Dribbling- Grade by Grade Development

One of the reasons I started this website and blog was to help coaches and players improve their basketball game. One of the questions I have gotten from people is what they should be teaching their kids at the younger grades. When I was first asked this question, I gave a somewhat generalized answer that really did not answer the question. It left me wondering how to properly answer that question.

So, I have developed a grade by grade breakdown and what every player should learn by each grade. This development schedule is designed for the vast majority of players. Those players that are above average will be working at a higher grade level. If a player is truly a college level player then they will be working at the skills 2 or 3 grades higher then their age.

However, the number of college players is a very small amount of high school players. The players that are not focused on trying to continue their basketball careers after high school can follow these development levels and will be a good competitive player throughout their school life including their high school career.

I do plan on adding additional posts on drills and skills to aid in reaching these development levels year by year. So if you are an early reading please be patient while I continue to add more to the site. If you a later reader then hopefully you are enjoying all the additional content and drills that have been added to the website. So here is the breakdown of dribbling levels every player should reach and the grades then they should reach them.

1st Grade

1. Strong hand dribbling without losing the ball
2. No looking down during dribbling
3. Introduce dribbling with the weak hand

I will start dribbling with the strong hand and weak hand. Depending on whether the player is right handed or left handed will determine strong hand versus weak. A left handed player will want to dribble without losing the ball left handed while a right handed player will do this same activity using the right hand. This very small change in words will include every player.

In 1st grade, the kids are still developing their motor gross skills. The ability to run and jump and dribble will not be the same for every kid. Kids at this age are still in major development mode. Because of this, the ability to move with the ball is not going to be the same for all the players. I am not looking at the ability of a kid to move with the ball. The 1st grade is about being able to control the ball just with their strong hand.

The kids should start to get comfortable with the physical contact between ball and hand. The more comfortable they get, they should be able to get their eyes looking away from the ball while maintaining to dribble. This early skill will put each player on a good path for success. Once their eyes are up the floor while dribbling, then they should start to work on building confidence dribbling with their weak hand. Again all of the 1st grade development is stationary work.

2nd Grade

1. Weak hand dribbling without losing the ball
2. No Looking down while dribbling
3. Running with a dribble without double dribbling

The 2nd grade builds on the 1st grade by getting the weak hand dribble to a good level. Again the players should focus on looking up while dribbling and not looking at the ball. Once the player has learn to dribble with both hands and is able to dribble without looking down then moving during the dribble is introduced.

***A player can only go as fast as they can control their body and the ball.***

As the player starts to move while dribbling and eventually is running and dribbling; they can start to go to fast. If a player can not control their dribble or is losing the ball while dribbling then they are going to fast. I do not like doing dribbling races because it forces the players to want to go to fast. This leads to dribbles being lost and balls bouncing all over the gym.

Focus on speed while dribbling should be individualized. This can be done by each player setting their own times and then trying to beat their own time. By individualizing each time then the slower players are not trying to be better then the faster players. This simple change causes development to continue without putting the bigger slower kids at a disadvantage. For me, think about John Wall versus Luka Doncic. In a race John Wall would always win. However, the lower speed of Luka does not diminish his skills as a basketball player. Keep this in mind when wanting to use races in development.

3rd Grade

1. Crossover Dribble
2. Right to Left Crossover
3. Left to Right Crossover
4. Crossover below hip
5. Crossover below knee
6. In-Out Dribble with strong hand
7. Push-Pull Dribble with strong hand

At the 3rd grade, the first change of direction should be introduced. The crossover dribble is the first change of direction dribble and it should be worked on until it becomes a good strong dribble. The crossover should be learned starting with either hand. At first the dribble is going to be high. Then it should be worked on until it can be lowered to under the knee. The ability to use the crossover at the hip level and the knee level gives the move the ability to be used in different situations.

Finally the strong hand should be used to do in-out dribbles and push-pull dribbles. The in-out dribble is basically a double crossover using only the strong hand. The push-pull dribble is the in-out dribble but at the side instead of in front of the body. These two new dribbles will help to strength the strong hand dribble ability.

4th Grade

1. Behind the back Dribble
2. Right to Left behind the back
3. Left to right behind the back
4. Weak Hand In-Out Dribble
5. Weak Hand Push-Pull Dribble

4th grade introduces the 2nd change of direction dribble. This is the behind the back dribble. Again this dribble should be able to be used in either direction with the dribble starting with either hand.

