How to dribble a basketball with your left hand

How Can You Improve Your Left (Weak) Hand Dribbling?

If you are asking yourself this question, the first thing I would tell you is congratulations!

While 99% of players have one hand that is definitely stronger and better at ball handling, most players don’t spend any time trying to make sure that both hands are equal or at least VERY CLOSE to equal in terms of ball handling. Most players realize they have a problem but won’t do anything about it.

They continue to have a dominant hand that they are comfortable using in games.

And soon defenses realize this as well…

Good defenses will take your one strong hand away and force you to use your weak hand. That is when you feel like a below average player.

So why am I congratulating you???

You realize that great players are great with BOTH hands.

You realize the need to improve.

You realize that the time to get better is NOW!

If you have 2 strong hands and you don’t have a weak hand, what will that mean for you? Well it means….

• You can attack both ways off the dribble equally well….which makes you a match-up nightmare.
• Teams must guard you straight up and can’t try to force you a certain direction.
• You are an instant asset to your coach against pressure defense.
• You must be on the floor at the end of the game because of your ball handling skills.
• You will have more scoring opportunities because you can drive right or left.

So let’s get straight to it. Below is a list of 5 different ways to help you improve your ball handling with your weak hand. 

If you are a right handed player who is trying to improve your left hand, start by increasing your left hand reps when doing ball handling drills. 

In other words, if you are doing a ball handling drill that calls for 10 reps right hand and 10 reps left hand, simply increase your left hand reps. So maybe do 10 reps right hand and 15 reps with your left hand. Just make this a part of your workout routine.  It may not seem like a big difference, but if you consistently do more QUALITY reps with your weak hand, you’ll begin to see improvement.

I’m not asking for an extra hour or two hours a day. I’m asking that you show up 10 minutes early to each work out.  This 10 minutes is going to be dedicated to ONLY USING YOUR LEFT HAND. 

Below is a list and brief explanation of simple yet effective drills to do with your weak hand in the first 10 minutes of each workout.

Stationary Weak Hand Drills

• Left Hand (Weak Hand) Ball Rolls. Simply roll the ball on the floor in a circle with your left hand. Make sure you go both directions. Do 3 circles clockwise and 3 circles counterclockwise.
• Left Hand Pound Low.  Pound the ball  as low and as hard as you can for 20 seconds.
• Left Hand Pound High. Pound the ball  as high and hard as you can for 20 seconds.
• Left Hand Kills. Pound the ball high and hard and then after 5 seconds try to pound the ball as low as you can (almost kill your dribble) and gradually bring the ball up to as high as you can go. Repeat for 5 reps.
• Left Hand Side To Side. On the left side of your body, push and pull the ball at your side low and fast for 20 seconds.
• Left Hand Windshield Wipers. Put the ball out in front of you and go back and forth from left to right low and hard. Do this for 20 seconds.

On The Move Ball Handling for Weak Hand   (Do These Drills Full Court & Back)

• Left Hand ½ Speed. You should go at approximately 50% speed with your left (weak) hand.
• Left Hand Hesitation. Take 2 dribbles forward and perform your hesitation with your left hand and then explode forward. Repeat until you get to the opposite baseline. 
• Left Hand In And Out. Take 2 dribbles forward and perform in and out move with your left hand. Repeat until you get to the opposite baseline. 
• Left Hand Retreat Dribble. Take 4 hard dribbles forward. Stop. Take 2 hard dribbles backwards trying to cover as much ground as possible. Continue with 4 dribbles forward followed by 2 retreat dribbles backwards until you get to the opposite baseline. 
• Left Hand Low Pound. Walk to the opposite baseline while pounding the ball in your left hand low and hard
• Left Hand Speed Dribble. Now it is time to fly. Speed dribble as fast as you can to the opposite baseline. Do this drill full court and back three times with a short rest between reps.

These 11 drills give you a great place to start each of your workouts. And the best thing is you don’t have to be at the gym to do these, so if you want to improve faster, do these beginner basketball drills twice a day at home.

Key Points of Emphasis:

• Make sure you keep your eyes up for every drill and look around the gym as you are using your left hand.

• Work on hard, quick dribbles while you are using your left hand. You may lose the ball occasionally – that’s OK – you are getting BETTER!

Everyone knows to improve at something it takes extra time. How bad do you want to become an elite ball handler with both hands?  If your left (weak) hand is holding you back stop making excuses. Go to the gym 1 extra day a week. 

Maybe you are going 3 days, so go 4. 
Maybe you are going 5 days, so go 6.

