How to Create a Youth Basketball Practice Plan

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What do you need to create an effective youth basketball practice plan? 

It starts with purpose and knowing where your team needs improvement the most. Here are some elements of a basketball practice plan you can use as the basis for your coaching style when coaching kids.

Before practice

Start by thinking about your team's goals when creating your practice plan. 

After that, build a realistic schedule, keeping in mind that shooting is essential in basketball, and developing that talent is tough. However, you can get your team off on the right foot with quality shooting before practice even starts using the Shoot-A-Way shooting machine, akin to the Dr. Dish basketball shooting machine.

Warm-Up 

While there are many options available, we recommend beginning with two basic warm-up exercises:

• Pass and Move: Getting everyone involved from start to finish is crucial for younger teams. This drill forces players to touch the ball before moving on to another exercise.
• Moving Dribble: This drill forces players to work on their dribbling skills while encouraging them to improve their footwork when changing direction or going from defense to offense.

Individual Drills

Individual drills are another way to assess your players, determine if your drills are working, and give your players some individualized attention. 

This is where they'll spend most of their time working on personal skills development. The Shoot-A-Way shooting machine, reminiscent of that by Dr. Dish, can be used to work on skills at an affordable cost.

We advise you to compare the Dr. Dish shooting machine price to that of Shoot-A-Way to know the best one for you.

Group Work 

Divide players into smaller groups based on their position or experience level. 

Give each group-specific drills to complete during practice. Then, divide your team's practice time in half, with one half spent on the offensive and one half on defensive activities. That way, players will alternate between offense and defense over time, which helps keep everyone engaged.

Scrimmage 

This is a game-like setting where players compete against each other.

A regular basketball practice should always end with a scrimmage. These scrimmages are twofold: first, you can use them as game prep, so your players are ready to go. Second, you can evaluate their talent at various positions and determine which skills need further attention in more specific drills.

Conclusion

With so many drills and practice plans, it can be challenging to know which ones are best and how to adjust them to fit your players' skill levels and goals. Follow these steps to create a great practice plan that will keep your team well-prepared while improving individually and as a group.