7 Basketball Training Drills For Kids: Fun For Younger Players

Basketball is a fun game to play if you are an adult. But, it can be even more fun for kids! Young players must know how to properly train their basketball skills. So they don’t get discouraged and quit the sport early.

In this blog post, we will discuss some of our favorite basketball drills for kids aged 10 and under. We’ll also tell you why practicing basketball from a young age can have many benefits!

Why Should Kids start Training Basketball at An Early Age

Anyone could start basketball, at any age. However, the earlier you start, the more likely you are to become a better player. This is because children who start training in their childhood years develop the basic skills necessary for improvement much faster than adults.

Some examples of these basic basketball drills for kids include dribbling, passing, and scoring!

These kids’ basketball drills will help your child improve at all aspects of this game. Both by developing their fundamentals and building their confidence.

The Warm-Up Circle

This basketball drill is good for young kids because it helps them to develop coordination, balance, speed, and agility! It also gives your child an opportunity to socialize with other players at the same level as they are.

To perform this drill you will need a small group of players, a basketball, and an empty circular area.

The groups should be around the same size as each other (for example, with two teams or more). And they all stand in a circle together.

One player starts running clockwise around the outside of the group while dribbling their ball. Once he reaches another side of the circle one person from that team joins him. So now there are two people on opposite sides of the circle, both dribbling.

The rest remain standing where they are to act as support for these two runners/dribblers until it’s their turn! When someone else gets tired out you can switch them out or have different kids take turns going first or second. Whatever works best for your child!

Shoot, Dribble & Pass

This basketball drill is great for improving the shooting accuracy and ball control of your kid. It can be played with two teams of four players each or individually (for one player) – it’s up to you! To play this game divide your group into two even groups. Then stand them in lines behind the baseline at opposite ends of the court/field.

You will need a full-sized basketball court or similar area that allows enough space between teammates. So they are far apart enough from each other when passing back and forth.

The first person in line on Team A starts dribbling towards his teammate across from him who is already standing ready with their legs spread wide apart under them, knees bent outwards slightly, and arms out and up.

When the dribbler is right in front of him, Team A’s player passes to his teammate. Who then turns around and starts passing back to another person on their team. This process continues until the ball reaches the last person on your teams’ line!

The first time you do it have them run slowly so they can become more comfortable with what they are doing.

Once everyone has had a chance at being both a passer and receiver switch things up by making them speed it up or adding some rules like forcing players to keep one foot behind before receiving each pass (this forces kids to learn how to pivot properly).

The goal here isn’t necessarily for them all to make every single reception but rather that everything runs smoothly as a unit!

Dribbling Obstacle Course

This basketball drill is great because it’s fun and helps your child to learn how to dribble under pressure, around obstacles. It also improves hand-eye coordination (which can affect almost every other aspect of the game). To play this game you will need ten cones set up in two rows with five on each side.

You should space them out so they are about six feet apart from one another when lined up in their designated row (with equal distances between all cones). Each player starts at a different cone and goes through the course without stopping or touching any line.

When players reach their starting point. They then go back around in reverse order until everyone has had an opportunity to have a turn.

Tips for this drill are to have them do it once without dribbling, then again with their non-dominant hand, and finally while using both hands! You can also make the course harder by adding another obstacle in between cones.

Or changing up how they go through (for example having one kid stand on their left leg when going around the first cone before switching legs at the second, etc.). This basketball drill is great. Because not only does it improve ball handling but players get an opportunity to move faster too.

This means that running drills don’t always need to be done right after playing games. Sometimes extra practice during downtime can benefit kids just as much!

Dribble Tag

This is another one of basketball drills for kids which might sound similar to the previous dribbling obstacle course but it’s quite different! Instead of trying to make your way around obstacles. Players are doing their best to avoid being tagged by other players who are ‘it’.

