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How to improve my handles in basketball
Basketball Dribbling and Ball Handling Video Clips, Fundamentals, Drills, and Tips
Most coaches use dribbling and ball handling interchangeably. Though they are linked, the 2 skills are definitely separate.
Dribbling and controlling the ball is a skill that can be practiced alone and is separate from the other ball skills on the court. Ball handling, however, involves knowledge of the game and integrates dribbling, passing and decision-making.
Practicing and improving your dribbling is a simple task. There are innumerable dribbling drills that are in use today that are challenging and effective. The set of drills that have come to be known as "Maravich Drills," (after the late ball-handling wizard Pete Maravich) are widely known. They include drills such as passing the ball around your body, dribble figure 8s, spider dribbling, drop and catch.
Practicing and improving your ball handling requires imagination, as you have to put yourself in game situations.
One of our favorite series of ballhandling drills that helps develop better ballhandlers is the Maravich series! Watch it below.
9 Tips To Improve Your Dribbling & Ball Handling
Here are 9 tips from pro coach Don Kelbick.
Dribble the ball hard. The more time the ball spends in your hand, the more control you have of the ball. The harder you dribble, the quicker it gets back in your hand.
Head up at all times. Look at the rim or a spot on the wall during all practice.
Use your finger tips to control the ball, not your palm.
Use your imagination. Picture when and how you would use each of the dribbles.
Teach mentality. There is too much dribbling for no reason in our game today. I like to teach that the primary purpose for putting the ball on the floor is to get a lay-up. If you don't have an opportunity, don't put it on the floor.
Basketball is a game of length. Work on lengthening the dribble. Work to get your opportunities with 1 dribble. You don't beat defenses with your dribble. You beat people with your feet; you SEPARATE from your defense with the dribble.
Basketball is also a game of angles. Try to move in straight lines. Whenever you make an "East-West" move (something that takes you toward the sideline), re-capture a "North-South" path (direct line to the basket) as quickly as possible.
Don't do things in 2 dribbles that you can do in 1.
Practice outside your comfort zone. Experiment; go faster than you are used to, use your imagination. When working on new skills, don't be concerned with losing the ball. Just pick it up and do it again. If you practice only things that are comfortable, then you will never improve.
More Ball Handling Tips and Articles
Executing The Basketball Pick and Roll
The Importance of the Back Up Dribble and How It Reduces Turnovers Against Pressure
A Secret to Chris Paul's Success - Change of Pace
Handling Ball Screens Like Steve Nash
Chris Paul Hesitation Move & The Importance of Counter Moves [VIDEO]
Other Blog Posts About Ball Handling
Dribbling Practice
"Maravich Drills" are very good at getting players comfortable with the ball. Below are some examples.
Dribble Figure 8's - Spread legs about shoulder width. Dribble the ball through and around legs in a figure 8. Can be done multiple ways - front to back, back to front, low dribbles (as many dribbles as possible with dribble about shoe height), as few dribbles as possible (high dribble about waist high), can even be done walking. For even more of a challenge, try the drill with one hand instead of two.
Spider Dribble - Feet spread about shoulder width. Dribble the ball between your legs in the following manner - left hand, right hand in front of your legs; left hand, right hand behind your legs. Work to as fast a possible.
Drop and Catch - Hold ball between your legs with right hand in front of your body, left hand behind. Drop the ball and exchange you hand position and re-catch the ball before it hits the ground.
These are just examples. There are too many of these drills to list here. Pete Maravich devised these drills out of his imagination, his need for challenge and his drive to improve. You do not need to be bound by other people's drills; challenge yourself to come up with your own drills.
Dribbling Warm Ups
I prefer to practice skills in combinations that are relevant to multiple aspects of the game. It saves time and instills a great sense of urgency.. It
saves time and has a great sense of urgency. One of the ways I do this is to add dribbling into my stretching exercises.
Hamstring Stretch - While dribbling with your right hand, cross right leg over left. Bend at the waist, touch the floor with your left
hand and bring your dribble down to shoe top level. Hold for an 8 count. Reverse position and switch hands.
Lower Body and Achilles Stretch - Dribble waist high while standing up. Step as far forward with your right leg as you can, keeping
your back straight and your left heel on the ground. At the same time bring your dribble forward of your right foot, keeping the ball at
shoe-top height. Hold for an 8 count and then stand up. Switch legs and dribble hand.
