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Basketball Passing Fundamentals, Drills, & Tips
Basketball is a team game. By definition, that means all players are involved with the process of playing the game and should function as one. One of the primary skills created to accomplish this is passing. Yet, passing remains one of the most under-taught, under-emphasized, and under drilled skill in the game!!
Players assume the values that the coach places on each aspect of the game. When teaching passing it is important that the coach teach not only the skill, but the mentality as well. Too many players think of passing as something to do when they don't have a shot as opposed to an unselfish act that is designed to include other players.
When teaching younger players, be aware of their physical and mental limitations. Young players usually lack the strength necessary to make the plays that they believe can be successful (like the ones they see on television) and they are still developing their sense of space and time. In addition, their recognition skills can only be honed by experience. Passes that look open to them often are not because they do not have the experience to know how long it takes to get from point A to point B and bad passes are often a result of slow recognition. In either case, negative reinforcement of the attempted pass often results in a reluctance to make the next pass. The long term effect could be a player who does not understand the value of passing and takes no joy in it.
TYPES OF PASSES
There are essentially two types of passes:
- Air Pass - The pass travels between players without hitting the floor.
- Bounce Passes - The pass is thrown to the floor so that it bounces to the intended receiver
Each type of pass comes with its own variations (Behind the back, overhead, etc.) but those are for another time. Players tend to find their way to the variations on their own but it is up to the coaches to teach the basics.
TEACHING POINTS
When teaching passing, points of emphasis should be:
- A good pass is a pass a teammate can catch
- When passing, step toward your receiver.
- When catching, step toward the pass
- Like shooting, the ball should have a backspin to it. This is accomplished by following through on every pass.
CHEST PASS
The chest pass is named so because the pass originates from the chest. It is thrown by gripping the ball on the sides with the thumbs directly behind the ball. When the pass is thrown, the fingers are rotated behind the ball and the thumbs are turned down. The resulting follow through has the back of the hands facing one another with the thumbs straight down. The ball should have a nice backspin.
When throwing a chest pass, the players should strive to throw it to the receiver's chest level. Passes that go low to high or high to low are difficult to catch.
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BOUNCE PASS
The bounce pass is thrown with the same motion however it is aimed at the floor. It should be thrown far enough out that the ball bounces waist high to the receiver. Some say try to throw it 3/4 of the way to the receiver, and that may be a good reference point to start, but each player has to experiment how far to throw it so it bounces to the receiver properly. Putting a proper and consistent backspin on the pass will make the distance easier to judge.
PASSING TIPS
6 Tips to Improve Passing and Reduce Turnovers
Little Known Secret to Improve Team Passing and Dramatically Reduce Turnovers
TEACHING DRILLS
Pair Passing
One Hand Pound
Machine Gun Passing
Middle Man Passing
Pass & Switch
Find the Open Man
Most of these drills can be done alone, as well. All you need is a wall, a fence or anything else that can capture the ball and send it back your way. You can do stationary drills or you can move up and down the wall. You can also move forward and backwards to control the distance of the pass and speed of the return.
Once the basic passing types are mastered, you can move on to the variations (behind the back, over-spins, wrap-around, etc) In addition, there are many fine drills that combine movement, competition and other objects, contained in the free e-book, Winning Basketball Drills.
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