Every player can dribble in a straight line with nobody near him. Ball-handling is what happens when somebody is: keeping the ball while looking up, changing direction before the defender arrives, getting out of trouble without picking the ball up. The drills below build toward that, from control on the spot to moves against a live defender.
How to order ball-handling work
There is no study that sets a ball-handling progression, but the coaching sources follow the same logic as most skill teaching. Matt King of the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association describes it in a USA Basketball coaches’ Q&A: start with light resistance, add the next player and the next concept, then go live. For dribbling, that gives five stages:
- Control on the spot.
- Moving, with calls to react to.
- Moves at a marker.
- Moves at a defender who is limited.
- Live 1-on-1.
Two age notes apply throughout. The FIBA mini-basketball manual recommends games rather than drills for ages 5 to 7, and avoiding analytical technique teaching at that age. And USA Basketball’s youth rules do not allow players aged 7 and 8 to steal from a dribbler in games, which means stage 5 waits.
Stage 1: control on the spot
Stationary ball-handling is the part many coaches skip as boring. It has some support. A 2015 study by Jakovljević and colleagues of 121 players aged 13 and 14 found that three no-dribble drills (body circles, the pretzel, and one the authors call double leg-single leg) were significantly related to scores in shooting, passing and control-dribble tests. It is a regression study, so it shows a link rather than proof that the drills cause the skill.
Use two or three minutes of it as part of the warm-up: ball around the waist, around the legs, figure-of-eight, pound dribbles at knee height with each hand. The library has no stationary drill yet; add it to a practice as your own block.
Stage 2: moving, with calls
Red light, green light
Everyone on the baseline with a ball. On green, dribble up the floor; on red, jump stop at once with the ball in triple threat; on “pivot”, turn on the called foot. Basketball For Coaches uses the jump stop and pivot; Under Armour’s version adds a yellow light for a slow, controlled dribble and rounds with the weak hand.
The eyes go to the coach, not the ball, because the coach is the one giving the call. That is the whole trick.
Called-move dribble lines
Pairs on the sideline, one ball per pair. Dribble across with the right hand, make the move the coach calls in the middle, come back with the left hand and the move again, then pass to the partner. Coach’s Clipboard’s list of moves is a season’s worth: control to speed, speed to control, crossover, in-and-out, hesitation, pull-back crossover, between the legs, behind the back, spin.
Each move twice, both hands. Basketball For Coaches runs the same idea baseline to half court with everyone dribbling at once, which suits bigger groups.
Stage 3: moves at a marker
Zig-zag cone dribble
Dribble the length of the floor in a zig-zag, changing direction at every cone with the outside hand, and finish with a layup. Plant the outside foot, cross the ball low, see the rim.
Our guide to cone and ladder drills has more on what cones can and cannot train.
Attack and retreat
The dribbler attacks a cone as if it were a defender who has cut him off, gets out of trouble with two backward retreat dribbles, then crosses over and explodes past the other side to the rim.
The retreat dribble is the move young players never learn and always need against a trap. Backwards, not sideways; body between the cone and the ball.
Speed dribble layups
Push the ball out in front and cover the floor in as few dribbles as possible, then finish with the same hand. Count the dribbles and try to beat the number. It is the dribble of the fast break, and it is different from the dribble of the half court.
Stage 4: moves at a limited defender
The dribble gauntlet
Four defenders spread down the middle of the floor; each may only shift a step and reach. The dribbler goes the length, makes a different move at each defender and finishes with a layup.
Change direction before you reach the defender, not when you are already in his arms. Defenders rotate in after a few runs. As a variation, let them take one step and try for a steal.
Triple-threat jab series
Not every attack starts with a dribble. Catch on the wing, pivot to face the rim in triple threat, and use a jab step to move the defender, here a chair. No reaction: go past his hip. He drops back: rise into the shot.
The jab is short, about a foot, with the weight on the pivot foot. The live version is 1-on-1 with two dribbles at most.
Stage 5: live
Live 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 are the real test, and our guide to small-sided games has the formats. Keep the dribble limit as a constraint: “two dribbles maximum” makes the handler choose his move instead of dribbling in place.
How much time, and when
The Miniscalco and Kot handbook for youth coaches puts ball-handling in nearly every practice. The Jr. NBA practice plans use sets of 20 seconds to a minute. Five to ten minutes of ball-handling, early in practice and in short sets, fits both.
| Age | Teach | Drills |
|---|---|---|
| U8 | Dribble with either hand, eyes up, stop on two feet | Red light, green light; zig-zag cones set wide; speed dribble layups |
| U10 | Change hands and direction, retreat from trouble | Dribble lines, zig-zag cone dribble, gauntlet |
| U12 | Change of pace, moves against a limited defender | Attack and retreat, gauntlet, triple-threat jab |
| U14 and up | Moves into a shot or a pass, live with a dribble limit | Triple-threat jab live, 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 games |
The age tags come from our library. If a player can do the next row, let him.
Mistakes to avoid
- Watching the ball. Give the eyes a job: the coach’s call, the rim, the next cone.
- Strong hand only. Out with one hand, back with the other, every drill.
- Moves with no reason. Every move answers a defender. If there is no defender yet, say where he would be.
- One long block a week. Short and often beats long and rare.
Finding and drawing ball-handling drills
Every drill above is in the drill library, under ball-handling, with coaching points, variations and the age groups it suits, and each one opens in the app to run phase by phase. To change one, for example to set the cones wider for U8 or add a second defender to the gauntlet, open it in the drill designer.
The practice planner, on the paid plans, takes these drills as timed blocks, plus your own blocks for the stationary work. Pick ball-handling as a practice’s focus and “Fill the rest” leans toward these drills.
Questions
What are good dribbling drills for beginners?
Drills where every player has a ball and reacts to a call: red light, green light, where players dribble on green and jump stop on red, and dribble lines, where the coach calls a move and players make it on the way across the floor. Both keep the eyes up and nobody waits.
How do you improve ball-handling with the weak hand?
Give it the same number of reps as the strong hand, every practice. In dribble lines, go out with the right hand and back with the left; in cone drills, dribble with the hand away from the cone; in games, add a rule that a basket after a weak-hand drive counts double.
Are stationary ball-handling drills worth the time?
Briefly, as a warm-up. A 2015 study of 121 players aged 13 to 14 found that stationary no-dribble drills such as body circles were linked to better scores in shooting, passing and dribbling tests. Moving drills and drills with a defender should take most of the time.
How often should young players practice ball-handling?
In nearly every practice. The Miniscalco and Kot youth-coaching handbook puts ball-handling in almost every practice, and short, frequent blocks work better than one long dribbling session a week.