At its core, basketball is a game that is predicated upon successfully making baskets. While athleticism and other factors may certainly aid a player’s ability to score, the best shooters at any level of basketball become the best due to hard work, repetition and dedication.

These drills inspire young athletes to improve their shooting skills, compete hard and have fun along the way.

Eight Makes Great

Divide your players into four even groups, with two groups lining up at either end of the court. Each group should line up outside of the three-point arc, directly across and even with the left and right elbow, respectively.

The first player in each line steps up and shoots a jump shot. The coach will determine where that jump shot occurs (depending on age level, experience and ability). If the player makes their shot, they collect the ball, return it to the next player in line and then advance to the end of the next line of players on their side of the court. If the player misses their shot, they collect their rebound, return it to the next player in line and return to the end of the same line. The objective for each player is to make eight shots, which means they will rotate through all four lines twice. The player that is able to make eight shots the quickest is declared the winner.

13 Cones

Divide into two evenly matched teams and have each team line up outside of the three-point arc, facing the same basket. On the opposite end of the court, the coach will set up 13 cones (or any odd number of cones) underneath the basket. Each team will then define a designated area toward the middle of the court where they will place the cones that they manage to earn throughout the game.

The drill begins with a player from each team dribbling toward the same basket and attempting a lay-up. If the player makes their first shot, they retrieve the ball, pass it to their next teammate in line and sprint to the other end of the court. Upon reaching the other end of the court, the player will receive a pass from their respective coach and attempt a jump shot (the length of which will be determined by the coach).

If the player makes their jump shot, they collect a cone, place it in their designated area and return to the end of their original line and continue playing. If the player misses their original lay-up, they return to the end of their original line without going to the other end of the court. If the player misses the jump shot, they are unable to collect a cone prior to returning to the end of their original line.

Once all the cones have been retrieved, the coach determines the winner based on which team has collected the most cones.

Relay Race Shooting

Divide your team into even groups of three or four, and have each group line up alongside one another underneath one basket.

The drill begins with the first person in each group dribbling down to the opposite basket and attempting a shot from a specific area (lay-up, mid-range, three-point) determined by the coach. The same player collects their own rebound, returns back to the other end of the court and shoots another shot from the predetermined area on the floor. The first player retrieves their rebound and passes the ball to their second teammate. The second and third teammates then repeat the same process.

The game can end in one of two ways, which will be determined by the coach. The players can continue the relay race until one of the teams makes a certain number of baskets, or the coach could decide to have the players complete a specific number of rotations and declare a victorious team based on which team made the most shots.

30 + 1

Split your players into two even teams and have each team compete at their own basket.

Each team will be required to make 10 shots at three predetermined areas of the court. While coaches may opt for their own personal preference, the most commonly used areas in this game are lay-ups, a mid-range jump shots from the wing area and a three-point jump shot from the top of the arc.

Each team will be required to make 10 lay-ups before they begin attempting their mid-range attempts. The teams will then be required to make 10 mid-range jump shots before attempting their three-point attempts. And each team must make 10 three-point jump shots from the top of the arc before they finally begin attempting half-court shots.