— TRAINING SESSION

First Day, First Touches (U8)

Block and Bank · 33 minutes · 5 drills · Generated 15 May 2026

Age group: U8
Focus: Introduction
Duration: 33 minutes
Drills: 5

A welcoming first session for the youngest players. Designed to feel like play, not drill. Get every player a positive experience with a ball, a coach, and a teammate.

5DRILLS

33MINUTES

7AVG / DRILL

1 Animal Walks Warm-Up

5 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.

Note: Start here, everyone laughs, the room loosens up

2 Stationary Ball-Handling Series

6 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: Just pound dribbles and crossovers, keep it simple

3 Red Light, Green Light

8 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u8 Court: Full

Players line up on baseline with a ball. On 'GREEN LIGHT' they dribble toward the other baseline. On 'RED LIGHT' they jump-stop in triple-threat. Anyone moving on RED goes back to start.

Teaches stop-and-go dribbling and the all-important jump-stop. Kids love it.

Coaching points

Green light: low and explosive, first step beats the defence.
Red light: jump-stop, both feet together, triple-threat.
Eyes up always, listen and watch.
No travelling on the stop.
First across the line wins the round.

Note: Add the jump-stop concept here

4 Sharks and Minnows

10 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u8 Court: Full

Classic youth dribbling game. Minnows each have a ball and try to dribble from baseline to baseline. Sharks have no ball and try to knock the minnows' balls away. Last minnow standing wins.

Makes ball-handling fun. Builds protection and court awareness without anyone realising they're being trained.

Coaching points

Minnows: keep dribble on the strong side, away from sharks.
Use your body and off-arm to protect.
Keep your head up, see the sharks coming.
Sharks: contest with the off-hand, never grab.
Get everyone involved every round.

Note: The closer of the session, everyone leaves grinning

5 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?