Trying to slow the game down...

Having trouble with slowing the game down for my players on offense. They want to immediately put the ball on the floor and they're too quick to get rid of it. Any ideas on how to slow the game down for them? Was thinking about using a deflated ball at our next practice. Thanks!

How old are they?

I can think of a few things you can do.....
1- every time they catch the ball they HAVE to go into a Triple Threat position, make a shot fake and then a pass fake...

2- play a full court or half court NO DRIBBLE GAME.

A lot of this could be the lack of self confidence, be patient and give them some tools to counter act pressure.

3- another thing we did was something we called the Man Maker Drill.... (court is divided into thirds)

3 offensive players on the end line ( who must stay in their third )
3 defensive players at the free throw line - one with the ball who passes it to an offensive players
The the drill begins.... the offensive playes must advance the ball past half court WITHOUT dribbling.

This teaches them to protect the ball, move without the ball to get open and not panic.

They are fifth and sixth graders.

We do stress the Triple Threat each and every time they get the ball.

Part of it is the pressure. We have our defenders playing in your face man-to-man defense.

Like your ideas. Thanks!

This is a tough age group for handling pressure... so that Man Maker drill could help them.... it will toughen them up so they can deal with that pressure.... and they don't have to worry about making a turnover since its not a game. By the way, there is no time limit for them to get the ball to half court.

You can also find a few drills for handling pressure in this PDF report:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/offense/press-breaker.html

I agree. We've been coaching these kids since Kindergarten and we both have coached at the Varsity level, so we do have a lot of experience to draw from.

I do like the Man Maker drill. Will try it at practice tomorrow night. Thanks again!

I'm a little confused about the Man Maker Drill. You say the court is divided into thirds and the offensive players may not leave their third of the court. However, you say that the object is for them to get past halfcourt. If they stay in their third of the court, they're not allowed to get past halfcourt. Am I reading that wrong?

No, the purpose of the drill is to get the ball over the half court line while staying in their third of the court.... teaches them HOW to get open... and teaches the person with the ball to NOT Panic..... be patient and wait until he finds someone open while protecting the ball... the offense might have to go backwards some times just to give themelves a chance to advance it.

Let me know how it goes and IF you are having any problems with it.

I get everything you say except for the part about them staying in their third of the court. How is the court divided into thirds? If the offensive players start on the end line and it's divided into thirds, then half court would not be included in the third they started in.

OK, sorry about that.....
!/3 would be the area from the sideline to the free throw lane line from baseline to half court
1/3 would be between the free throw lane lines...
1/3 would be on the other side of the court... same as above.... side line to free throw lane line.

They can go into another lane slightly - especially since the guy in the middle has a short lane.

Clearer?

Got it! Thanks...

Hope it helps your kids.... its tough drill

Will be good for both defense and offense. Do you have the defenders face guard the offensive players?

No face guarding, that would allow for an easy lob pass to break them down.... be in a good denial position just like IF you were playing a real game... denial one pass away, jump towards the ball 2 passes away.

See the man see the ball. We usually have them point to each while they're defending. Looking forward to this drill...
So, defense can go into the other lanes? (If two passes away, sagging off their man towards the ball)

We didn't allow the D to go into the lane.. just up to it... of course we didn't draw any lines so there was some give and take .... we didn't want them going over and trapping the ball... while it is a good drill for the defense the drill was designed to teach the offensive players how to get open and how to protect the ball.

Sounds good. Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it!

No problem - hope the drill helps your kids... let me know.