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A lot of pressure is put on youth coaches to prepare their players for the next level of their basketball career. They often get the blame for players not having good fundamentals when they get to high school and rarely get the credit when they do. The mistake that a lot of coaches make is they either put too much emphasis on winning and doesn’t spend enough time on the fundamentals or they work on all of the fundamentals and the players don’t get good at any of them. Rarely are players good at everything, but they can be great at a few things. The following are the top three skills that youth coaches need to have all of their players develop before the end of the season:

1. Ball Handling

Ball-handling is the single most important skill that a player can have. A player that plays strong with the ball and can attack on the dribble can create a lot of problems for defenses. Good ball-handlers have confidence in their ability to handle defensive pressure and beat any defender in a one-on-one situation. They put themselves in a good position to attack on the dribble and, because they are able to draw help defenders, they are usually better passers. On the other hand, a poor ball-handler will have little confidence and will retreat from defensive pressure. They are usually not good passers because they are often have their back to the defense and either can’t see open players or aren’t in a good position to make a good pass. They can’t attack with the dribble and become easier to guard. Opponents can easily pick out the poor ball-handlers and will use their defender to help on other players. If you can help your players become better ball-handlers it will let them spend more time on the other skills as they progress through their careers. If a player isn’t confident in their ball-handling, then the other offensive skills are useless because they won’t be in a position to use them.

2. Shooting

Developing offensive skills is more important to higher level coaches than any defensive skill; therefore proper shooting technique is vital to the development of young players. Every practice should include at least 15 minutes of shooting drills that improve technique and give players an opportunity to practice game-like shots. Shooting alone will not make your players better shooters. You have to teach and drill each part of shooting until it becomes a habit to the players. Players need to understand the proper footwork to prepare them to shoot, how to properly catch a pass ready to shoot, shooting off the catch, and shooting off the dribble. It takes time to become a good shooter but the benefits will be worth the time. Good shooters are not developed from the 15 minutes in practice you work on shooting. Emphasize to your players that shooting is skill that must continuously developed. Provide your players with an off-season shooting program and encourage them to work on their shooting. Remind them that it isn’t the quantity of shots but the quality of the shots they practice. Shooting for 15-minutes at game-like speed is worth more than 30-minutes of shooting in the backyard.

3. Footwork

Footwork is a big part of the majority of skills in basketball. If you can teach good efficient footwork then your players will increase their lateral quickness and it will help them improve in a variety of other skills. Defending the ball one-one-one requires active and efficient footwork to give ball pressure and prevent dribble penetration. Off-the-ball defenders need good footwork to react to ball and player movements in the post and on the perimeter. Offensive and defensive rebounding requires players to possess good footwork in order to get proper rebounding position. Players also need to be quick in order be effective at every offensive skill from simple pivots to one-on-one dribble moves. Footwork is a skill that should be worked on throughout the year. Off-season workouts should incorporate drills that help develop the player’s quickness and promote active feet. Encourage your players to be active and develop their quickness by doing simple jump rope activities and include a footwork session in their off-season program.

For more instruction on coaching kids basketball visit KidsBasketballCoaching.com.

Youth Basketball Drills – Layups with Chaser

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