This is the last grade where the difference between strong hand and weak hand dribbling is considered. Once a player reaches 5th grade then they should be able to use either hand in every situation.

The behind the back dribble is the next change of direction and it is using the least amount of body movement. And lastly the in-out and push-pull dribbles should now be able to be done with the weak hand.

5th Grade

1. Spin Move
2. Both directions with using both hands
3. Back Dribble-Both Hands

The 5th grade has two different dribble moves added. The spin move is first. This requires total body movement and control. This is about where gross motor skills of kids are developed enough where complex body movements can be done. While I am not a big fan of the spin move because it leads to travelling and carrying more than I like, it is a move players should be able to do. They should be able to spin in either direction starting the dribble with either hand.

The last dribble is the dribble I practice more then any others at the high school level. The back dribble is the most valuable dribble and the least used dribble in my opinion. It is a stop with two hard back dribbles to create space. This is where body control comes into play. The player has to run, stop, change directions and go backwards, and finally change directions again and take off on a sprint. This dribble can increase the dribbling ability of any player but giving them the ability to create space anywhere and at any spot on the floor.

6th Grade

1. Between the Legs-Front to Back
2. Use both hands and moving in both directions
3. Introduce Double Moves

The last change of direction move is the between the legs. By waiting until the 6th grade, the growth of each kid should be enough to do the move without having to manipulate the body too drastic. The player should be able to make the move moving in both directions and start the move with either hand.

I only teach the between the legs dribble going through the front of the legs. Going through the back of legs puts the ball in front of the defender at the end of the move which could lead to turnovers so I do not teach back to front between the legs. As the players learn the between the legs dribble then double moves should be introduced.

A double move is taking the 4 change of directions moves and doing them back to back. For instance it could be a crossover to between the legs. So the ball starts in the right hand. The crossover puts the ball in the left hand. As the ball gets to the left hand, the between the legs dribble happens with the left hand sending the ball between the legs back to the right hand. So using the crossover, behind the back, spin move and between the legs, the double moves can create a bunch of different possibilities. This will help to continue to develop better and better ball-hand coordination.

Junior High

1. Double Moves
2. Speed Dribble

At Jr High, all the moves should be learned. Now it is getting quicker and faster with the dribble. Double moves should continuously be practiced. Both hands should be used to start the double moves. This means that both hands have to learn to catch the ball and start the next move. This should continue to build skill and confidence with dribbling.

Since their is a bunch of different ways to use the double move that means different combinations can be used to keep the attention of the players through jr high. Also more team concepts are introduced in jr high so that is going to take more focus rather then the individual player.

The speed dribble should also be learned to create more chances in the open floor and transition. Again the key is the player can only go so fast as to control the ball and their body. At the jr high level the game should move from a half-court game into more of a full court game. Thus the speed dribble is key to development.

Freshman and Junior Varsity(JV)

1. Triple Moves
2. Change of Pace Dribble

At the high school level, triple moves should be started. This is the same as the double moves but with an additional change of direction to the double move. For instance, it would be a crossover to a behind the back to a between the legs. One move leads right into the next without pause.

This will help to keep focus and development among the players. It is a new challenge so the players are still learning. The last little move to learn and use is a change of pace dribble. The change of pace dribble is changing the speed you are moving. This can be going slow to a very quick attack back to a slow dribble. It can also be using a speed dribble to go fast, then slowing or stopping to let the defense to shift and then going off on a sprint again to attack the defense after their shift.

The ability to change pace and create space is what separates good ball handlers with great ball handlers. The great ball handlers are consistently creating space by changing their speed. Changing speeds makes the player that much more difficult to guard and can lead to a bunch of easy fouls and foul shots.

Conclusion

If you are a coach at any level, this gives you a good standard to follow to teach your kids and players. While I have indicated the grade levels, if a player is behind then drop their level until they master those skills and then move up to the next grade. Likewise if a player is excelling then move their level up a grade. The really good 5th graders might be able to do the moves from the jr high or high school level. A bad 6th grader might need to work on the skills from the 3rd grade level before working their way up to the 6th grade level. Kids and players develop at different times so use this chart to help every single player develop at an appropriate level through their life.