But make that extra gym day a LEFT HAND DAY. Spend your time at the gym that day doing everything with your left hand. 

Do all left handed stationary ball handling. 
Do all left handed on the move ball handling.
Do all scoring moves with left hand dribbling.
Do all your pull up jumpers to the left.   
Pass against the wall to yourself only using your left hand.

This doesn’t have to be an extremely long workout. Maybe you are only at the gym an extra 45 minutes for this workout. And you can still do most of the normal shooting drills you do, but make sure any time you are to dribble, use your weak hand.

Ok, how often do you use your left hand in your daily life? Using your opposite or weak hand in everyday life helps strengthen neural connections in your brain. 

Try using your left hand for EVERYTHING you do throughout the day.  

Try opening doors with your left hand.

Try brushing your teeth with your left hand.

Try eating with your left hand.

You get the point. Everything you normally would use your right hand for, try using your left hand. It will be awkward at first, but you will gradually feel more comfortable. And this new found comfort with your left hand will carry over to the court.

Make sure you use practices, pick-up games and scrimmages, to work on using your weak hand as well.

You will have to make a concerted effort throughout these live action games to use your left hand more!

What might that look like?

If you are forcing yourself to use your weak hand during off-season games, what might that look like? Maybe you are…

• Dribbling the ball down the court with your left hand when dribbling in transition.
• Attacking LEFT the first five times you put the ball on the floor to get to the rim.
• Bringing the ball down the floor every time with your left hand.
• Making push passes with your left hand.

Remember, your current habit is to use your right hand and your strength is using your right hand. This means the tighter the game and the better the competition, the more likely you are to resort back to what you do best…. using your strong hand.  

You must develop your weak hand so you are AS CONFIDENT using your left hand as you are using your right hand. And the only way for you to become confident in using your weak hand is by putting in the work! Put in the work and you’ll gain the confidence.

It is crucial that you implement your action plan for improving your weak hand into scrimmages, pick-up games, and summer league games, as well as practices.  It is the only way you can achieve your ultimate goal of having  NO WEAK HAND and having 2 STRONG HANDS.

Now let’s get to work!

3 Tips to Help You Improve Your Weak Hand

Basketball Tip

Most players don’t know the value of being able to dribble, shoot, and pass with both hands no matter the position they play. Many athletes tend to favor one hand over the other because it’s their dominant hand and more comfortable. If you're looking to play in high school or college, it is expected of you to be able to use both hands and can even be the deciding factor when getting a spot on a team.

The players that are comfortable using both hands are the athletes that stand out. They can crossover and overtake their defender quickly with eyes on the court. They can swiftly curve any bounce pass through the defender’s arms, and they can make that breakaway layup no matter which way they’re being pushed. Here are three tips from the Doug Bruno Girls Basketball Camp staff to help players become more comfortable using both hands.

1. Dribble with Both Hands
When trying to develop your non-dominant hand, dribbling should be the first place that you start. Begin by keeping your dominant hand behind your back, forcing yourself to use your weak hand to dribble. Practice this and after time it will start to feel more and more comfortable.

Once you have mastered that, try adding in a second basketball and dribble with each hand at the same time. Remember to keep your elbows behind the ball and force the ball into ground while keeping your head up. This will improve your coordination and ball handling skills in both hands. Being able to dribble with both hands provides a huge advantage over your opponent, you can now dribble down the court on the right and left side which makes it much harder for the defender to guess which direction you plan to go.

2. Weak Hand Passing
Another way to develop your weak hand is through various passing drills. Grab a partner, stand ten feet apart, and put your dominant hand behind your back. With one ball, pass and receive with only your weak hand. As you progress, you can increase the speed and challenge your partner! Each player should pass with their non-dominant hand twenty times equaling one set. Start with four sets and increase as you feel more comfortable.

3. Off-Court Tips
Although it is important to make a point to emphasize using both hands in practice, steps need to be made around the clock to master this skill. Doing daily activities with your non-dominant hand will form the proper habits and allow you to feel more comfortable using that hand. We recommend you eat and cut your food, open doors, drawers and packages, comb your hair, brush your teeth and use your phone all with your non-dominant hand. Initially, all these tasks will feel foreign but if you stay consistent, it will become a routine.

Implementing these practice tips will help you feel more comfortable using your non-dominant hand, which allows for a smooth transition onto the court. For further help with your game, check out more drills and tips and join us this summer at a Doug Bruno Girls Basketball Camp!

