Teaching Basketball from the Ground Up: Balance & Footwork + Dribbling, Passing & Shooting

with Barry Hecker,
former Memphis Grizzlies (NBA) and Los Angeles Clippers Assistant Coach;
more than 30 years professional and collegiate coaching experience plus youth and high school coaching experience

Fundamentals are the source of basketball success, and in this video Barry Hecker uses seven progression drills to teach youth players the basics of basketball movement. Coach Hecker covers all areas for offensive success from starts, stops and pivots, to shooting the basketball. His use of age appropriate visualizations and his emphasis on the details show his passion for teaching basketball and allow difficult concepts to be taught easily to younger athletes.

Balance

In the game of basketball, players have to be in balance to be able to make fundamental moves and have body control. Hecker starts with teaching the fundamentals for a variety of basic basketball movements: jump stops, pivots, and defensive slides. He creates a simple progression, working on forward pivots and reverse pivots while training players to stop their body under control with a jump stop.

Moving and Dribbling

Through stationary and other ball handling drills, Hecker teaches players dribbling techniques to get separation. Players work on attacking at an angle, then crossing over with a change of direction and change of pace. Athletes will learn to cross over, go through the legs, behind the back, and also make a spin move when they change directions.

Passing

Coach Hecker shows a progression to teach hand and foot placement to build correct passing techniques. He covers the chest pass, bounce pass, and baseball passes. Hecker incorporates movement into the passing drills by having players catch the ball and then dribble around their teammate, jump stop, pivot and then make a pass. Different variations of passing drills are demonstrated on court, including dribbling and passing on the move.

Shooting

Hecker also shares some great points about the technique of shooting and demonstrates a simple shooting progression that players can use to be able to shoot with great form and rotation with spin on the ball. He also teaches hand placement that will help young players make more shots.

Barry Hecker is a teacher for all ages. His use of repetition through progression drills allows players to master the basics of basketball movement, and the "secrets" to offensive success.

96 minutes. 2017.