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I was asked to run two stations (two full-courts) of basketball with two groups per station for a youth camp. The ages of the youth are between 10-13. I will be dealing with approximately 15-30 kids.

I would like to run different drills where everyone contributes and participates (ie. not a pick-up game). In addition to being fun, I prefer these drills to value teamwork (ie. not individual efforts) and challenge the abilities of the youth. I thought of mimicing the NBA Skills Challenge to a smaller scale, but I'm not sure if I'll have the room or resources to do that. I'm all for being creative, however.

Any ideas for basketball drills?

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Shootouts

  • 2-4 teams of players.
  • Each team lines up. See which team gets to a certain number of made shots first.
  • All shots must be from same spot until next round.
  • If a player misses, the player behind him has to get his rebound, and shoot layups until they make it. This counts as half a point.
  • If you missed the shot, you get all of the made shots, and pass it to the next player in line, until someone else misses and takes your job.
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  • Not a bad idea, but I can see this being confusing for the kids. – user527 Jul 9 '12 at 21:15
  • @edmastermind29 You can always simplify it :-) – Dynamic Jul 9 '12 at 21:20
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Credit to the respective OPs. Suggestions are intended to be scalable and flexible to fit your specific participant pool.

OPs, feel free to edit your (paraphrased as I understand it) answer(s).

Shootouts

  • Teams (e.g. 2-4 players each)
  • Each team lines up to shoot, first team to reach a certain number of made shots wins.
  • All shots must be from same spot until the next round. The initial shot counts as a full point.
  • If a shooter misses from his spot, the player behind him gets his rebound, and shoots layups until he makes it. The layup on a rebound counts as a half point.

A player starts near the basket. He gets three chances to score a basket. Upon making a shot, the player takes a step away from the basket, thus increasing the difficulty of the next shot. Three misses on a distance = out.

Variation: line-up two players and let them shoot in turn. Time for two or three minutes and see who makes the most shots.

  • e.g. A team (eg. 5 players) is assigned to one basket.

Place cones (if possible) in a "zig-zag" path, instruct the kids to dribble following the path and pass to a teammate on particular occasions (for instance when their running paths come close to one another). As they come close enough to the basket, the player with the ball attempts a shot/layup, where the one who passed the ball last is responsible for getting the rebound and passing the ball back to the other teammates waiting to start their drill. After a certain amount of time passes, you can blend the teams, or get the teams who won their respective "matches" meet one another.

Alternative: make teams interact with one another and create competition. For instance if the player who's taking the shot misses, the other team gets the chance to take the rebound and "score a conversion".

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Assuming you will have 20 kids in total, you can divide them in teams of 5 and assign them to one basket/half court per team (If the numbers vary just modify the numbers so that teams are as even as possible)

If the kids are not too unfamiliar with ball sports, and if you have the possibility put some cones in triangular path like: // in one lane, or two lanes parallel to one another. Instruct the kids to dribble following the path you have designed and pass to a teammate on particular occasions (for instance when their running paths come close to one another), and as they come close enough to the basket the player with the ball attempts a shot/layup, where the one who passed the ball last is responsible for getting the rebound and passing the ball back to the other teammates waiting to start their drill.

If kids are too unfamiliar with basketball or don't really get what they are supposed to do, you can change the rules accordingly to make it suit the group. One alternative is to make teams interact with one another and create some competition feeling, for instance if the player who's taking the shot misses, the other team gets the chance to take the rebound and "score a conversion".

After a certain amount of time passes, you can blend the teams, or get the teams who won their respective "matches" meet one another.

I am fully aware that what I suggest is more of a real training drill than a playground game, but hey if you manage to spark a passion for sports in the kids it's only for the better, right? :)

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    much like Bernhard I would also like to get an explanation from the down-voter as to why my answer isn't helpful. – posdef Jul 10 '12 at 14:11
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A game that children always like, is the following, where multiple variations are possible.

A player starts close to the basket. He gets three chances to score a basket, and on scoring takes a step away from the basket, thus increasing the difficulty of the next shot. Three misses on a distance = out.

Variation: Line-up two players, and let them shoot in turn. Time 2 or 3 minutes, and see who wins. You can also think of a team approach.

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    Can the down-voter please comment on what is wrong with my answer? – Bernhard Jul 10 '12 at 12:50
  • Ahh, kind of like around the world. – user527 Jul 10 '12 at 13:16
  • @Bernhard: I agree... It's really annoying isn't it? It appears that the same thing happened to my answer. I really wish people could understand the concept of collaborative nature of StackExchange sites. – posdef Jul 10 '12 at 13:25
  • Speaking of collaborative nature, I like each answer and think a collective answer is appopriate, so the next person has many ideas to select from. That's what's great about SE. – user527 Jul 10 '12 at 13:36
  • @edmastermind29 Yep, that's the idea. Only by taking steps backwards each step is more difficult. – Bernhard Jul 10 '12 at 13:38

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