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How to dribble in basketball

I'll tell my honorable readers of the blog Pro-Basketball.Ru, how to dribble in basketball correctly when the path to the basket is clear.

Push (but do not hit) it with a forward and downward movement of the hand and fingers of one hand with such force that the ball, bouncing off the floor, is at the level of the hand. Don't forget the correct stance. If you dribble with your right hand, your left foot should be half a step forward.

Hold the ball with spread fingers from top to back. Starting to dribble in basketball, take a step with your left foot, and push the ball forward and down with your right hand. Drag the basketball a little in front of you, to the side, always with the hand farthest from the opponent.

Learn to dribble without looking at your opponent. Then you will clearly see what is happening on the court, and when your friend is in an advantageous position, you can immediately pass the ball to him.

If a basketball guard is close enough to hit or take the ball away from you, stop. It is best to stop with a jump, so that both legs are preferably on the same line. If the defender is very close to you and is trying to hit the ball, hide it from the defender, turn away from him.

This technique is called turning. What is a turn and how to do it? When you stop with a jump and both your feet are on the same line, you can turn to one side and the other.

Transfer the weight of your body to the right foot, push off with the left and, without straightening (crouching on the right foot), turn your back to the defender, placing the left foot to the right. Know that you should not often turn away from the protector. You won't see your basketball teammates or what's going on on the court. Is that bad.

Use turn only if you need to save the ball. Turning will also help get around the defender. You have the ball and you can dribble it. The defender came very close. Turning around, you leave it behind your back and dribble the ball towards the basket.

You need to be able to dribble not only in a straight line. Learn to dribble by changing direction, now with your right hand, then with your left hand. For example, you dribble the ball with your right hand. Your opponent on the right is trying to knock him out of you. Taking a step with your left foot, push the ball with your right forward and down towards your left hand, but do not catch it with your left foot. Then dribble the ball with your left hand.

If your friend is in a better position, don't dribble, but pass the ball. Do not hit the ball with your hand, but push it down, accompanying with your fingers. Do not run with outstretched legs, leaning forward. Bend your knees and be sure to look ahead, not at the ball. First of all, learn to dribble well, now higher, then lower, the ball bouncing off the floor with your right and left hands and on the spot.

Try to dribble in place with your eyes closed. When you learn how to dribble well on the spot, learn to dribble, moving at a walk, then on the run. Remember that you can learn to dribble professionally on your own. When you learn how to dribble properly at school, train yourself.

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Improvement Exercises

Improvement Exercises dribbling

Purposeful dribbling is one of the most effective techniques in modern basketball. Each team must have court with at least one excellent dribbler and the rest of the players should be able to drive the ball freely, naturally, while seeing the court, be able to bypass the defender with the help of dribbling (one on one).

Like passing, dribbling in the modern game is performed at high speeds, with the active influence of defenders. improve dribbling is necessary in conditions close to the competition, in close connection with improving body control techniques.

Exercises for training one player

1. Player freely dribbles the ball forward, stops, dribbles again (Fig. 49). Stopping, performs dribbling on the spot. It is very important to stop properly.

Variants: a) dribble with a high bounce off the floor, after a stop, switch to dribble with a low rebound from the floor;

b) dribble with a low bounce as quickly as possible forward, stop and again dribble the ball forward as quickly as possible;

c) dribble the ball with one or the other hand.

2. Dribble, changing direction from one sideline to another (or mark a corridor narrower) (Fig. 50).

3. Dribbling between obstacles, (fig. 51) with the hand farthest from the obstacle, so that between the ball and the obstacle was the body of the player. Possibly put up obstacles closer, this will allow you to change the direction of the ball more often.

4. Dribbling with a stop and a change in the direction of guidance in the opposite direction. Move the ball forward with your left hand, back with your right hand (Fig. 52).

5. Dribbling around the obstacle as quickly as possible. Return to starting position easily, driving the ball, (Fig. 53).

6. Same, but an obstacle is circled first on one side, then on the other, therefore around one obstacles to dribble the ball with one hand, around the second - with the other, etc. (around lead the first in the indicated direction with your left hand) (Fig. 54).

7. Dribble, stop, turn, drive on, etc. (Fig. 55).

8. Dribble from one touchline to the other (or in a marked corridor narrower than the court), perform a turn, at the same moment change hands and dribble further (Fig. 56).

