Coaching takeaway
Pick the game for the problem you see. Knee Tap Dribble Tag makes players protect the dribble while tracking an opponent, and the 1v3 Dribble Gauntlet makes them advance against pressure. Change one thing, like the space or the partner, and watch the dribble change with it.
Read the guide: Basketball Player DevelopmentPick a ball handling game by the problem
| What your players need | Start with |
|---|---|
| Protecting the dribble while tracking an opponent | George Cremos’s Dribble Tag Warm-ups and Verdell Billingsley’s Knee Tap Dribble Tag. |
| Changing direction, or disguising it | Adam Omiecinski’s Straight Line or Stoned 1v1 and Kenny Bui’s 1 vs 3 Dribble Gates. |
| Advancing the ball against pressure | Ryan Blackburn’s 1v3 Dribble Gauntlet and Neil Houghton’s 1v1 (+2) Handle Pressure. |
| A first game for young beginners | Stevie Gillatt’s Treasure Island and Bastian Barthelmes’s Spiderweb. |
The members’ own videos are below. Keep their setups and credit them when you use the games. Change one thing to fit your players.
An easy first game: knee tap dribble tag
On Episode 26, two players dribble and try to tag each other’s knees. Mark out the space, give each player a ball and keep touches controlled. First to three points wins, then change partners. Each player has to protect their own dribble while tracking the other one.
If beginners lose the ball before they can chase their partner, give them more space. If the game gets predictable, shrink the area or change partners. Watch how the dribble changes with the opponent, and stop asking for the same crossover every time.
EP26: How to Use the CLA with Beginners
Organize these games when only one basket is available
The best way to improve ball handling is to add repetition without repetition: instead of asking a player to repeat the same dribble move 20 times in the same spot, give them games with defenders and constraints on space and time. They're also more fun! Below are 10 ball handling games from coaches in our community.
These games come from our members at the Transforming Community. We offer tri-weekly challenges where members can share their insights on evidence based coaching. Other examples of the challenge includes:
- Write a CLA Blog! (Read the winning blog here from Stevie Gillet)
- Explain the most important special situations you prepare your team for.
- Explain your Principles of play for transition defense.
- And the one below: Ideas for coaching ball handling
Ball handling games:
- Christoph Nicol - Box 1-on-1 & Kastenball
- Bastian Barthelmes - Spiderweb
- Mohamed Hayaz Haroon
- George Cremos - Dribble Tag Warm-ups
- Verdell Billingsley - Knee Tap Dribble Tag (3rd & 4th Grade Girls)
- Adam Omiecinski - Straight Line or Stoned 1v1
- Neil Houghton - 1v1 (+2) Handle Pressure
- Ryan Blackburn - 1v3 Dribble Gauntlet
- Kenny Bui - 1 vs 3 Dribble Gates
- Stevie Gillatt - Treasure Island (U8/U6)
Christoph Nicol
Box 1-on-1 & Kastenball
Box 1-on-1
Free resource
21 SSGs for your next practice.
A free PDF of small-sided games you can run right away. A practical first taste of the approach.
Kastenball
Bastian shares a great activity labelled “Spider Web.” This is a particularly fun activity for youth basketball players!
Bastian Barthelmes
Spiderweb
In the next activity from Mohamed, see how constraining space and time effectively can be used to shape lots of creative dribbling solutions! This is a great way to see how dribble moves can emerge without having to be specifically taught.
Mohamed Hayaz Haroon
The next two contributions come from George and Verdell. Dribble tag is one of our favorite warm-up games at Transforming, and by changing constraints, there are an infinite number of ways you can play tag!
George Cremos
Dribble Tag Warm-ups
Verdell Billingsley
Knee Tap Dribble Tag (3rd & 4th Grade Girls)
In the next activity, Adam talks about how deception can be designed into activities through constraints. Developing deception in ball handling is particularly important, with Adam sharing great ideas for coaches looking to facilitate this in their players…
Adam Omiecinski
Straight Line or Stoned 1v1
A Transforming Members’ Challenge would not be complete without an entry from Neil Houghton! Neil does a great job applying a CLA with his youth teams in Melbourne, Australia. Neil shares numerous ideas for taking a basic activity but then scaling it in numerous ways through the creative usage of constraints.
Neil Houghton
1v1 (+2) Handle Pressure
1-on-3 gauntlets are some of our favorite activities for handling pressure in tight spaces, while having to advance the ball up the court. Ryan shares ideas on how he has used 1-on-3 gauntlet with his high school team in Illinois.
Ryan Blackburn
1v3 Dribble Gauntlet
1-on-3 gauntlet shares some similarities with 1-on-3 dribble gates. This is a great idea from Kenny to develop the ability of players to perform change of direction moves implicitly. This is the answer to your players developing cross-overs and through the legs dribbles without 1-on-0 moves!
Kenny Bui
1 vs 3 Dribble Gates
And finally, for all the coaches working with beginners out there. This is a great contribution from Stevie in the UK. We love the concept of making games that speak to kids in their language. Imagine how much fun youth players would have participating in this small-sided game while developing their skills simultaneously!
For more ways to build ball handling through games, see our basketball ball handling guide and how to develop shifty dribble moves through the CLA.
Stevie Gillatt
Treasure Island (U8/U6)
Looking to see more videos of these activities in-action? Be sure to join our Transforming Community where you can engage with coaches all over the world who are masterfully using a constraints-led approach and conceptual offense with their programs.
You can find out more here
Read the guide: Basketball Ball Handling Under Pressure
Keep developing your coaching.
Connect these ideas with the Success Pathway, activity video library, coaching community and monthly live sessions.
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