The Best Youth Dribble Games

   Editor’s Note: In part 3 of this youth dribbling series from Coach Jeff Huber, you’re going to learn… How To Gamify Your Dribbling In Practice and 4 Great Dribbling Games To Use At Next Practice!  Also, if you missed part 1 and part 2 of the series, [you can read part 1, part 2, and part 3 in entirety here](   Now, here's Jeff and part 3 of the series...   How To Gamify Your Dribbling In Practice - 4 Great Dribbling Games To Use At Next Practice!  While Cyndi Lauper told us that ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’, she could have just as easily been talking about kids.   While basic dribbling drills have their place, they aren’t the most exciting. How can you teach dribbling in a way that’s more mentally engaging and enjoyable? Try some of these ideas: Simon Says  You can adapt this classic to any level. Your commands will vary depending on the age level of your group, but can include which hand to dribble with, what height to dribble, what moves to execute, and what direction to move.   Kids love this game and will want to play it multiple times. A great part of it is you can control what type of dribbles they are executing and can tailor that to your team’s needs. Red Light, Green Light  Another game they will already know so you don’t have to teach the game. Like Simon Says, that will save you some time.   This is also a good way to teach dribbling on the move. You can have your players dribble at different paces when the light is green and yellow.   You can also use this drill to tie footwork to dribbling. These two skills are indelibly linked. With the youngest players, you will probably start with jump stops and triple threat. You could tell all players that on every red light they have to jump stop and get in triple threat.     From there, you could add pivoting before the next green light.  Dribble Relay Races  Relay races are a fun way to work on speed dribbling. Kids love a race. If you do relay races, a couple things to keep in mind:  * You want your players dribbling fast.  However, in the words of John Wooden, you want them to “Be quick but don’t hurry.”They will want to go 100 mph.  This can result in losing the ball. That is not necessarily a bad thing. They have to push their limits to see what they’re capable of. However, make sure to make them restart from the point they lost the ball to keep the race fair.  * Make them race with their left hand too! “Call Out Dribble Game” - Speed, Power, Control, Reverse  This is a good way to teach different types of dribbles. Players generally focus on speed and control dribbling, but all four of these are needed.  * A speed dribble is just what it sounds like. Going as fast as you can under control.  * A power dribble (see pic) is what you would use when closely guarded. First you turn your body sideways. Then, you dribble with your rear hand to keep space between the defender and the ball.   The front arm should be bent 90 degrees to act as a shield and protect the ball from the defender. Then you would advance the ball from there.   * A control dribble is when you advance the ball at a slower pace. This could commonly mean walking the ball up the court. This is probably where you started so your players may be best with this one.  * A reverse dribble (or back up dribble) is when you dribble backwards. This is a skill many players neglect. It is needed when being pressured or trapped. One key aspect is still keeping your eye forward to see what’s going on up the floor.   When you reverse dribble, your body is positioned the same as a power dribble. However, when dribbling, you pull the ball back and hop or shuffle back to create space from the defender.     To play the game, have players line up on the baseline. They will advance down the court responding to your verbal cues. Every couple seconds you will call out a different type of dribble and they must immediately switch to that dribble without stopping.   Again, make sure to use both hands. If you want to change hands within the drill, you could also add a “crossover” command.  Final Thoughts - The True Winning Combination  Basketball is meant to be fun. For it to be fun, players have to experience success. The fastest way to do this is to be able to dribble effectively.   Learn from my mistakes. When coaching beginning players, less is more. Start from here - what skills and concepts will allow them to play successfully at this age level?   When you look at it through the prism, dribbling is the place to start.   If you choose to start with dribbling, start from square one. Don’t worry about moves until the technique is correct. Make learning techniques fun through gamifying.   If you do this, your players will get better and have fun. That’s a true winning combination! Also, if you missed part 1 or part 2 of the series, [you can read part 1, part 2, and part 3 in entirety here](.  Please share your thoughts and comments as well. You can either reply directly or [comment on the article]( on our website. Resources For Youth Basketball  [The Youth Basketball Coaching System with Jim Huber - Ages 9 to 14](  [The Beginner Basketball Coaching System with Jim Huber - Ages 5 to 9](  [Ball Handling & Footwork Workouts - For Individual or Multi-Player Use (Coaching Dashboard Also Available To Manage Team!)](    All the best,  Jeff Huber Breakthrough Basketball  This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you indicated that you'd like to receive emails and updates from Breakthrough Basketball on 2016-12-16 05:42:39. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please [Change Your Email Preferences]( or [Unsubscribe All]( Copyright © Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. All rights reserved. Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. | 5001 1st Ave. SE, Ste 105 #254 | Cedar Rapids | IA | 52402 [email.gif] .   It’s our mission to build a strong community centered around basketball, personal development and most importantly - fun! We love to create extraordinary and useful products and share them with you! We love to help people learn how to enjoy the game of basketball at the next level by simply creating the right products that they use in their practices and games. Every day we are building and strengthening partnerships with companies and coaches that are in alignment with our own values. We particularly love working with coaches, players, and parents because through their passion and their craft they help elevate the game of basketball. As much as we care about basketball, we also care about your privacy. Breakthrough Basketball is owned and operated by Breakthrough Basketball. We are committed to advising you of the right to your privacy, and strives to provide a safe and secure user experience. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store and use personal information, provided by you on our website. When you visit our Web site you may provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis and Web site use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our Web site. For example, you may need to provide the following information: • Name • Website URL information • Email address • Home and business phone number It also explains how we collect and use non-personal information. By accessing and using our website, you explicitly accept, without limitation or qualification, the collection, use and transfer of the personal information and non-personal information in the manner described in our Privacy Policy. Please read this Policy on our website(s) carefully, as it affects your rights and liabilities under the law. If you disagree with the way we collect and process personal and non-personal information, please do not use this website. This Policy applies to this website as well as all webpages Breakthrough Basketball hosts. It regulates the processing of information relating to you and grants both of us various rights with respect to your personal data. It also informs you of how to notify us to stop using your personal information. We are located in the United States of America. You may be located in a country that has laws which are more restrictive about the collection and use of your personal information. However, by using our website, you agree to waive the more restrictive laws and agree to be governed by the laws of the United States of America. If you wish to view our official policies, please visit our website.