Change of hand and pace
Ready when: Dribble with the head up (b2) done.
What you are learning
Beating a defender with the dribble: slow down, keep the ball low and close, change hands, then speed away. Three moves: the crossover (the ball crosses to the other hand), the in-and-out (pretend to cross, keep the hand) and the hesitation (a pause, then a burst).
Words on this card Dribble, Crossover, In-and-out, Hesitation
- Dribble
- Bouncing the ball with one hand while moving or standing.
- Crossover
- Bouncing the ball across the body from one hand to the other.
- In-and-out
- Pretending to cross over, then keeping the ball in the same hand.
- Hesitation
- A short pause in the dribble, then a sudden burst of speed.
Set up
Five cones in a line, 2 m apart. A ball each.
Weather: dry ground
Show it first for the one teaching
- Crossover: dribbling toward a cone, slow down and bounce the ball low across your body to the other hand, then go.
- In-and-out: start the same move, but bring the ball back to the same hand, then go.
- Hesitation: slow almost to a stop and lift your head as if stopping, then burst away.
Your part while they practise
Stand as a passive defender at one cone.
Step by step
- At each cone slow down, keep the ball low and close, change hands, then go.
- Then the in-and-out at each cone.
- Then the hesitation at each cone.
- 4 times through the cones each way.
How much: 4 times through each way 10 min a session 3 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: 30-second changes
Count clean hand changes in 30 seconds, eyes up.
Who plays: 1 or 2; you count and hold up fingers.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Stand still, dribbling
- On "Go", cross the ball from hand to hand for 30 seconds, counting each clean change
- Every few seconds you hold up some fingers; the child calls the number without stopping
- Fair play
- A younger child gets a finger call only every 10 seconds.
- Points
- 1 point for each clean hand change; 1 point for each finger number called right.
- Fouls
- No point
- The ball bounces above the waist on the change
- The ball is lost (fetch it; the clock keeps running)
- A finger number missed or wrong
- Winning
- Beat your best score.
- 15 points for 1 star
- 25 points for 2 stars
- 35 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
No defender.
Weaker hand only, or a defender close.
What you will see, and what to say
- the ball is lost on the change
Keep it low and close
Below the knee and close to the body as it crosses. - the child slows to a stop
Slow, change, then go
Slow down, never stop.
Self-check
4 passes through the cones without losing the ball.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains ball control, decisions.
awiseathlete.com/sports/basketball/basketball-i2