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A Games Approach to Teaching Basketball Skills – Video & Drills

April 30, 2015 by Jeff Haefner 2 Comments

Below you’ll find an excellent video by Mike MacKay called A Games Approach to Teaching Basketball Skills. I’m a huge fan of game based drills and learning. This videos give you some really good drills and ideas on how to develop your players using “games approach”. You’ll also learn how to create your own drills […]

Filed Under: Drills, Player Development, Practice Strategy

Another Favorite Drill – Triangle Pass and Cut

April 25, 2015 by Jeff Haefner Leave a Comment

Here’s another one of my favorite drills…. Triangle Pass and Cut. We use this drill with our 4th grade girls team and our 10th grade boys team. I like this drill because it takes a piece of our offense (pass and cut) and allows us to work on our skills (passing, timing, lay ups) at […]

Filed Under: 4th Grade Basketball, Drills, Offense, Player Development

Favorite Drill – 1v1 Dribbling with Traps

April 24, 2015 by Jeff Haefner Leave a Comment

This is one of my favorite drills.  I use this drill with both my 4th grade girls team and 10th grade boys team. 1v1 Dribbling with Traps Less experienced players should play basic 1v1 drills first.  Once they master those basic drills and can consistently advance the ball in 1v1 situation, you can add the more […]

Filed Under: 4th Grade Basketball, Drills

Trying New Drills – No Dribble is Still One of the Best

January 21, 2015 by Jeff Haefner 1 Comment

I’ve tried dozens of new drills this year with both our 4th graders and our 10th grade high school team.  I plan to keep using several of them. I’ll start writing up the drills and sharing them with you soon. But I keep going back to a really simple drill that is still one of my […]

Filed Under: 4th Grade Basketball, Drills, Offense

Coaches: What are your favorite drills for the HEAVY training ball?

November 16, 2014 by Jeff Haefner 4 Comments

I’m curious how other coaches are utilizing the Heavy Training Basketball. What drills do you like to use with the heavy ball? Let me know in the comments below.

Filed Under: Drills

New “High Five” Twist to a 1on1 Drill That I Really Like

October 26, 2014 by Jeff Haefner Leave a Comment

I found a new twist for a 1 on 1 combo drill that I really like.  It’s called High Five 1 on 1. We used to run a similar drill except the lines were usually around the baseline.  I really like the “high five” twist because it provides several benefits. It’s so simple.  The “high […]

Filed Under: Drills, Player Development

New Drill and Basketball Training Aid — The Sweep Stick

July 26, 2014 by Jeff Haefner Leave a Comment

Here’s an interesting new training aid and drill to help your players protect the ball and develop the habit of “sweeping” it: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/drills/sweep-stick-layup.html

Filed Under: Drills, Player Development

My Favorite Passing Drills – How to Cut Down on “Bad Passes” and Turnovers

January 2, 2014 by Jeff Haefner Leave a Comment

With an inexperienced group of players this year…. bad passes and turnovers have been a problem for us. This caused me to take a long hard look at our passing drills and refine how we do things.  As a result, I feel like we have made tremendous progress. Here are some of my favorite passing […]

Filed Under: 10th Grade (Sophomore) Basketball, Drills

Keeping ALL Your Players Busy in Practice and How to Handle Large Groups

December 19, 2013 by Jeff Haefner Leave a Comment

This season we often find ourselves in the gym with one or two coaches and over 30 kids.  This can be a real challenge and requires some creativity to stay productive. I think it’s important to keep as many of your players busy (and improving) as possible. How much can a player improve when they […]

Filed Under: 10th Grade (Sophomore) Basketball, Drills, Practice Strategy

Cutting Down Turnovers, Improving Defense, and Objectively Analyzing Your Game Results

December 6, 2013 by Jeff Haefner 18 Comments

We lost our first game of the season.  It was against my old team that I coached the last couple years.  So it was bitter sweet.  I was happy to see the players I worked with last year play really well.  But at the same time I wanted to win the game with my new […]

Filed Under: 10th Grade (Sophomore) Basketball, Drills, Practice Strategy, Stats

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About Me

I’m a basketball coach, skill development trainer, and Co-Owner of Breakthrough Basketball. I currently live in Marion, Iowa with my wife, two kids, and our golden retriever (Izzy).

Right now I am coaching two teams. I will be coaching... Read More...

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