9. Lead in a straight line (or initially in place) immediately two balls.

10. The player leads ball across the hall against the wall. At a distance of 5-6 m from it performs a transmission (hits the ball against the wall), catches the bouncing ball, turns, dribbles the ball to opposite wall and does the same (Fig. 57). Pass the ball without stopping, on the move (or, without catching the ball, but right after the dribble, execute transfer with one hand).

11. On site mark a few points. Two put the ball behind the end line. The player takes one ball, leads to any point, return to baseline, change balls, lead to another marked point etc. If there is one ball, then return to the front line every time the ball is brought to a certain point (Fig. 58).

Described exercises can be performed on the entire site, on one half, on a part sites.

Exercises for training two players

1. Players stand one after another at the end line facing the court. At a distance of 12-14 m from the first player is faced with an obstacle (chair, stand). The player dribbles around obstacles, passes it to the partner and runs to the place of the partner. The second player who received the ball does the same (Fig. 59).

2. Players stand on opposite corners of the site. The player dribbles the ball; catching up with a partner passes the ball to him. He dribbles the ball forward to the end of the court, stops, makes a turn and passes the ball diagonally to a partner (so that the pass is not too long, you can dribble up to half of the site,} {rice. 60).

3. Players one against another at a distance of 15-20 m. The player dribbles half this distance, passes his partner, receives the ball back, turns and dribbles then to starting position, where it stops, turns to the partner and passes him the ball. The second player does the same (Fig. 61).

4. Players stand at the end line one by one facing the court. The first player dribbles 5-6 m, stops, turns to the partner and passes the ball to him. Second player runs forward for the lead ball. The player who receives the ball dribbles as far as possible. faster, overtakes teammate, stops, turns and passes the ball partner (Fig. 62).

5. From the same starting position, as in exercise 4, the player standing closer to the front lines, dribbles and overtakes the player in front of him. Then the player without the ball quickly runs forward and overtakes a partner who is leading the ball. Once a player without the ball is in front of the leader of the ball - he passes the ball to him; the player who received the ball begins to dribble, and the player who passed the ball overtakes the leader and again receives a transmission from him

(Fig. 63).

6. Playground divided into four parts. Players at the end line; both have the ball. Who faster, driving the ball in the indicated directions, will reach the opposite front lines (Fig. 64).

7. Players stand as shown in Fig. 65. One player dribbles forward, the other without the ball overtakes the leader of the ball, changes the direction of the run, cuts the path of the leader, does not preventing him from dribbling, runs a few steps, stops, again cheats running direction, overtakes the leader and, having received a pass from him, dribbles the ball forward. The player who gave the ball does the same way and again, having received the ball, leads him forward, etc. The actions of the player without the ball should, perhaps, be more fast, but with correct stops, with a change in the direction of running (Fig. 65).

8. On site 4 balls are placed in one row at a distance of 4-5 m from one another. Player runs to one of the balls, takes it and leads to the end line, leaves it on marked place and runs after another ball, etc. (Fig. 66). The second player alternately leading the balls, puts them in their original places (Fig. 67).

9. One player in the role of the defender, the second dribbles, stops, dribbles on, etc. The defender does not operate at full strength (Fig. 68). The players change roles.

10. Player leads ball in the direction shown in Fig. 69. The defender is active: if the leader does not protect the ball, dribbles it with the wrong (far) hand, the defender tries to knock ball. The players change roles.

11. On the court a corridor 5-6 m wide is marked. The player with the ball tries break through, bypass the defender in this corridor. The task of the defender without losing the good position (keeping the right distance from the ball carrier, good stance, etc.), if possible, take away, knock out the ball. The task of the ball carrier is to protect the ball and bypass the defender (Fig. 70). The dribbler must face the defender at all times. (except when making turns). The players change roles.

12. Protector - at the center circle, the ball carrier is at of the front line dribbles the ball, trying on the move to bypass the defender who meets leading at the central circle (Fig. 71). This exercise can also be done in marked corridor.

13. Both players have a ball and are freely driven in different directions in a small part sites. Each of them, dribbling the ball, tries to knock out the partner's ball and at the same time guards his ball so that it is not knocked out by a partner.

14. Players stand at the front line, facing the court at a distance of 5-6 m from each other. The first player (in front) dribbles, turns, stops, changes direction, height of the rebound when dribbling, speed of dribbling, changes the hand that dribbles the ball, and the player standing behind imitates him, trying as quickly as possible do the same as the partner.

15.In the middle the court is a player without the ball. The player with the ball from the end line dribbles the ball at maximum forward speed, passes it to a partner, receives the pass back, dribbles to the opposite front line, dribbles the ball to the other side of the court and returns back, doing the same (Fig. 72). Exercise to perform at the maximum pace.

