Complete Skill Workout (U12)

Pairs, 5 metres apart. 20 chest passes, 20 bounce passes, 20 overhead passes, 20 one-handed push passes (10 each hand).

Fundamentals warm-up every coach should run every practice. Countless turnovers prevented.

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.

Six cones in a line down the court. Player dribbles between each, performing a specific move at each cone: crossover, between-the-legs, behind-the-back, inside-out, hesitation, spin.

Teaches the full library of ball-handling moves in one efficient drill.

Coach or partner rebounder passes from under the basket to the shooter on the perimeter. Shooter catches in shooting position, sets feet, rises and shoots — no dribble, no hesitation.

The most common shot in modern basketball: the catch-and-shoot three off a kick-out.

Two players face each other across the lane. Offence makes lateral moves; defender mirrors. No fouls, no contact — pure footwork. 30 seconds, then switch.

Builds defensive habits without the pressure of getting beaten.

Offensive player on the wing with the ball. Defender 3 feet away. Live 1v1 — score in 5 seconds or turn it over. Two dribbles maximum.

Focused practice on isolation reads and aggressive defence.

Three on three live action. Make-it-take-it. Defence must clear the ball past the three-point line before going back to offence. First team to 7 wins.

The single best teaching format in basketball. Every skill applies, every decision matters.

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.