Professional basketball is a grueling sport, full of intense, painful training and high stakes games. And many of your little ones probably aspire to just that! If you’ve got a little aspiring basketball superstar, there’s no reason not to promote the activity to build character, athleticism, and social skills. Here at Rebounderz, we have our very own Edison trampoline park basketball court if you ever want to renew interest in the game, or just have a blast. But for those kiddos who are already bound and determined to improve their basketball skills, here are some fun basketball drills for them to practice.

Three Man Weave

If your child struggles with passing the ball, or ball movement in general, this is a great exercise. It also promotes team building, as well understanding for how each player’s role works holistically. The rules are as follows:

• Split your team up into groups of three, and have each group in a line, with other groups formed behind them. Give the middle player the ball.
• The middle player then passes the ball to the player on their left and runs behind them (because they’ll be facing the middle to receive the ball, that means the middle player will now be on the outside).
• The player with the ball (now the middle player) then passes to the last remaining teammate, and runs to the outside of them.
• This process repeats all the way down the court until the players are under the goal, wherein the one who gets the ball attempts a layup. Then, the process starts all over again toward the other end of the court.

Terminator Drill

This is one of the most fun ball handling drills out there, with a healthy dash of competition. It’s a high intensity activity that pits everyone against everyone. The rules are as follows:

• Form a group of players, the more the better. Each player will start with a ball.
• Create a boundary that includes all the players, but leaves very little extra space between them.
• Each player must dribble the ball while also trying to steal their opponent’s ball, or knock it away.
• It’s every man for himself in a king of the hill scenario where only the last person standing wins.

Chase Down Layups

This is the perfect drill to create good ball handling habits for a very crucial part of the game: high pressure layups. In youth teams, most points are scored from layups, so they are often the difference between winning and losing. The rules are as follows:

• Players form into two pairs of lines that start at each respective of the court. Designate one offense and one defense for each pair.
• Give each offensive line the basketball at opposite ends of the court.
• The coach brings the offensive player a head start from the defensive player on the same side, wherein the offensive player tries to dribble the ball to the other side of the court.
• If the offensive player makes it, they win and the ball gets passed to the next pair. If the ball gets stolen, then the defensive player wins, and the ball is still handed off to the other pair.

Hopefully some of these skills help your little one to improve their skills, and make it past their next major basketball accomplishment on their path to super stardom! If the drills are wearing on them, you can always boost their motivation with a fun day on one of our Edison trampoline park basketball courts! Give us a call for more information about our trampoline park, or all the fun activities we provide.