This basketball drill for kids is perfect for improving hand-eye coordination, concentration, and reaction time. To play this game you will need two teams with an even number of kids on each side (four works well). One line should be set up at one end of the court/field.

While another team lines up behind that first group facing them. Each player then starts out by standing alongside their teammates in a single file line. They can use either foot as a pivot foot so long as both feet remain stationary until told otherwise.

The first person in line takes off dribbling and makes it to the opposite end of the court. While trying their best not to get tagged. Once they reach that point they can tap someone in line on either side before returning up top where everyone is standing (players who got tapped become part of the ‘it’ group).

The first time around players should tag very lightly. But after a little practice, you can start making them put some strength into it. Or play with larger groups so more people are involved!

This basketball drill is great because it helps your child develop quickness along with dribbling skills. But most importantly this game will teach kids how important teamwork is when playing sports like basketball. Since no one person ever wins games by themselves.

If things haven’t been going well for your little one. It might be time to take a break and focus on something they would rather do – like playing basketball with friends!

Around the World

This drill is designed for teaching kids how to dribble as close as possible to their bodies without actually touching them. The goal of this basketball drill is not sped but control. So players should move slowly at first until they have mastered making sharp cuts around themselves without losing the ball or looking down!

To play this game you will need five cones set up in a circle formation about ten feet apart from each other. Players start outstanding next to any cone except the topmost one, where a basketball resides.

The player starts by taking two steps from that starting point before dribbling the ball around their body and making it back to where they started. This is done by going under each cone as closely as possible without actually touching it.

Once players have made one round of that course, or once they lose control of the basketball, then they should move down two cones and start again from there (the bottom-most point).

This drill can be played with just a single player too! The goal here would simply be for them to dribble around themselves in circles. While keeping their head up so they know exactly where other players are at all times.

There’s also an advanced version of this game that involves moving laterally instead of staying stationary throughout – we’ll talk more about those kinds of drills later though!

Simon Says

Among other basketball drills for kids, this is a fun one for helping kids learn to pass and catch. It’s essentially just a game of ‘Simon says’ with basketball. To play this game you will need to divide players into two lines with half as many kids on each team as there are baskets, or four people total if playing solo.

One line should be set up at the free-throw line extended facing the other group. Who form their single file line about ten feet behind those starting points.

The first person in that back row then starts by passing the ball to any player from across the court (or someone standing next to them). Once that pass has been made. They step forward before calling out something like “left”, “right” or “behind the back”. And then receiving a pass in return.

Players can also call out more detailed commands like, “left-hand lay-up”. Or they could just go with something simple like, “pass it to me”.

The harder that players make these drills for themselves by calling out increasingly complicated moves, dribbling types, etc., the better their reflexes will become when you eventually ask them to play real games! This drill is designed to help younger kids get used to passing and catching balls.

While moving around at high speeds. So this would be a great way of preparing them if they’re going into competitive basketball leagues soon where speed becomes very important.

The Knock Out Game

You might have played this game in school yourself when you were younger. But the knock-out game is just one of those things that people forget about until they’re adults. To play this drill all players will need a basketball and to line up in single file along either sideline facing towards the other end of the court.

The first player then starts by throwing or bouncing (depending on their age) the ball against any part of another person’s body. If it doesn’t hit them then it must be caught! Then once someone has been hit with a pass. They join hands with whoever threw it before moving down into the next available spot in line.

So there are two kids standing side-by-side. Instead of one lonely person waiting for everyone else to catch up before attempting.

This Basketball drill is fun for younger kids. Because it doesn’t require any kind of complex or especially difficult movements. They just have to focus on throwing the ball accurately and catching it too without hurting their friends!

The older you get though, the more competitive this game becomes as people call each other out with harder throws that are closer together in time, etc., so there’s always a way to challenge yourself when playing this one.

Conclusion

There are many more basketball drills for kids that we could have mentioned in this blog post, but these should be a good start. If you want to add other drills that your kids enjoy or would like to try out, please let us know below!