If you want to call yourself a pro basketball player, you must know and learn the basic ball handling drills.
Basketball isn’t just a game for having good dribbling skills; it involves and circles around many specific key areas. You must aim for yourself to be a good ball handler and gradually develop a feel for the ball. These are vitally important in becoming an excellent all-rounder player. In basketball, the most difficult skills involve shooting, passing, catching, dribbling and rebounding.
You don’t have to fear while trying to master these basics. In fact if you want to master the game, you’ll need to know what this game is all about. Begin with holding the ball with your fingertips. Make sure that the palm of your hands, are not in contact with the ball.
Your fingers should be far apart from each other able to grip the ball. Practice holding the ball for as long as you possibly can. This way you can practice gripping and handling the ball on a basic level.
Make sure you practice all of these regularly so that you don’t run out of practice in any sort. These genuinely involve time and patience, so if you don’t end up doing them correctly in the first go make sure to give it another shot. Give nearly 30 to 60 seconds of training to each of these drills. Also, keep it a proper practice not to look at the ball and instead look right ahead.
Top 6 Ball Handling Drill You MUST Be Doing
Finger Grabs
Hold the ball with your fingertips. While squeezing it, rotate it back and forth from hand to hand. Make sure the ball doesn’t touch the palms of your hands.
Slap, Tap and Wrap Drill
Start your drill with ball slapping. It is one important stationary you should consider for basketball. You need to make sure that your hands are ready. Ball slaps will be totally helpful and useful. You can do ball slapping by holding a ball in front of you and use the other hand to slap it. Switch your hands and repeat. Pair it with straight arm finger taps.
It will lock your elbow and ease you move the basketball up and down. Your fingers will be well-trained too. You will need wraps your ankle, waist, head, and each leg. As you have your body parts wrapped, you will have good movements.
Circles Drill
Join your feet together and make circles around. Continue this on around the back and then circle around the head. Then combine them, moving the ball in circles around your head. Move down to your body, and then your knees so on and so forth.
Figure 8 Drill
Put your leg forward and move the ball in a circular motion around each leg. Spread your legs wide and dribble the ball in front of you. Move the ball around through your legs in a figure of 8 motions. Again, keep your eyes off the ball and look straight ahead. After 30 seconds, reverse the direction. With this make sure you keep swapping your legs.
Body Circle Exercise
Include body circle into your exercises for ball handling. You can do it by taking the ball around your head with both of your hands. Move it around your waist and knees. Make sure that you complete a full circle. Repeat it in the different direction. The ball will weave around and between your legs. Create a figure eight pattern to do it.
Bend your knees and separate your knees along with the shoulder to start the next of drills for ball handling, straddle flip. Hold the ball with your hands in front of your knees. Drop your ball and use your hands to catch it before hitting the ground. Do it in reverse order and keep it on. Blur is an important part of ball handling drills.
Pick a ball and put it between your feet. Use your hands to grab the ball. Start with the left leg before the left hand and the right leg before the right hand. Drop and bounce the ball once. As the ball bounces up, move the left leg behind the left and the right leg before the right leg. Switch the hands as you drop the ball. Repeat it and you can increase the difficulty by catching the ball before hitting the ground
Drops Advanced Ball Handling Drill
This drill involves dribbling the ball between your feet and grabbing it with one drop. Begin with the left hand behind your left leg and your right hand in front of your right leg. Keep dropping the ball and catch it with one hand. Now, repeat by quickly swapping your legs and hands. Drop it again and switch your hands back in the other position. You can increase the level of difficulty by catching the ball before it even comes in contact with the floor.
Pick a Training Guide
If you think that practicing drills by yourself is hard, you can pick a training guide to help you out. The training guide will help your body to get accustomed to a certain training pattern and exercise. The training is easy and safe for anyone with different ages and different experience level. The injury risk will be lesser if you pick a training guide for your ball handling exercises.
Tips to Improve your Ball Handling Drills
There are 6 useful tips to improve your ball handling drills. The first and foremost is dribbling the ball hard. Spend more time to dribble the ball. Make sure that your hands are familiar with the ball. So you can control the ball more. Push your energy to dribble it hard so it will be quicker to get back. Make sure that you keep your head up. Get your spot and focus. Control the ball with your fingertips instead of your palm.
You need to involve the imagination in practicing the exercises for ball handling. Imagine how and when you will dribble the ball. Get out of your comfort zone for the best training result. Mentality should be trained too as you train your dribble length and angles.
Finally, the ball handling drills will bring you a good result: playing basketball like a pro.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I improve my ball handling skills?
Practice is the only real way to improve skills. Dribble the ball and make sure you are keeping your head up and using just the tips of your fingers to dribble. Dribble while standing still and while walking. Get a friend to practice tossing the ball back and forth while you are standing still and while you are in motion. You also need to learn to hit the ball harder using your finger pads.
How can I improve my ball handling without basketball?
The main thing you need to concentrate on is your eye-hand coordination. You can use video games and many other things to improve your hand-eye coordination. You also need to learn to move backwards while keeping your head up, and learn to change directions so you can make swift movements. You can do hand strengthening exercises with an exercise ball to improve your handling ability.
How long does it take to get good handles?
It can take years for you to develop the skills and dexterity that many ball players have. In just a few months, about six, you can see drastic improvements in your abilities if you start training and are consistent with your training. Handling a ball is something you learn to do, and practice is the key to getting better at handling the ball.