Comments on: Does Stationary Ball Handling Waste Valuable Practice Time?

By: lovethegame

lovethegame — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:08:56 +0000

First, I think that staionary ball handling drills are essential at any level. What drills you use and how quickly you progress through them depends on the level and skill set. If I am running a skill session(usually 75-90mins), I will always have a 20 min ball handling session. This session will include stationary ball handling and dribbling drills. Then I will move on to dribble moves(focusing on technique) and finally use a combo drill where the athletes incorporate numerous dribble moves(ie the “Chill” Drill). Some days the stationary part will be single ball and others will be 2 ball. The reason for doing this(and I do it will guards, forwards, or centers) is that ball handling ability is the most essential individual skill. It can help develop touch, foot dexterity, ability to catch the ball, and stamina.

If I were coaching in season, I would look at collapsing times frames a bit more but still go heavy with handling on certain days. What I mean by collapsingtimes frames is combine dribbling with your layup work(and ultimately conditioning) in a full or half court situation. As mentioned, stationary handling can be part of the team warm up.

By: Tj

Tj — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:59:54 +0000

2 ball drills can be great if done correctly. They can improve coordination, concentration, and hand quickness to name a few. But I do believe some drills are for more show than anything. You can go on YouTube and see all kind of crazy two ball dribbling tricks that are not game like drills.

Dribbling is about progression. You start in a stationary position to perfect the form. Then you incorporate the dribble on the move while going game speed. And then finally try it against a defender.

What some coaches seem to overlook is when the player(s) are working on their moves and they neglect proper technique and form. Players sometimes seem to think since they are working on a pull up jump shot they don’t have to concentrate on their ball handling. I make sure that the players I’m working with execute the dribble moves properly even when we are doing a shooting drill.

I believe practice produces habit. If you have a bad habit of poor execution in practice then it will carry over to the game.

By: Brent

Brent — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:58:15 +0000

I don’t think we incorporate enough fundementals into our practices today. Too many coaches only want to scrimmage in their pratices! We do stationary dribbling and ball handling as a warm up (7-10 Minutes per day) and go into full court dribbling drills. For modified teams, I think they need to spend more time in this area. At J.V. and Varsity H.S. level, full court drills may be more essential but in reality, kids need to play to develop their game skills. I agree that both stationary and active drills help improve the player.

By: Joe Haefner

Joe Haefner — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:15:54 +0000

Thank for your thoughts, George. I agree with your assessment on the importance of team fundamentals.

Team fundamentals are crucial, but they can only get you so far if you have not developed individual skills. At the same time, you can take a group of very skilled players and still have a bad team. I think that’s what you were hinting at with your comment.

In today’s game, most coaches (not all) at the high school level have athletes that participate in other sports and don’t train for basketball very much during the offseason. So if they don’t incorporate individual skills into their team practices, the team may not become as good as they could be had the coach incorporated skill improvement for at least 20 to 30 minutes each practice. Don Meyer said, “When it comes time for the state play-offs, which would you rather have, two better players, or two new plays? I would rather have two better players.”

At the youth & junior varsity levels, incorporating individual skills becomes even more important.

I’m not downplaying team fundamentals because they are very important as you mentioned. I just think the importance of developing individual skills should not be undervalued. A good basketball team has good individual and good team fundamentals.

By: George Kemp

George Kemp — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:32:19 +0000

This article was informational but such a minor part of teaching basketball. Yes, you have to teach the individual skills but the real game of basketball is all about TEAM fundamentals, IMO. There are two parts to this game that has to be mastered: 1. The Individual game (work harder) and 2. The team game (work smarter). Personal trainers can help with the individual game. Even good young coaches that played at a high level have trouble with the team game.

By: Ekam

Ekam — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:17:56 +0000

great article… so does this mean the best way to practice dribbling is doing different moves while going in different directions?