43Drills

Tim Duncan may not be quite as silky when it comes to shooting his jumper, but he has certainly earned “The Big Fundamental” nickname. This isnt a guy who gets tons of screens, or who comes off a pick and rolls for most of his points. This isnt a guy who amazes you with quickness or leaping ability. Tim Duncan is a player who more often than not is going 1 on 1 with a defender and knows exactly what angles to take to get the best shot and what angles to use in his shots. If any kid doesnt think geometry applies to basketball, watch Tim Duncan. Tim is the master of precision in angles and motion.

So in the interest of helping future NBA players out there, and in maybe helping other teams possibly figure out TD just a little bit, I decided to post a video of the new move that Tim added last year, and has improved on this year. I call it the Duncan Chop. Its perfectly legal, which makes it postiively brilliant.. Its something every post player should add to their game.

Simply put, as Duncan turns over his left shoulder towards the basket, he “chops” away the defenders arm. It sometimes throws the defender off balance a little. It sometimes misdirects the defenders attention. Its subtle enough to give TD an edge. All in all its a great, great move. We all should learn from it. Here is a video of TD tearing us up with it last year.

Great Move by Tim Duncan to gain an edge on a defender. Using the off arm, he swims through the defenders post position

This drill comes from the famous George Mikan.

The mikan drill is usually a timed drill that last 30 seconds. This is a good big man drill, post drill, though everyone can benefit from this drill.

For 30 seconds you will be under the basket doing layups, while not letting the ball touch the floor and without drilling. You just make a lay up and quickly and under control take a layup from the other side. Make sure your doing a lay up on the right with your right hand then the left side is with your left hand. The object is to make as many layups that you can within 30 seconds.

Coaching tips and instructions:
keep the ball high abover your shoulders
keep control of the ball - while not letting it hit the ground at all
get into a rhythm and routine (the more you practice the more this will come)
Now I have heard of the reverse lay-up mikan drill!

This is becoming popular where you are doing the exact same drill, but now your are working on reverse lay-ups. This is where your facing away from the basket (almost like your throwing the ball from out of bound). So you do the same thing quick reverse lay-ups with the same footwork though your doing a reverse lay-ups.

Coaching tips and instructions:
keep the ball high abover your shoulders
keep control of the ball - while not letting it hit the ground at all
get into a rhythm and routine (the more you practice the more this will come)
Lastly, I just recently heard about this version of the advanced mikan drill. Either reverse or normal mikan drill, but this time with two balls.

1. The player starts facing away from the basket just like in a reverse mikan drill. The footwork is the same. But now the player had two balls.

2. Only one ball will be shot a time. Starting with the (ball #1) is shot then the other ball (ball No. 2) he/she holds in one of her hands (switching with each shot). So it’s like this the player completes a right-handed layup with (ball #1) while (ball #2) in left hand. When he/she completes the shot. He/she will switch (ball #2) to his/her right hand while grabbing (ball #1) with her left hand and shoots the next shot with her left hand while keeping (ball #2) in her rigth hand. continue this for 30 seconds.

You can do the same with reverse lay-ups too.

1. The player starts facing away from the basket just like in a reverse mikan drill. The footwork is the same. But now the player had two balls.

2. Only one ball will be shot a time. Starting with the (ball #1) is shot then the other ball (ball No. 2) he/she holds in one of her hands (switching with each shot). So it’s like this the player completes a right-handed layup with (ball #1) while (ball #2) in left hand. When he/she completes the shot. He/she will switch (ball #2) to his/her right hand while grabbing (ball #1) with her left hand and shoots the next shot with her left hand while keeping (ball #2) in her rigth hand. continue this for 30 seconds.

stud mikan drill

two ball mikan drill, but replace one of the balls with a medicine ball!

Coaching Tips:
keep the ball high abover your shoulders
keep control of the ball - while not letting it hit the ground at all
get into a rhythm and routine (the more you practice the more this will come)
Who for?
great for big man drill, post player drill, but beneficial basketball drill to all players.
great for the big man that have trouble catching the ball, hitting lay ups, and focus.
great for rhythm, routine, and timing.

Dribbling tag will improve dribbling and ball-handling and the kids seem to love it.

Set-up:
Every player on the team has a ball, and is restricted to an area of the court. All the players must dribble the entire time.