Crossover - Same as above except, step forward with left leg. As foot goes to the floor, switch hands, right to left, keeping
dribble shoe top height. Cross back when standing up.
Through Legs - Same as above except instead of crossing over, put ball through legs at shoe top height.
Multiple Through Legs - Same as above except put ball through legs 3 times (left, right, left) on quick, successive dribbles
shoe top height.
Torso Twist - Spread legs outside of shoulder width, dribble with right hand. Keeping legs straight, bring ball across body to
left side, outside left foot and dribble at shoe top height behind left foot.
These are just samples. You can develop a dribble stretch for any part of the body.
Two Ball Dribbling Drills & Videos:
I think the most effective way to improve your dribble, however, is by using 2 balls. Any dribble or drill you can do with 1 ball, you can do with 2.
Stationary practice at first will build confidence. Stand on the baseline and try to control both balls. Then start to move. Go half court, then full court. Follow
the lines around the court or in any route you can come up with.
To see more DRILLS & VIDEOS Click Here.
The difference between dribbling and ball handling is intent. Dribbling is the skill of controlling the ball as you bounce it to the floor. Ball handling (at least 1 aspect of ball handling) is what you do with that dribble.
Whether you use it to go to the basket, make a passing angle, escape from pressure or anything else, those situations have to be imagined and practiced.
Here are some situational drills:
Full Court Lay-ups - Start on the baseline. Dribble full court with right hand in 5 dribbles and make a lay-up, come back with left hand. Then reduce the number of dribbles to 4 and then to 3.
Chair Changes - Place a chair about 21 feet from the basket. It can be on top, on the wing, or in the corner. Start about 8-10 feet beyond the chair. Dribble straight at the chair. At the chair, use a change of direction dribble (crossover, inside out, behind back, etc) to go beyond the chair and make a lay-up. Try to get to the point where you only need one dribble to get to the lay-up. Practice all the changes.
Two up - Two back - Set a chair such as in the drill above. Take 2 hard dribbles at the chair. When reaching the chair, take 2 backup dribbles. After the second dribble, push ahead into 1 dribble lay-up or pull-up jumpshot.
Dropstep Dribble - (works on footwork and ballhanding)
Chair Curl - This is another great multi use drill. It combines shooting, ball handling and speed and high intensity change in direction.
Chair Curl Phase 2 (With 2 Chairs)
Two Ball Dribbling Drills & Moves - Excellent way to improve one on one moves.
Basketball Pick and Roll Drills
Shooting drills can also be adapted to work on ball handling aspects by adding changes of direction and pivoting to create 1 and 2 dribble opportunities for either jumpers or lay-ups.
Once you have developed a feel for the ball, it's very important that you practice your ball handling in competitive, game-like situations with defenders present. In the DVD 30 Competitive Skill Development Drills, you will find 12 drills that are specific to improving your ball handling skills in game-like situations.
More Dribbling and Ball Handling Drills
Coaches, go here for more Dribbling & Ball Handling Drills
Players, go here for more Dribbling & Ball Handling Drills
Recommended Training Resources:
Youth Ball Handling & Workout App - Over 200 ball handling and footwork drills. 24 Different Levels.
SKLZ Court Vision dribble goggles will help you develop better ball control and improved awareness of the whole court. They force players to handle the ball with their head up to survey the court...(more info)
5 Things You Need To Know To Be a Great Ball Handler
By Jeff Haefner
You can be an extremely effective ball handler by knowing and practicing 5 things. Most players and coaches make
things too complicated. But dribbling effectively is simple. You don't need lots of moves. You just need EFFECTIVE moves.
Here's all you need to know to be effective at any level.
1 - You need to develop a feel for the basketball.
Developing a feel for the ball consists of drills that are stationary and slow moving. You will improve your hand-eye coordination, hand quickness, ambidexterity, throwing, catching and other important aspects of ball handling.
These drills consists of the Maravich series, one-ball dribbling, one-ball dribbling through cones, two-ball dribbling, two-ball dribbling through cones, tennis ball dribbling, and the Steve Nash passing series.
These drills are also great to put at the beginning of your warm up as a stepping stone to more intense drills.
