— TRAINING SESSION

Ball-Handling Foundations (U10)

Block and Bank · 38 minutes · 6 drills · Generated 13 May 2026

Age group: U10
Focus: Ball-handling
Duration: 38 minutes
Drills: 6

Build the daily habits of a guard. Stationary work, on-the-move work, ending in pressure under defence. Every player gets every rep.

6DRILLS

38MINUTES

6AVG / DRILL

1 Animal Walks Warm-Up

4 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u8 Court: Half

Players cross the court doing different animal walks: bear crawl forward, crab walk sideways, inchworm forward, frog jumps, spider crawl.

Full-body dynamic warm-up that's actually fun. Activates hips, shoulders, core, gets kids laughing.

Coaching points

Bear crawl: opposite hand and foot together.
Crab walk: bum off the ground, eyes forward.
Inchworm: straight legs on the walk-out.
Frog jumps: explode from squat, land soft.
Don't sacrifice form for speed.

2 Stationary Ball-Handling Series

8 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u10 Court: Half

Six progressions done in place: pound dribbles, low-high crossovers, between-the-legs, behind-the-back, figure-8 around legs, spider drill.

Daily warm-up every guard should do. Five minutes builds the hand-eye foundation everything else needs.

Coaching points

Eyes up, never look at the ball.
Low stance, chest over knees.
Fingertips on the ball, not palms.
Game speed, actually push the pace.
Equal reps both hands.

Note: Six progressions, both hands

3 Two-Ball Pound Dribble

6 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u10 Court: Half

Each player takes two balls and pounds them simultaneously. Start stationary, knees bent, eyes up. Build rhythm before introducing variations.

A staple warmup that develops weak-hand confidence and ambidextrous feel for the ball.

Coaching points

• Eyes up — never look at the balls
• Knees bent, athletic stance
• Pound hard, fingertips not palms
• Both balls hit the floor at the same time
• If a ball gets away, calm pickup, restart in rhythm

4 Full Court Dribble Warm-Up

8 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u10 Court: Full

Pattern: right hand only down, left hand only back. Then crossover every other step. Then between-the-legs every third step. Then behind-the-back every third step.

Daily warm-up mixing movement, ball-handling, conditioning. Five minutes prepares hands AND legs.

Coaching points

Eyes up the whole length, never look at the ball.
Low stance, engage the legs.
Fingertip control, no slapping.
Game speed by lap 3.
Finish with a layup at the far rim every time.

Note: Right down, left back, then crossover

5 Dribble Tag

8 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u10 Court: Half

Every player dribbles continuously. One 'tagger' tries to tag others with their free hand. Tagged player becomes the new tagger.

Exhausting ball-handling under pressure. Forces protection, awareness, dribbling without focusing on the ball.

Coaching points

Tagger keeps dribbling, no putting the ball down.
Others keep distance, protect with body.
Eyes up, see who's coming.
No two-handing the ball.
Tagger announces themselves so rotation is clear.

6 Cool Down Routine

4 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u8 Court: Half

End-of-practice: 30 seconds each, toe touches, quad stretch, hamstring stretch, calf stretch, lunge stretch, cobra back stretch, shoulder rolls. Total 4 minutes.

Most coaches skip it. Don't. Recovery starts here. Players who stretch consistently miss less practice from soreness.

Coaching points

Slow movements, no bouncing.
Breathe, exhale on stretch.
Don't push through pain, just to the edge.
Hold each stretch.
Debrief while stretching: what worked today?