A frustrated youth coach asks two questions that I get this time:
“Hi Coach Clint,
Do you recommend a drill to encourage the following:
1. Running to the ball rather than standing still
2. Aggression and assertiveness – were too nice!
Coach Clint replies:
Turnovers are highly frequent in youth basketball.
Nearly every time down the floor the basketball either – (1) gets knocked away from a player while they’re dribbling, (2) gets intercepted because of a poorly judged pass, or (3) is lost because of some silly offensive mistake.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — it’s to be expected while players are still learning how to play the game.
But there are still things we can do to help.
This coach correctly highlights two of the most common reasons why these turnovers occur so frequently:
a. Players don’t cut towards the ball
Once players are past the age of crowding the basketball like a magnet, they often “progress” to the stage where they stand around watching the player with the basketball… just waiting for something to happen.
Because of this lack of off-ball movement, the ball-handler is forced to try to create something themselves, which often leads to a turnover.
This is why we MUST teach players how to space the floor and move correctly when they don’t have the ball.
b. Players never look to score
When you first start teaching young players an offense, some players will focus so much on “getting through” the offense that they completely forget the reason why they’re running it in the first place…
To score!
They end up continually passing the basketball around and around until the inevitable turnover.
Fortunately, there’s a drill I’ve found that can help with both these issues.
It’s one of my favorite passing drills, and you’ll find it on my Basketball Coaching Guide Book.
The perfect drill for teaching players to cut towards the ball and space the floor correctly, and players are forced to be aggressive in order to score.
– Coach Clint
JUMPSTOP BASKETBALL 