16. The same but there are obstacles on the site. It is important to perform the exercise accurately and quickly. It is advisable to improve passing the ball right after dribbling with one hand, not

catching the ball (fig. 73).

17. Players stand as shown in Fig. 74. There is an obstacle at the free-throw line. Player O1 leads ball forward towards the basket, changes direction of reference and leads him past obstacles. Meanwhile player O ₂ runs as shown. As soon as player O1 runs past the obstacle, player O ₂ leads the ball to the place from which the player began to dribble O ₁ a player O1 takes the player's place 02 etc.

Exercises for training three players

1. Players stand at the end line facing the court. One player dribbles the ball to the marked spot (up to center circle), stops, turns and returns the ball to one from partners, and he himself remains there. The second player to receive the ball does same thing. The third player who received the ball dribbles it to the marked place, turns around, leads him back to the beginning starting position and transfers to one of the partners (Fig. 75).

2. The same only the player who passed the ball returns to its original position (Fig. 76).

3. Players run around. One of them dribbles the ball and passes it from behind to the runner (or in front), he the next, etc. (Fig. 77).

4. Each player, while driving the ball in a small part of the court, he tries to knock out the ball of a partner.

5. One player dribbles the ball, and the other two players try to intercept the ball, knock it out.

6. Players stand at the front line, as shown in Fig. 78. Player 1 dribbles towards player 2, who also runs towards player, dribbler, takes the ball from him and continues to dribble in the same direction. AT at the same time, player 3 runs towards player 2, takes the ball from his hand, continues move in the same direction until player 2 passes ball to player 3. Once player 3 has received the ball, player 1 quickly changes running direction and runs towards player 3, takes over the ball, etc. Player 2, who threw ball to player 3, does the same as player 1.

7. Players stand at the end line, facing the court. Player 1 dribbles forward 3-4 m and, changing direction, dribbles the ball across the court to where player is standing 2. Player 2 runs to the dribbler, receives it and makes the same path while dribbling the ball like player 1, heading towards player 3. The path of the players without the ball is shown in fig. 79.

8. Player 1 leads ball forward to player 2. As soon as he is in line with him, stops, turns back and passes the ball to player 2, who dribbles ball to player 3 and does the same. Player 3 dribbles the ball across the court to player I, etc. (Fig. 80).

9. One player per the role of the defender prevents the player with the ball from "breaking through" to the center circle. The remaining two players each have the ball and are behind the end line. Their goal is driving the ball, “break through”, bypass the defender. Ball carriers must use space to the defender to gain speed and, having gained speed, "get around" the defender, using deceptive movements, changing direction, rhythm management (Fig. 81).

As soon as one the attacker bypassed (or the defender took away, knocked out the ball) the defender, immediately breaks through second. Players switch roles after the attacker completes the drill repeatedly.

10. Two players as a defender. Each of them operates on a certain plot. The player with the ball behind the end line. His goal is to break through, bypass the defender, driving the ball (Fig. 82).

11. One player as a defender, the other players each have the ball. A corridor is marked on the site, in which the defender operates. Each player with the ball in his area dribbles the ball and tries in turn to break through to another section through the corridor in which defender is active. If the dribbling player sees that it is not possible to break through, he returns to his area. The player who lost the ball becomes a defender {rice. 83).

12. Two players stand at opposite ends of the site, the third - in the middle between them a protector. The ball carrier dribbles to a defender who interferes with the pass ball to a partner. The player with the ball passes it to a partner and returns to the starting position. position. The second player, having caught the ball, also leads it to the defender, etc. If defender interfered with passing the ball, he changes role with a player who could not pass the ball (Fig. 84).

13. The same but the ball is dribbled in a limited corridor 4-5 m wide. The defender immediately actively interferes with dribbling and passing to a teammate. ball player must necessarily bring the ball to the middle of the court and only then perform the transfer. If the transmission successfully performed to a partner standing at the opposite end of the site, the defender runs towards him and also actively acts, preventing the player from dribbling, and then pass it on. If the ball carrier fails to bring the ball to the middle of the court or could not complete the pass, then he becomes a defender (Fig. 85).

14. Two players with balls stand at the end line, the third - in the central circle facing them. Players dribble forward alternately at maximum speed. Not catching the ball move, one of the players with one hand directs the ball to a player standing in center circle, receives the pass back, dribbles to the end of the court, turns and does the same in reverse (Fig.

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