F-A-S-T

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Home > Coaching > Drills > Dribbling > F-A-S-T

Drill Purpose:

This is a drill out of our 60 Fun Youth Drills Ebook. This fun drill is great for developing player skills such as speed dribbling and catching. You also develop some dodging skills.

Instructions

Each person is given a basketball and is in a small circle in the middle of the court. The coach is to stand in the middle.
With a soft skin ball in your hands, call the name of a player and throw the ball into the air. The player will then leave their basketball and runs to get the soft skin ball.
Every other player then dribbles as fast as they can away from the person in the middle. When the player catches the ball and yells "stop", everyone must stop immediately and set their balls down beside them.
The player in the middle with the "soft" ball may take three steps toward the nearest student and attempt to throw the ball at them. If the target is hit with the ball, that person must give their basketball to the player that got them out and go to the center of the court. If the person throwing the ball misses or the ball is caught by the target, the original person stays in the middle. Everyone then returns to the middle and the ball is thrown in the air and a new name is called.

Teaching Tips

Remind players that they must push the ball out in front of their bodies to speed dribble effectively.

Variations:

The number of steps taken to get close to the target may be changed depending on the size of the gym.
The circle in the middle can be close to the person throwing the ball or it can be moved away form the middle, depending on the gym size.

**For more fun drills, you can check out our 60 Fun Drills Ebook.

If you prefer video, you can also check out Jim Huber's The Youth Coaching System. They have plenty of youth drills as well.

Image: download free ebook with 72 of our favorite drills

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Comments

Most Likes First Oldest First Newest First

Joh'Vonnie says:
10/20/2018 at 4:00:44 AM

Caitlin Arden says:
11/23/2016 at 4:38:21 PM

Can i have drills for grades 5-6?

1 reply

Jeff says:
11/28/2016 at 10:34:32 AM

With kids that young mostly play fun games where they dribble and pass the ball. Dribble tag, dribble races, and keep away passing are all great drills.

Caitlin Arden says:
11/23/2016 at 4:36:22 PM

I like what you guys do!

1 reply

Caitlin Arden says:
11/23/2016 at 4:39:16 PM

Thanks!

Richard says:
1/3/2015 at 9:19:01 PM

i am a first year coach working with first year basketball players aged 10. All the kids are athletes just not basketball players, we do very well in games until the teams we face use a 1-3-1 half court zone press. How do I beat it? We are lucky to have practice once a week for an hour. Need something simple.

1 reply

Jeff says:
1/4/2015 at 10:21:34 AM

Richard - With only 1 hour a week, it's probably not worth spending time working on anything specific against 1-3-1. Too many other important things to work on. If you have time, you can put in a simple press break that can allow you to beat the traps and also serve as your offense (the 2-1-2 press break alignment puts players in gaps of the zone).
https://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/offense/press-breaker.html

daniel says:
11/8/2014 at 9:34:45 AM

Yes I have been chosen to coach an all girls ages 7 to 9..I have never coached basketball....but do have 7 years coaching experience in youth football...I need help...this is mostly first year players...thanks

Patrick Lee Hill jr says:
12/11/2013 at 11:10:50 AM

I think this is a great way to improve my game and other players ability to win. By Patrick Lee Hill jr

Ali says:
1/29/2013 at 8:52:47 AM

I like this drill. When I taught P.E. @ the middle school level we played this game, but not for basketball. This will be great for my 2nd and 3rd grade girls team! Thanks for all of your suggestions!

Farruh says:
6/29/2012 at 10:09:24 AM

trying to catch each other by dribbling the ball is also helpful, the only thing you''''ve to do is to appoint a certain area, half court for example, the more players the better it is...

Jeff Haefner says:
11/9/2011 at 8:31:03 AM

Yes, start with the basics. When I coach high school, we start with stance, shuffle, footwork, all kinds of basics. They always forget stuff over the summer and get sloppy.

Also, do not teach young kids plays and be careful about giving specific positions. Run a motion offense. With plays you'll spend hours teaching them to memorize the pattern and they will still screw it up. Not to mention you could spend that time teaching skills, which will help them in the future and is better for their development. Plays do nothing for their long term development.
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/blog/index.php/should-youth-coaches-avoid-plays-and-patterned-offenses/

For positions, without going in to a long rant, let's just say you don't want to pigeon-hole young kids into a position (post, point, etc). You never know where they will end up when they get older and who will grow. So young kids should learn all skills and all positions. That is better for their long term development.

Marilyn says:
11/8/2011 at 3:48:30 PM

I have a group of nine 10 year old boys that I am coaching this year. 6 of them have never played basketball before; 3 of them have played together for the past three years. Should I start our first practice reviewing the basics with the whole team. Can I teach positions and plays at a second practice?

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