Best Basketball Drills for Kids: A Melbourne Coach's Complete Guide
The drills your child does at home between sessions are often the difference between a player who improves steadily and one who stays stagnant. Ten minutes of quality practice every day compounds over a season into hundreds of hours of deliberate repetition. This guide gives you the exact drills we use at Basketball Mentors in Cheltenham — broken down by age, skill level, and the specific outcome each drill produces.
Before You Start: The Right Way to Practice
Most kids practice the things they're already good at. Elite junior players practice their weaknesses. Before doing any drill, ask: "What is the one thing that's holding my game back right now?" That's where your child should spend 80% of their practice time.
"The players who improve fastest aren't the ones who practice the longest. They're the ones who practice with the most intention. Twenty minutes of focused, coach-directed work beats two hours of casual shooting."
— Cal Charge, Head Coach, Basketball Mentors CheltenhamAge-Appropriate Focus Areas
Ball Handling Drills
Ball handling is the foundation of every other skill. A player who can't protect the ball under pressure will never reach their potential. These drills build confidence, control and ambidexterity — the ability to go left AND right equally.
The single most effective drill for developing ambidextrous ball handling. Using two balls simultaneously forces the brain to process both hands independently — accelerating neural pathways faster than any single-ball drill.
- Stand in athletic stance, knees slightly bent, back straight
- Dribble both balls simultaneously at waist height — 30 seconds
- Alternate dribbles (left up, right down) — 30 seconds
- Low dribble below the knee — 30 seconds
- Eyes up the whole time — never look at the balls
A fundamental drill that builds hand-eye coordination, low dribble control, and the ability to switch hands smoothly. Perfect for younger players building their first ball handling foundation.
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart in wide stance
- Dribble the ball in a figure-8 pattern through and around your legs
- Keep the ball low — below knee height
- Start slow, build to maximum speed over 2 minutes
- Do 1 minute forward direction, 1 minute reverse
This drill develops game-speed ball handling — the ability to control the ball while moving at pace, which is the only type of dribbling that matters in a game.
- Start at one end of the court in athletic stance
- Speed dribble right hand to half court, crossover to left hand
- Speed dribble left hand to far end, between-the-legs back to right
- Comeback: behind-the-back at each cone/line
- Repeat 5 times at maximum game speed — not practice speed
Shooting Drills
Shooting is the most practised and most coached skill in basketball — and still the most commonly done wrong. These drills focus on technique first, distance second. A player with a broken shot who makes half-court shots in practice will miss every open look in a game.
The most underused and most important shooting drill in basketball. Elite NBA players use this every single day. Standing one metre from the basket removes all variables except technique — letting the player focus purely on their shooting form.
- Stand one metre directly in front of the basket
- Set your feet: shooting foot slightly forward, shoulder width apart
- Load the ball on your shooting hand with guide hand on the side — never underneath
- Shoot with a straight follow-through, elbow finishing above your eye
- Make 25 in a row before moving back — every miss resets the count
The classic finishing drill used by coaches worldwide. Develops ambidextrous finishing at the rim — the ability to lay the ball in from both sides under the basket, which is one of the most common game situations at every level.
- Start under the basket on the right side
- Jump off left foot, lay in with right hand off the backboard
- Catch the rebound, immediately go to left side
- Jump off right foot, lay in with left hand off the backboard
- Repeat continuously for 60 seconds — count makes in that time
Footwork Drills
Footwork is the most undercoached skill in junior basketball and the one that separates good players from great ones. Every elite player has exceptional feet — it's not an accident, it's thousands of hours of deliberate practice.
Defensive footwork is directly linked to offensive footwork — players with great defensive slides also have better first-step explosiveness on offence. This drill builds the lateral movement patterns that underpin elite basketball movement.
- Start in defensive stance: knees bent, back flat, hands active
- Slide right 5 steps — never let feet touch or cross
- Immediately slide left 5 steps back
- Add a close-out (sprint forward 3 steps then drop into stance) at each end
- Repeat for 3 sets of 60 seconds — maintain stance the whole time
🎯 The home practice formula: 5 minutes ball handling + 5 minutes shooting + 5 minutes footwork = 15 minutes daily that will transform your child's game over a season. Consistency beats intensity every time.
How to Structure a Home Practice Session
The biggest mistake parents make is letting their child just "go shoot around." Without structure, players practice their strengths and avoid their weaknesses — the exact opposite of what development requires.
A structured 20-minute daily practice that covers all three key areas. Adaptable for any age — simply choose the appropriate drill from each category above.
- Minutes 1–5: Ball handling (weakest hand focus)
- Minutes 6–10: Form shooting from 1 metre — build to game range
- Minutes 11–15: Footwork — defensive slides and Mikan drill
- Minutes 16–20: Game simulation — put it all together in a mini game scenario
Take It to the Next Level
Home drills are great — but nothing replaces elite coaching with personalised feedback. Book a free trial session at Basketball Mentors in Cheltenham and see what structured coaching can do for your child.
Book a Free Trial →📞 Call Cal directly: 0401 295 210
