We all know hundreds of stationary ball handling drills. They are (or should be) a staple at all youth level camps, providing a solid foundation for a great handle. But, as players improve their skill level is it effective to continue to work on stationary ball handling, even the “elite” stuff with 2 balls, tennis balls or medicine balls? Combo moves and tricks galore? We think not.
Going back to my earlier post on the 11 skills 97.3% of high school players should have, yes players need to be challenged. And are some of these stationary ball handling drills challenging? Of course they are. To most people they might seem impossible, but are they really the best thing you can do to improve your handle?
In a game we rarely dribble stationary. This is great for developing a foundation, but after that it’s not very effective at creating game carryover skills.
Stationary drills, at an advanced level need to involve some sort of manipulation
- Pressure, contact or defense
- Passing
- Tennis Ball Catches
What we’ve done as well is created a dribbling dynamic warmup. One that combines a traditional dynamic warmup for injury prevention and dribbles moves, on the move. Our players love it. It gets a sweat going, works on your handle and you can transition right into the skills workout.
We’ll be sharing the exact details of this at our Summer Basketball Camps in the Midwest. Visit camps.mikeleebasketball.com to see if we’re in your area!
We hope to meet you there!