Since several coaches contacted me wanting more info about our summer team camp, I’m writing a few blog posts explaining the drills and details about the camp…
The first thing we did at the camp was teach our players a new “pre-practice routine”.
We implemented a pre-practice routine last year and I loved it! I highly recommend you consider the same because it’s very efficient and eliminates wasted time before practice on half court shots, etc.
Brian Sass also wrote a great article about it here (I recommend that you read the article).
Back to our new routine. Our new routine consists of the following…
10 waist wraps / one leg balance (5 both directions)
This is a combo drill meant to help with ball control, improve balance, improve coordination, and develop proprioceptors (which reduces the risk of ankles injuries). 10 waist wraps while balancing on your right foot. Then 10 wraps on your left foot.
10 pound dribbles – left and right hand
Pound the ball as hard as you can!! This develops hand speed, strength, and ball control. 10 pound dribbles with your right hand, then 10 with your left.
10 baby cross overs
Snap the ball as quick as you can and keep it low.
10 form shots – left and right hand
Focus on proper technique (check grip, etc) to develop good muscle memory. When shooting with your weak hand, make sure you shoot exclusively with that hand (no help from the strong hand). Take 10 shots with your right hand. Then take 10 with your left.
10 one-step lay ups – left and right hand
For left handed lay ups, your right foot is ahead. Left foot is a few feet behind. Start close to the basket so right foot is around the block. Get the ball positioned near your ear ready for the left handed shot. When ready, drive your left knee towards your chin, jump off your right foot, and shoot the left handed lay up high off the glass. We’re isolating the shot by removing the steps and the dribble. Points of emphasis include: Use your left hand only (no two handed shots). Shoot the ball high and soft off the glass.
10 scoop shots – left and right hand
Stand next to the basket near the block. Extend your arm (as if you’re extending past the defender) and shoot an under hand lay up. Most countries actually teach the underhand lay up first. The United States is one of the few countries to teach the overhand lay up first. So we include this in our warm up to develop strength, finishing skills, and coordination in both hands.
Full court backwards runs – 3 times
Simple. Run backwards full speed the length of the court (94 feet). I am coaching girls and this is a simple way to reduce the risk of ACL injury. Might not be a bad thing for boys either.
4 Spot Hash Shooting – NO Bank Shots (Must make 6/10 to move to next spot)
– Left hash 1 (first hash past the “block”)
– Left hash 2
– Left hash 3
– Left hash 4 (elbow)
– Right hash 1 (first hash past the “block”)
– Right hash 2
– Right hash 3
– Right hash 4 (elbow)
This is a simple individual shooting drill where players start close and work their way back. However they can only move back to the next hash if they can make at least 6 out of 10 (60%). If they don’t make 60% they shoot at the same spot.
If they go through the whole sequence, players get a total of 80 shots in this drill. We rarely complete this drill and it’s only here if players get to the gym early. I want them to continue working on something productive.
Start in the Hall Way
We’re often waiting in the hallway for the group ahead of us to get out of the gym. So players are supposed to get their shoes on and at least complete their waist wraps in the hall. If they allowed dribbling in the hallway, we’d also have them do the dribbling drills in the hall too.
For some reason, it takes our 5th grade girls about 10 minutes to get their shoes on. So this is a big time saver by having players get started in the hall!
Download the Spreadsheet
If you’d like, you can download the spreadsheet that I print out and give to players. After a few practices, players are expected to memorize the sequence so they can go quickly and there should be no stoppage in between each drill.
Emphasis
A big emphasis is for our players to develop strength and coordination in their left hand. So we make this part of the routine each day.
I really emphasize using the left hand exclusively (NO two hands shots!). I don’t really care if the ball even touches the basket, as long as they are trying.
Just a few minutes a day will go a long way in developing strength and coordination in players’ non-dominant hand. Ideally you start when they are young.
The second half of the routine consists of a shooting workout that takes longer. We usually stop before players get into that. But sometimes we just let players go through the whole thing to get in lots of shooting work.
In a few days I’ll post another blog about some of the drills we used during the camp.
Jeff, why do you have the kids practice form shots with their weak hand? Also, is there a video link for the scoop shot that you have them practice?
There is supposedly windows for kids where their coordination is developed between 5 and 12 years old. To be a great athlete you need great coordination. So we do a lot of stuff to develop that. One simple thing is to do form shooting with your left hand. Just a minute or so a day goes a long way in developing strength and coordination in your left. It also will help them a ton when you do finishing moves with their left hand when they are older.
At the 27:55 mark of this video you can see video of the (under hand lay up / scoop lay up):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVqgPAsyyOg