Basketball: Grip Strength and Toughness Drill

Blue player 1 starts with the ball in their hand on the baseline on the left hand side of the key. They then roll the ball towards red player 1 and can pick it up once its gone past the free throw line. Red player 1 must run as soon as the ball is thrown to behind the backboard before having a 1 v 1. Roles are reversed once the game is over.

2 lines on the baseline, with the coach in the middle. The coach will roll the ball down the middle of the court. Both players will run and dive on the ball. The player that gets the ball is on offence and the other player on defence. They will attack the basket from the side they came from. First player to score wins.

The defender (red player 1) rolls the ball out for the attacker to pick up and then play a 1 v 1 against them. The rules of the practice are that the attacker is only allowed three attacking dribbles before the point is dead.

Split into 2 lines and have a line on either side of the court. One player in the middle with a basketball. The player in the middle will pass to the 1st player in one of the lines. After the pass is made that player will go and defender the receiver of the pass. They will play 1v1. Only 1 shot is allowed. Once a shot has been taken the ball will be passed to the opposite line where the offensive player will become the defender.

The coach starts with the ball on the top of the 3 point line. Blue player 1 has to try and get free from his defender before receiving a pass from the coach. They then play 1 v 1, after the game has finished the ball gets thrown back to the coach for the other side to repeat the practice.

A line of players will start in the corner. There will be a cone in front of the players about 25 ft away. There will also be a cone along the baseline that the defensive player will run around. The player at the front of the line will have a basketball. The coach will nominate 1 person to start on defence. When the coach yells GO both players will take off to get around their cones. Once they are around the cones they are playing 1 v 1.

Set up two lines, one for the for the defending players (red) and the other for the attacking players (blue) who have one ball. When the coach blows their whistle both players run around their respective cones (shown in diagram). After the blue player has made their way around the cone another player in the offensive players' line passes the ball to them. After they've run round the cones players play out the 1 vs 1.

Red player 1 (defender) rolls the ball out to blue player one. As soon as the ball is rolled the defender can go and close the attacker down. The attacker can then pick the ball up and go 1 v 1 against the defender and try and score. Once the practice is over the players go to the back of their lines and the next two players go.

Two players face each other. One player has a ball and the other has to shadow their exact movements.

Set players up as shown in video clip. When the coach says 'GO' both players will start. Offence only gets 1 shot.

The coach or a teammate places the ball on the floor. Facing away from the basket, player 1 (attacker) stands in front of player 2 (defender). Player 1 then picks up the ball and attempts to get into position to shoot.

The coach has the ball at the top. White player 1 is playing for 2 mins against 2 defenders. The practice starts with white player 1 getting free from his defender before receiving a pass from the coach, and going 1 v 1 with the defender. Once the game is over the attacker runs to the other side before repeating the practice.

Set players up as shown in video clip. Offensive player will post up on the side of the court the ball is on. The defensive player will try and stop the pass being made into the post, by half fronting, full fronting etc. When the ball is passed across the court the players will continue the same thing on the other side. When the ball is passed into the post, the players will play 1v1.

1 player will start with the basketball, the other player will have their hands ready to grip onto the ball. When the player with the basketball says 'GO', both players will try and rip the ball. The winner is the player with the basketball.

Players Blue 1 and Red 1 have a ball each and they are starting from the right hand corners either end of the court. Green players 1 & 2 stand on the elbow of the free throw line. Red player 1 and Blue player 1 start dribbling when they get level with the 3 point line they must do a long pass to the green players before running to receive the ball back. They then play 1 v 1, with the rules being only 3 dribbles and 1 shot.

Players line up opposite each other. Player 1 passes to Player 2 and then follows their pass to put pressure on the attacker. The attacker has to go around the cone on either their left or right before passing the ball back to next person waiting in the queue. The player waiting in the queue then throws the ball back to player 2 before the drill can start again.

Split your players into 3 groups. The middle players (in green) start the practice by throwing the ball off the backboard and then scoring the rebound. The rebounder then passes the ball to blue player 1 who then runs the length of the court to try and score. Red player 1 will run up the court at the same time as them and try to prevent them from scoring in a one vs one.

Players line up around the edge of the 3 point line with a defender behind each of them. Each of the attackers has a ball with their back to the basket. The coach calls out one of the defenders names and they tap the attacker in front of them on the shoulder. The attacker turns to face the defender and they play a 1 v 1. The attacker has only 3 dribbles, whilst the defender has to try and either stop the dribble, box out or close the baseline.