A huge mistake that many players and coaches make is that they spend too much time on this. While it is important, especially for beginners, limit yourself to 5 to 6 minutes of each practice. The reasoning is that you can get very good at these drills, but you neglect the components below, you won't have the ability to handle game situations. If you can dribble 3 basketballs while juggling 5 tennis balls at the same time, it looks cool and it is a neat circus trick that is great for marketing, but it is a circus trick. It is not going to make you a better basketball player. The majority of your ball handling should be functional which means that they simulate game-like situations. Can you get down the court in 3 to 4 dribbles with either hand? Can you stop on a dime? Can you change speed and change directions like Chris Paul?
If you are able to dribble 3 balls and juggle 5 tennis balls at the same time, I would say that your hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and hand quickness are extremely good and you probably don't need to focus on them any more. You probably should spend more time on shooting, footwork, athleticism, and functional ball handling.
2 - You must be able to dribble the ball down the court at any speed (all the way from walking up to sprinting) with both hands with your head up.
Pretty simple but important, right? You can simply dribble up and down the court at different speeds.
3 - You must be able to change your pace.
It's good to incorporate change of pace in your dribbling drills.
Chris Paul is the
expert at changing speeds (pace). That allows him to get the defender off balance.
Practice changing the pace from walking, slow, medium, fast, and full speed. You can change the pace from slow to fast, medium to full speed, and any
other combinations you can imagine.
4 - You must be able to dribble while moving backwards.
So now instead of going forward, you need to be able to back out of traffic and so on. That's where the
back up dribble comes into play.
Simply, get in a position where you are protecting the ball and shuffle forwards and backwards up and down the court.
Next, you can practice running forward at a faster speed, come to hockey stop, and shuffle a couple of steps backwards.
Mix it up so you can handle any situation.
5 - You must have a primary dribble move and a counter dribble move.
If you perfect a go-to move that's very difficult to stop, good defenders will adjust to stop it. That's when you add your counter move to completely
keep the defender guessing.
I prefer the cross over as the primary move and the inside out as the counter move. You might use the hesitation move and the crossover.
That's it! Perfect those five things and when it comes to dribbling, you'll have the dribbling ability to handle almost any situation. Should you also
practice other things for ball handling? Sure. Now do you need apply the technical skills to competitive drills to handle game situations like transition, ball screens, handling traps, etc.? Yes. Do you need to improve your athleticism to make you a better player in every aspect of your game? Yes. But I'm telling you, that these are five extremely effective methods to give you the technical skill to handle any situation.
You can use the back up dribble all the time -- you use it when approaching a trap, when approaching defensive traffic, when getting cut off in the lane, when breaking the press, when breaking a player down one on one, etc.
You can then incorporate the cross over in lots of situations. If you advance the ball and get cut off you can back up dribble and then cross over to break down your man and blow by him. You can cross over to change directions and bring the ball to the other side of the court. You can cross over to the passing angle to your teammate. You can cross over to split a ball screen. You can cross over on the fast break to get by the defender. You can cross over to eventually set up your counter move (the inside out). So next time instead of crossing over, fake out the defender by giving the inside out move and then blow by the defender.
You still need to practice a lot, but I think this will simplify your life greatly by focusing on a few really effective dribbling techniques instead of
trying to practice all kinds of moves and techniques that don't really help. The techniques above are the the most effective dribbling moves that I know.
How To Become A Great Ball Handler
If you'd like to become a great ball handler, check out the Progressive Ball Handling & Footwork Workouts App.
It provides a step-by-step process with professionally designed videos and workouts. It has over 200 drills and 24 levels of workouts.
What do you think? Please leave your thoughts and comments below.
Basketball coaching hacks: how to score goals for beginners
Even if you are a novice basketball player, we will not give you a training plan, but we will tell you why the ball flies anywhere but into the ring and into your hands. It's all about technique: even with regular training and perseverance, novice adults and children often make simple mistakes. It's a shame, let's fix it. Below are 11 life hacks on how to hone your technique to increase the likelihood of a goal for your team.
Basketball Shot Rules for Beginners
1. Hands up
In pursuit of the attacker, raise your hands, even if you are standing with your back to the pass, and even more so if the ring is in front of you. Your raised hands will increase the chance of intercepting the ball from the opponent by 2 times. Don't overlook this little thing!
