FUN Basketball Drill: Pivot 21

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Home > Coaching > Drills > Layup & Finishing > FUN Basketball Drill: Pivot 21

Drill Purpose

This is a really fun drill that improves footwork, pivoting, ballhandling, and lay ups. It's fun because the drills acts as a game and it's fast paced. The players will really get into it! You can find more fun drills in our 60 Fun Drills eBook.

Instructions

The goal of the game is to make 21 lay ups before the other team.
You'll divide your players into two equal teams. Each team should get in their own line on either side of the basket.
You'll need two chairs positioned just past the three point line. Place a ball on both chairs.
You'll need two coaches or players to replace balls. Each coach should have a ball. So you'll have a total of four balls for this drill.

On the coach's command, the first player in each line will sprint to the chair and pick up the ball.

After picking up the ball, they should pivot, dribble to the basket, and shoot a lay up. (Even though it's a race, make sure they use good pivoting footwork and lay up form.)
The coach should replace the ball as it's removed from the chair.

The next player in line can start running to the chair as soon as the first player shoots their lay up.
After the player shoots the lay up, they get their own rebound and immediately pass the ball to their coach.

After passing the outlet to the coach, the player should get back in line and be ready to go again.

The goal is to make 21 baskets before the other team. Whoever reaches 21 first, wins! You can reward the winner with Gatorades or just about anything they will enjoy.

The drill can get chaotic at times, but it's fun!

When running this drill, you'll want to make sure the kids are using proper pivots and proper form shooting lay ups. They will want to go as fast as possible, but don't let them make bad pivots.

You should also specify which pivot they'll use for the drill. (Front pivot with left foot, back pivot with right foot, etc.)

And you'll want to make sure they dribble with the appropriate hand (use left hand of left side of the basket and vice versa).

Variations

If you're feeling brave, you can add a little twist and allow your players to start running as soon as the other player picks up the ball. This makes it even more fast paced (but a little more out of control).
Vary the pivots to work on different footwork (front pivots, back pivots, etc).
Move the chairs farther back so they have to run and dribble farther.

Points of Emphasis

Stay low when picking up the ball and make a nice pivot that squares your feet to the basket.
Make sure they shoot good lay ups, no outside shots.
Dribble with the correct hand.
Have fun!!

Do you have any questions or suggestions for this drill? Let us know by leaving your comments...

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Comments

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Joe Haefner says:
7/16/2009 at 6:21:30 PM

Hi Leah,

You can find individual and partner drills at this link:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/drills/basketball-drills-players.html

We also have a 51 Player Development Drills & Sample Workouts product at this link:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/pr/workouts.html

1 person liked this.

Joe Haefner says:
1/26/2010 at 5:30:25 PM

Thanks for the kind words, Daren. Glad to hear that we can help. I just posted this message on another page and I think it would be very helpful for you as well:

Since at this age level, they are still very much in the "guided discovery" learning stage which usually occurs between ages 6 to 10, I would make everything very "outcome-based" and focus very little on teaching them technique. For example, rather than saying dribble the ball exactly like this, say try to dribble the ball between the cones as fast as possible. This will help with their learning curve. Also, since very little will stick from a shooting technique standpoint, I would spend a lot of time on dribbling, passing, and lay ups. I would also spend a lot of time developing athletic skills. Play games like tag, dribble relays, obstacle courses, red-light yellow-light, hopscotch, and any other games you can think of. This article will explain it in more detail: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/blog/index.php/should-we-teach-basketball-skills-to-kids-under-the-age-of-10/

Here is a helpful article about keeping your players attention as well: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/blog/index.php/four-great-ways-to-keep-your-teams-attention/

We also have a ton of helpful information in our youth basketball coaching section: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/coaching/youthbasketball.html

1 person liked this.

zdravko says:
12/20/2007 at 5:05:00 PM

this is just what i want-i work with kids 8,9,10 ears old,and they wont funy games if you have more from this kind of practise please send me,i need very much

Brad Kotowich says:
12/22/2007 at 9:42:49 AM

This appears to be a great drill for all kids, but particularly those that are so hesitant to do a lay up in a game when they are rushed. Thanks for the tip.

Steve says:
12/23/2007 at 4:16:05 PM

Good drill, I'm looking forward to see if the pivoting will help with some of the traveling calls.

sheyanne says:
1/4/2008 at 6:21:47 PM

THIS IS HELP ME OUT SO GOOD I GLAD I SIGNED UP FOR THIS I AM GETTING VERY GOOD THANK YOU

Eddie Kavar says:
1/6/2009 at 10:12:46 AM

What a great drill for teaching a number of fundamentals. My comments are recommendations, for adding two additional fundamentals.
Under step #5: (Grab the Ball)
I would change the verbage from ''pick up the ball'' to ''grab the ball'' off the chair. Reason--too many times in the game a player goes after a loose ball and tries to recover it by just by picking it up or even trying to advance it via a dribble without gaining possession. This usually results in a pinball machine type action where no one seems to have control. Teaching a player (at all times in their development) the importance of grabing the ball first, (a bear claw like grip) before trying to advance it, is teaching the player how to take care of the basketball.
Step #6 (Add Defender/Rebounder)
Once the players develop a comfort and skill level with the pivot (front and back), the coach could add a soft defender/ rebounder, who after rebounding would become the next shooter in the drill. When player 1 sprints to the chair, player 2 would follow and set up to play (soft) defense behind player 1 after he grabs the ball. That would require player 1 to pivot forward or backwards depending on which side player 2 set up on. Now player 1 is being taught to read/feel the defense before making his pivot.
Player 2 would follow the shot for the rebound and then throw an outlet pass to the coach. Player 2 would then sprint to the chair and Player 3 would follow and play (soft) defense/rebounder. The addition of this rebounder may provide control of the action during the drill.

Bryon says:
1/7/2009 at 2:14:18 PM

sounds great, I'll use it next practice. I coach junior high and think I'll have players switch sides after each shot. Practice jerseys keep track of each team and at this age, huge advantage on strong hand side.

Graciella says:
1/27/2009 at 8:12:46 AM

Thank you for all the fantastic information you provide! Like many, I am new to coaching basketball(12-13 yr old boys) and am appreciative of all the drills and information- the format and the way you present the material is clear for a "newbie' like me to comprehend.
I can't wait to use this Pivot drill today!

Mike says:
2/10/2009 at 11:56:23 AM

yes this is a very good drill works on the drive footwork i will use it in my practice''s thanks

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