The Drill:
Start the game every player for themselves. While maintaining the dribble, each player must try to try to steal or knock way the other player’s ball. While all players must  continue dribbling, and must not double-dribble, stop dribbling or leave the playing area. This is and dribbling tag game where the players dribble around and try to knock away the other player’s ball away. Once you lose your ball, or stop your dribble, double-dribble, or leave the area, you are “out”, while the others keep dribbling. Eventually you will get down to a smaller number of players. Then change the playing area and make them stay inside the lane or “paint” area, and then probably the circle until you have one remaining— the winner!

This drill will help develop ball handling, and to avoid getting tagged, players must keep their heads up. If you have a large group with some good ball handlers, and some not so good, you can put the better dribblers on one end, and the other group on the other end, so the same kids don’t get picked on all the time. You can vary this drill by making them use the opposite (weak) hand only.

Here’s another variation:
Start the game with one player as being “it”. While maintaining the dribble, each player must try to tag another player, who is then “it”. Players try to avoid getting tagged and becoming “it”. They must stay within the half court area and must continue dribbling. If a player leaves the area, or double-dribbles, stops dribbling, or gets tagged, then he/she is “it”.

Dribble tag drill will improve dribbling and develop ball handling, and to avoid getting tagged, players must keep their heads up. If you have a big group with some good ball handlers, and some not so good, you can put the better dribblers on one end, and the other group on the other end, so the same kids don’t get picked on all the time. You can vary this drill by making them use the opposite (weak) hand only.

NBA MVP Steve Nash has designed a complete basketball instructional program for parents and coaches centered around team play and practice organization.

Steve enlists the help of veteran AAU Coach Roch Weilbacher, whose AAU teams have won 9 National Championships. Their unique presentation teaches every parent/coach dozens of tried and proven basketball team drills that they have successfully utilized throughout their careers. You’ll learn step-by-step from proven winners how to run an effective and efficient basketball practice that will improve any team’s skills, from youth to adult, and give it a competitive edge. (Via youTube member totalVidInc)

From decatursports.com

One of my favorite shooting/finishing drills was given to me by Franklin Lawson during a soccer camp he did in Anchorage several years ago. It is referred to as the “Mac Daddy of all shooting drills” shortened to Mac Daddy drill.

Setup:
Divide up the team into 2 even teams. Team one lines up about six yards outside the left goal post. Team 2 lines up about 6 yards outside the right goal post. Place a cone somewhere around the 18 yard mark roughly even with the left post. Coach has a supply of balls (around 5) at his feet.

Game:
On coaches signal the first player on team 1 makes a bending run from the end line around the cone on the 18. Also on the signal the first player on team 2 makes a run behind the goal, around the left post and enters the goal area to be the goalie. As the player from team 1 rounds the cone and starts toward goal the coach has played a ball and the player takes a 1st touch shot. As soon as the shot is taken the next player on each team starts their run so we end up with a new goalie and a new shooter taking a 1st touch shot.

Play for a period of time keeping track of shots scored. Game ends when time expires OR coach runs out of soccer balls to play to the shooter. This means that if you shank a shot or kick it over the goal you have to chase down your ball and get it back to the coach in a hurry. I also allow the keeper to punt the ball out if they make a save. The teams quickly get competitive and remember if someone sent their ball flying. While this sounds like a line drill after the first 20 seconds it becomes a conditioning exercise as everyone is chasing down misplayed balls and getting back in line. There needs to be some communication as a player may
need to send a long pass to get a ball back ready to play. This requires a teammate to get ready to receive the ball and get it to the coach.

At the end of time the 2 teams switch roles and team 2 gets to shoot while team one defends. I usually run it from both sides to simulate right side and left side runs. Hopefully encourage left foot and right foot shots. I can vary where I serve the balls from to simulate other option. I also vary the cone placement and distance for age of team.

This is the favorite end of practice for both my U11 girls team as well as my HS varsity team. It is easier to run than explain.

Kenneth Dodson
Chugiak Soccer Club
Eagle River, AK

The purpose of this drill is to help hitters gain an level-compact smooth swing .

You will need to pair off your players for this drill .To set up this drill put the batting tee on top of home plate . Using home plate will allow your player to get a comfortable feel for being at the plate and not the tee . One player puts the ball on the tee the other hits it . It is a good idea to move the tee around home plate so that your players get used to hitting the ball from different pitches . This drill help develop the skill for good contact with the ball . Make sure the hitters are concentrate on contact and watch the ball as they swing .

From Coach Don’s Drill Page

The goal of the suicide drill is to increase endurance and help your team build the stamina it takes to win the big games. In my version, players alternate with teamates, tagging off at the line between runs.