2. Make shield rolls
Even Tim Duncan did not neglect them! A square is drawn on the basketball backboard. If you are standing opposite the ring, then aim at the middle of the upper part of the square, if you are standing on the side, then at the corner. If you hit this square, then the ball is at 90% of cases will fall into the ring. The law of physics and no cheating!
3. Look at the ring, not at the ball
Practice driving the ball with your hand, not your eyes, develop tactile control. Your eyes should be on the hoop while dribbling and be aware of the position of your body in relation to the hoop. Then you will be able to take the correct posture, and the throw will be effective.
4. Dribble with the balls of your fingers only
The palm should not touch the ball, only the pads of the fingers. Dribbling should become familiar to you, like an extension of your hand. Then you can change its trajectory at any time and you will have more chances to score goals. Practice with the ball constantly.
5. Throw with one hand
If you throw the ball with two hands, you reduce the chance of hitting the basket. All the efforts of the throw are in one hand (in the right for right-handers, in the left for left-handers). The other hand only holds the ball, the leading one holds it with the fingers, not the palm.
6. Do not jump when protecting the ring
Jumping is the main mistake of rookie defenders. To intercept the ball and block the shot, simply stick out your hands. When you are in a jump, the attacker will easily bypass you.
7.
Don't look back
When you dribble, don't look back, but dribble and aim for the ring, focus on shooting (or passing to another player on your team).
8. Bring the throw to automatism
Incorporate the most basic basketball techniques into your training plan and bring the shot to automatism. Throw at first from a distance of half a meter from the ring, gradually increasing it. Learn to throw the ball so that it hits the hoop without touching the edge.
Throw the ball with all fives and jump
Throwing Rules:
Head in the center of the body - if tilted, accuracy is lost.
Look at the ring: mentally build a trajectory. If you are far away, the ball flies in a curved curve with a maximum height of 2 meters above the hoop.
A strong hand is in front and throws, a weak hand is on the side and directs, only holding the ball. The elbow of the throwing hand must be in line with the ring.
The ball must rest on the fingers without touching the palm. The fingers are as far apart as possible and grab the ball.
Throwing arm bent 90 degrees, forearm perpendicular to the floor. If you bend less, then you get not a throw, but a throwing of the ball horizontally.
The main thing in the throw is the position of the body and its balance. Place your feet apart and parallel to each other: it is important to orient them in the middle of the basket. Then the direction of the body during the jump will coincide with the direction of the throw, and the ball will fly straight into the ring. When the feet are uneven, the ball flies in the wrong direction or does not reach (although the throw was normal).
Take a deep breath and release as you exhale.
How to hold the ball and shoot in basketball
How to throw correctly: straighten your arm, point your wrist up, and with your hand set the ball to rotate in the opposite direction from the flight. The ball should seem to "roll" off your fingers.
9. Copy masters and play as a team
Watch professional basketball games and try to copy the movements of your favorite players in training. And be sure to conduct game sparring - this will allow you to develop more techniques.
10. Do not throw in a straight line
The higher the arc of the ball, the greater the chance of a goal and the less chance of blocking by the opponent.
11. Do not throw the ball from a full height stand
This is the biggest newbie mistake!
Before the throw, bend your knees slightly and at the moment of the throw, straighten your body, making a jump. You need to straighten up and push off the ground at the same time. When squatting, keep the elbow of the throwing arm close to the body and towards the ring.
The jump will give momentum to the ball and will allow you not to make sudden movements with the brush.
***
And to be a long-term player, do not forget about your health: take care of your joints and muscles, use tapes, do a warm-up. And be sure to strengthen your arms, legs and shoulder girdle, develop coordination. Regular exercises on uneven bars and horizontal bars will help you with this.
5 exercises to improve your weak basketball arm
Contents
Exercise No. 1. Static dribbling.
Exercise #2: Make self-passes with the wall
Exercise #3: Shooting at close range with a weak hand
Exercise #4: Watch video matches and analyze right-handed/left-handed play
Exercise #5: Mentally visualize the perfect gesture.
Except for exceptions, since there are people who have both hands, most people have a favorite hand and foot. In sports, especially basketball, the ability to handle the ball with ease regardless of your hand is an important quality to play at a high level. Indeed, if you have poor control of the ball when it is in your hands, your opponents will find this weak point and force you to interfere. If you are in this situation, fortunately there are solutions to fix it. There is always room for improvement in basketball. And this is due to hard work and regularity. Whether you are right handed or left handed, we will give you regular repetition exercises to improve your weak hand.
