Sometimes during the wintertime, it’s hard to get outside to practice. It’s either too cold, too dark, or sometimes too snowy. There are still some things you do can inside your house though if you’ve got some hard floors (either hardwood, tile, or concrete in the garage) and a little bit of room to work with. I’ve outlined some youth basketball dribbling drills below that you can do in your house or garage.
The first few videos are basketball dribbling drills for beginners. Normally these are 1st grade basketball drills or 2nd grade basketball drills, but I use them at the start of every practice from 1st through 6th as a way to practice fundamentals. Any kind of dribbling you can do at home will immensely improve their ball handling skills. I would also recommend getting one of those over the door basketball goals, those will really help inspire your kid to shoot and dribble on their own.
Beginner Youth Dribbling Drill #1, right hand dribbling
This is the dribbling that your child will most likely start with once they get past dribbling with both hands. All you have to simply have them do is dribble back and forth between walls, trying to keep their head up and not looking at the ball. This will be very tough at first, but eventually they will get it. I always start out every 1st through 6th grade basketball practice with this drill, it’s essential for developing ball handling skills.
The video below shows the first three beginner dribbling methods. Unfortunately I don’t have a video for #4, but maybe I’ll make one someday (it’s pretty self explanatory anyways).
Beginner Youth Dribbling Drill #2, left hand dribbling
This is the second drill I do at every practice, right after right hand dribbling. It’s essentially the same thing, dribble between walls only with your left hand. This will be a lot harder for most kids since most are right handed.
Beginner Youth Dribbling Drill #3, alternating hand dribbling
This is the third drill I do at every practice, right after left hand dribbling. It’s the same as the first two drills, dribbling between walls alternating between the two hands. This usually goes better than just the left hand dribbling but can be tough for some kids. A lot of kids stare at the ball when doing this one, try and get their head up if possible. If keeping their head up is something you can’t get them to do, consider buying them some glasses that go under their eyes and block vision of the ball. That can help break the staring habit.
Beginner Youth Dribbling Drill #4, dribbling backwards
This is the fourth drill I do at every practice. At first you may ask, why do we need to practice dribbling backwards? It’s not about actually dribbling backwards, it’s about keeping the ball from hitting your foot while having to bend your wrist in a way that keeps the ball coming towards you. This helps develop better ball control. I
Advanced Youth Dribbling Drill #1, right hand back and forth
Watch this video below to get a better idea. Basically the idea is that you want to do the same sort of motion that you would do if you were dribbling the ball from your right hand to your left hand and back, but in this drill only use your right hand. This drill is to help you fake out out defender when dribbling one on one against them.
Advanced Youth Dribbling Drill #2, left hand back and forth
Same as drill #1, only with your left hand. The video below shows both drill #1 and #2.
Advanced Youth Dribbling Drill #3, dribbling behind back
No, not the normal dribble behind the back where you’re going forward and then take it around your back, but keeping it behind your back the entire time. Crouch down and then try and dribble the ball left to right and right to left behind your back as many times in a row that you can. The video below will show more information.
Advanced Youth Dribbling Drill #4, figure 8’s
This is kind of a standard drill where you stand in one place and try and dribble the ball in a figure 8 around your legs. It’s kind of self explanatory, no video needed.
Advanced Youth Dribbling Drill #5, double ball
In this drill, you’ll need two balls of equal pressure (you can have one flatter if you want to make it really difficult). You’ll want to try and dribble it three different ways. First, dribble them hitting the floor at the same time. Second, dribble them alternating hitting the floor one after another. Third, try and cross back and forth the balls to the opposite hand (watch out for breakable stuff here, lol).
Advanced Youth Dribbling Drill #6, hard dribbling
One of the things that doesn’t get taught a whole lot is that the speed of your dribbling also matters. You can move a lot faster if you’re dribbling harder and have better control. To practice this, get a ball, crouch and try and dribble it as hard and as fast as you can with your right hand. Then switch to your left hand. Watch the video below for more info.
Advanced Youth Dribbling Drill #7, between the legs
This one requires a little more space since you need to walk a little. Try and walk back and forth dribbling between your legs.
Advanced Youth Dribbling Drill #8, between the legs backwards
This drill is very similar to drill #7, only going backwards. This drill is very difficult for most young players. The kid in this video is a 5th grader (11 years old) so it is possible to do it at a young age.
Hopefully these youth basketball dribbing drills have helped you practice a little more inside. Dribbling usually isn’t as much fun as shooting for kids, but it sure comes in handy when trying to get to the basket later when they get older.
