First, let us say thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to help a youth basketball player(s) realize their potential. Whether you are a coach, parent or mentor what an awesome opportunity you have to help a young player pursue their passion. At the same time, nurturing a youth basketball player can be a challenge if you aren’t sure how to lay the proper foundation.
The following is a list (by grade level) in which we believe players should be introduced to certain skills. These are obviously not all of the skills, but ones we believe help form the proper foundation for developing a basketball player. Understand, you will have players that will be able to accomplish (or may already know) these skills and you will have some that will be learning a skill for the first time. Welcome to coaching!
Each season, each player may not be able to master each skill (this is the goal), but at least they will have an idea of how to attempt it. As in learning anything, it is always good practice to go back and review skills from previous years. Even at the varsity level, coaches spend lots of time on fundamental skills like pivoting, getting open as well as do defensive closeouts every day. In addition to this list of skills, where available, we’ve added links to videos for drills coaches can reference when introducing or reinforcing these fundamentals with players.
8th GRADE
- Run to transition spots
- Bump cutters on defense
- Advanced Ball Handling Drills
(Tennis Ball Toss) / (Stephen Curry Freeze Series) / - Flex Offense Principles
(Flex Offense Explanation) (Flex Offense Shooting Drills)
7th GRADE
- Read an overplay (back cut all the way to the basket) (Backdoor Cut)
- Pressing / Trapping concepts (funnel ball to sideline, weak side help, rotations)
(Hubie Brown’s 5 Defensive Commandments) - Closeout defensively with high hands and short chopping steps (Dribble Line Drill) / (Wing Closeout Drill) / (Zig Zag Triplets Drill) /
- Ball handling in situations (Push Dribble) / (Chris Paul Drill) / (Dribble Jab) /
6th GRADE
- Review / Improve 5th Grade Skills
- Understand offensive spacing concepts
- Setting a good screen / cutter reads a curl or pop out
- Reading and using a screen (Using a Ball Screen) /
- Help side defensive positioning
- Defending against cutters (Denying the Cutter) /
- Wing denial (don’t let your man catch) & how to get open against it
- Ball Handling (Ladder Series) / (Behind the Back) / (Inside Out Crossover) /
5th GRADE
- Review / Improve 4th grade skills
- Shoot an off-handed layup with correct footwork
- Square up to the basket on an inside foot pivot and get in triple threat position
- Make contact with man on the shot….Hit (your man), Find (the ball), Fetch (the ball)
- Play 1 vs 1 off the catch (be able to jab step, shot fake and make a move to get by defender) (Kobe Jab Step) / (Jab & Go) / (Shot Fake) /
- Ball Handling (Multi-purpose ball handling drill) / (Between the legs) /
- Shoot a 1 handed jump shot with correct form (strength can be issue for some) (Balance Shooting)
4th GRADE
- Review / Improve on 3rd grade skills
- Attempt an off-handed layup with correct footwork (Layup Progressions)
- Basic shooting footwork (Footwork for shooters)
- Getting open without the ball (step into man and pop out) (Fade Cut) / (Pro Cut) / (Straight Cut) / (Backdoor Cut)
- Ball handling against pressure (Bust out & retreat) / (Setup Crossover) / (Crossover)
- Understand landmarks on the floor (blocks, elbows, wing, etc.)
3rd GRADE
- Maravich ball handling (Maravich Series)
- Getting into triple threat position in the quick stance (Quick stance)
- Form Shooting (Depending on size and strength of player, a smaller basketball may be required to allow player to focus on form)
- Pivot without traveling (Quick turns) / (Front Pivot) / (Back Pivot)
- Dribble Variations (Control, Speed, Push, Crossover) (Beginner Dribble Series)
- Dribble and come to a jump stop without traveling
- Passing variations (Chest, Bounce, Overhead, One Handed)
- Rebound with 2 hands (Two hand rebounding)