Exercise No. 1. Static dribbling.
In a crouched position, with a straight back and looking towards the basket, dribble while remaining in place. Your supports must be anchored to the ground. Start dribbling with your fingertips. It is they who will give a push to the ball so that it bounces off the ground. Dribbling at moderate intensity and then at maximum intensity once you find your rhythm.
To help you handle the ball with your weak hand, you can start with a smaller ball, such as a tennis ball.
When you feel comfortable, start by walking slowly with the ball, dribbling it with your weak hand. Synchronicity must be found in your movements between the arm and legs in order to control the situation.
Exercise #2: Make Self Passes with the Wall
Using his weak hand to pass can save you precious hundredths of a second. The highest level is played on the details. A pass made by your weak hand can help you avoid an interception. To improve in this area, there is a simple exercise that you can do yourself. All you have to do is find a wall to act as a target and support to hit the ball on every throw. You probably know that there are various types of passes in basketball . Use your weak hand to reproduce them. Repetition of the correct movements is the key to success. When passing, the ball should never be above your shoulder. Be alive and dynamic. A good pass is dry and performed at chest level.
Drill #3: Close Range Shooting with a Weak Hand
You're not going to revolutionize your shooting by working with your weak hand. You will always be more efficient with your strong hand. However, knowing how to perform left-handed or right-handed is always very helpful. This is one of the foundations of basketball. To improve your skills, practice shooting with one hand near the circle. We remind you that they must form a right angle. The palm of the hand should cover the bottom of the ball, near the base. As you take your double steps, feel free to help yourself with your strong arm first to accompany this gesture. Once you feel in control of the situation, gradually let it go.
Exercise #4: Watch videos of matches and analyze right-handed/left-handed play
Observation is a quality that should not be neglected in order to improve your weak hand in basketball. Regardless of the field of activity, you can improve yourself by watching the best. Therefore, it is important to study the game of professional basketball players. In addition, there are fewer and fewer left-handers in the world. It is a fact. Also, their shooting mechanics are different from right-handers. However, lefties are often very effective shooters. It is very interesting to watch them. You can give an example of James Jarden, who is the reference in the NBA.
Exercise 5. Visualize the perfect gesture in your mind.
If you don't have an opportunity, don't put it on the floor.
Below are some examples.
You do not need to be bound by other people's drills; challenge yourself to come up with your own drills.
Hold for an 8 count and then stand up. Switch legs and dribble hand.
Any dribble or drill you can do with 1 ball, you can do with 2.
Stationary practice at first will build confidence. Stand on the baseline and try to control both balls. Then start to move. Go half court, then full court. Follow
the lines around the court or in any route you can come up with.
24 Different Levels.
If you can dribble 3 basketballs while juggling 5 tennis balls at the same time, it looks cool and it is a neat circus trick that is great for marketing, but it is a circus trick. It is not going to make you a better basketball player. The majority of your ball handling should be functional which means that they simulate game-like situations. Can you get down the court in 3 to 4 dribbles with either hand? Can you stop on a dime? Can you change speed and change directions like Chris Paul?
The techniques above are the the most effective dribbling moves that I know.
Then you will be able to take the correct posture, and the throw will be effective. 
Don't look back 
The fingers are as far apart as possible and grab the ball. 
And be sure to strengthen your arms, legs and shoulder girdle, develop coordination. Regular exercises on uneven bars and horizontal bars will help you with this. 
There is always room for improvement in basketball. And this is due to hard work and regularity. Whether you are right handed or left handed, we will give you regular repetition exercises to improve your weak hand. 
The highest level is played on the details. A pass made by your weak hand can help you avoid an interception. To improve in this area, there is a simple exercise that you can do yourself. All you have to do is find a wall to act as a target and support to hit the ball on every throw. You probably know that there are various types of passes in basketball . Use your weak hand to reproduce them. Repetition of the correct movements is the key to success. When passing, the ball should never be above your shoulder. Be alive and dynamic. A good pass is dry and performed at chest level. 
We remind you that they must form a right angle. The palm of the hand should cover the bottom of the ball, near the base. As you take your double steps, feel free to help yourself with your strong arm first to accompany this gesture. Once you feel in control of the situation, gradually let it go. 
