Post by JP HOOPS on Aug 21, 2012 16:29:41 GMT -5
Individuals
1) Toss ups - Toss the tennis ball in the air and catch it while dribbling. We will incorporate both hands, x-overs, between the legs, behind the back, in and outs or whatever while the player has to keep eyes on the ball to catch it. To make it a little more fun and slightly competitive we want to see who can throw the ball the highest and still catch it. Letting it bounce once is a good progression.
2) Dribble - Dribble the tennis ball while dribbling a full sized ball with the other hand. Use your imagination on what you can do; different heights, alternating and simultaneous, high/low, switch hands...try to stimulate them though. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKnuyOJ2SUM
3) Tennis ball pickup - Practice your individual attack moves off the dribble past a cone with a tennis ball on it. You must grab your tennis ball when you pass, great way to emphasize playing low to high on death cuts.
4) Partner pass - You can do a billion things here; passing the tennis ball to each other will help with hand eye coordination, dribbling a ball at the same time will make it tougher and emphasizes not looking at the ball, and using two tennis balls makes communication a part of it as well. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA1lJcsSkfQ www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQzXHvynfI8
I like tennis ball drills, but I don't love them. They are very good to use individually, a player can learn to perfect their skills using a tennis ball and will see improvement in their handle. Where I don't like them is in a group setting its tricky to make sure everyone is going full speed as weaker ball handlers will inevitably be awful at a lot of these to start. Its not a bad thing to make mistakes, but too many mistakes will kill the flow of a practice or workout. Its a guess and check thing, but know what your player(s) can handle and introduce the drills gradually so they don't get overwhelmed and have a chance to get good.
1) Toss ups - Toss the tennis ball in the air and catch it while dribbling. We will incorporate both hands, x-overs, between the legs, behind the back, in and outs or whatever while the player has to keep eyes on the ball to catch it. To make it a little more fun and slightly competitive we want to see who can throw the ball the highest and still catch it. Letting it bounce once is a good progression.
2) Dribble - Dribble the tennis ball while dribbling a full sized ball with the other hand. Use your imagination on what you can do; different heights, alternating and simultaneous, high/low, switch hands...try to stimulate them though. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKnuyOJ2SUM
3) Tennis ball pickup - Practice your individual attack moves off the dribble past a cone with a tennis ball on it. You must grab your tennis ball when you pass, great way to emphasize playing low to high on death cuts.
4) Partner pass - You can do a billion things here; passing the tennis ball to each other will help with hand eye coordination, dribbling a ball at the same time will make it tougher and emphasizes not looking at the ball, and using two tennis balls makes communication a part of it as well. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA1lJcsSkfQ www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQzXHvynfI8
I like tennis ball drills, but I don't love them. They are very good to use individually, a player can learn to perfect their skills using a tennis ball and will see improvement in their handle. Where I don't like them is in a group setting its tricky to make sure everyone is going full speed as weaker ball handlers will inevitably be awful at a lot of these to start. Its not a bad thing to make mistakes, but too many mistakes will kill the flow of a practice or workout. Its a guess and check thing, but know what your player(s) can handle and introduce the drills gradually so they don't get overwhelmed and have a chance to get good.