Each week in The Hoop Doctors “Skool for Ballers” we will bring you tips, analysis, or drills on various aspects of the game to help guide your training to be the best damn baller you can be! Don’t forget, being a GREAT baller takes as much work off the court as it does on!
By Breakthrough Basketball
Chair Spots
Drill Purpose:
This drill provides practice in shooting from selected spots on the court. It works well as an individual or partner drill (to help with managing the balls between rotations).
Instructions:
1. Place five chairs in spots that you want to practice from and put a ball on each chair.
2. Start under the basket and begin running to the chairs in order, grabbing the ball from each chair and stepping into your shot.
3. During the next rotation, start running in the other direction in order to practice stepping into your shot from the other direction.
4. Here is a variation that you can use:
Start in the corner, then sprint to the opposite corner,
back to the opposite wing, over to the right wing, finishing
with the shot from the free throw area. Reverse the
direction using mirror principles.
Teaching Tips & Points of Emphasis:
• Concentrate on maximum efficiency in footwork and form as you move through the drill.
• Hold your follow-through until the ball gets to the hoop before moving on to the next chair.
• Be creative in your patterns and don’t forget to reverse direction!
• If practicing with a partner, get your rebound and pass it back to them. The partner places it on the chair and then you start again.
Back-Off
Drill Purpose:
This partner drill works great for developing range. Partners can do this whenever they have opportunities to workout in a free court.
Instructions:
1. Player 1 stands about three feet from the basket and shoots until he has made two shots. He cannot take more than four shots to make two.
2. Once he has made two, he moves back one step and shoots again with the same format.
3. Player 2 rebounds for Player 1 until Player 1 fails to make two out of four from a given distance. Then the partners switch roles.
4. Once Player 1 is a decent distance from the hoop, Player 2 moves to a rebounding position in front of the hoop.
5. This drill can be repeated using any shot angle to the basket. The rebounder simply moves to the likely rebound spot.
Teaching Tips & Points of Emphasis:
• Shooters should be following through and maintaining focus on proper mechanics.
• Proper form should be maintained as the distance from the hoop increases.
Line Shooting
Drill Purpose:
This is a great shooting drill that focuses on proper shooting form. A lot of players get caught up with how many they make or miss. If they make a shot with bad form, they think that’s how they are supposed to shoot. If they miss with good form, they don’t think they should shoot that way. If you take them away from the hoop, they do not concentrate on the misses or makes. We also provide a twist to make it competitive.
Instructions:
1. Each player needs a partner. Each pair is to find a line on the basketball court (Half-court lines, out-of-bounds lines, free-throw lanes). Each group needs a ball.
2. The player shoots the ball to their partner and has it hit the line. If the ball hits the line, it counts as a make. If the ball misses the line, it counts as a miss.
3. At first, just have the players shoot back and forth while concentrating on good form.
4. After a minute or two, have each pair count to see who can get the most line hits out of 10.
Teaching Tips & Points of Emphasis:
• Make sure that players are using good shooting form. If the player is right-handed, the player’s right foot can be on the shooting line or slightly to the right of it and vice-versa if the player is left-handed.
Variations:
• Change the number of shots from 10 to 15, 20, or another pre-determined number, depending on skill level.
• See who can make the most consecutive “shots”.
Basketball Golf
Drill Purpose:
This is a fun shooting game where you shoot from a variety of spots.
Instructions:
1. Pick 9 spots. Start with a par of 18. Raise or lower this number based on age and skill level.
2. Go to each spot and track how many shots it takes to make a shot from each of the nine spots.
3. Count the total number of shots taken. Your goal should be to shoot par or below.
Teaching Tips & Points of Emphasis:
• You can also vary your shots from each spot. For example:
– Stationary
– Spin Outs
– Dribble
– Bank Shots
Beat the Pro
Drill Purpose:
This is a fun drill used to work on shooting. You can do this drill by yourself, with a partner, or a group of players. You can even imagine that you’re going up against your favorite pro player.
Instructions:
1. Play to 10 points.
– For every make, +2 points.
– For every miss, -1 point.
2. If you are by yourself, get your own rebound and spin the ball to yourself to take other game shots.
3. If working with another player, have the other player rebound your shots.
4. If working with 3 or more players, have a rebounder and a passer. You could also use two balls to go quicker.
Teaching Tips & Points of Emphasis:
• To increase the challenge
o Pick a higher number for the point goal.
o Do +1 on every made shot, -1 on every missed shot.
o To make it really challenging, do +1 on every made shot, -2 on every missed shot.
o Every time you miss consecutive shots, the value doubles. -1, -2, -4, -8, and so on.
• You can shoot from 1 spot.
• Shoot from different spots.
• Use your imagination and work on different shots.
o Shoot baseline to baseline.
o Shoot dribble jump shots from the wing.
o Shoot 3’s running from half-court, as if you’re shooting off the break.
Free Throw Shooting – Plus / Minus
Drill Purpose:
This is a great free-throw shooting drill that adds a fun twist. This drill can be done individually or as a group.
Instructions:
1. Determine a + score and a – score that you wish to play to. If you play +5/-5, reaching +5 is winning, reaching -5 is losing. If you chose +7/-2, determine winners and losers accordingly. If playing with a group, the first one to attain the score (as long as everyone has an equal chance to shoot) wins or loses.
2. The player steps to the foul line and shoots, counting the appropriate score. If working alone, the player shoots for the entire game. If with a group, the player shoots until he misses and then the next player shoots.
Scoring
+1 point for a made free throw
+2 points for a swish
-1 point for a miss
Teaching Tips & Points of Emphasis:
• This is usually used during a break between drills
To check out The Hoop Doctors other ‘Skool for Ballers’ posts click here. For more great basketball shooting drills visit Breakthrough Basketball today!
