf gives you all the beginner drills and a recommended workout schedule to utilize plus you’ll get a few bonus drills that’s not included in this video remember i got cut from my 6th grade team because i didn’t focus on the fundamentals and once i dedicated myself to learning the fundamentals everything changed for me so i urge you to stick to these fundamental skills in the video that will give you an amazing foundation of basketball skills for you to build on now leave your comments and questions below i’ll try to help you if you have any questions but be sure to check out the pdf download with the beginner workout plan right now go check it out