The "Double Dribble" Drill

I created this drill out of necessity a year ago. I had a team that insisted on trying to beat the press and play transition offense with the dribble instead of the pass. You can guess how that went - badly. We did not consistently break the press, and we never got out and ran in transition. There were multiple games in which we had zero easy layups in transition. And still, we scored 42 points per game - completely out of half-court offense.



The question I kept coming back to was how to reinforce good full court habits. I had recently talked to my old varsity high school coach (we chat frequently still about basketball) and asked for some advice and he suggested a drill he ran frequently to discourage bad habits called "The Negative Game". Negative points were 'awarded' for habits he wanted to break: dribbling against the press, turnovers, offensive rebounds (negative to the defense), etc. I thought hard about this and decided on another tactic about encouraging correct habits. So I created "Double Dribble" (Yeah, I played that game on the NES). I suppose all of this sounds overly dramatic, but that's not the intent, I just want to give you some insight into the thought process.

The "Double Dribble" full court drill encourages and rewards multiple desirable behaviors.

1. Your players will advance the ball with passes as a priority over dribbling.
2. Your players will learn to cut into open passing windows so as not to leave their teammate stranded.
3. Your players will stop 'bailing out' and running away, and instead come back to the ball to get involved.
4. Your players will start to advance the ball, instead of passing it backwards.
5. Your players will learn to see the press as an opportunity to score, rather than something to fear.
6. Your players will learn that dribbling can be effective when used in appropriate circumstances (to advance the ball when no pass is available, or to move the defense to create a passing window).

It will take about 2-4 practice sessions to order for your players to start running this drill correctly, and to start making smarter decisions (fewer if you already run the Basketballogy Scrimmage). And remember: every mistake is an opportunity for your athletes to learn about doing things the right way. Expect a certain number of mistakes at the beginning, and correct them when appropriate.

"Double Dribble" rules.

1. Each basket starts out worth 10 points.
2. Each dribble reduces the value by 1, but a basket can never be less than its regular value. All baskets are either worth 2 points or 3 points as a minimum. (easier to score, and always better to score than not score)
3. Rebounds are worth 1 point. (always encourage rebounding)
4. A foul rewards a free throw at the value of last dribble reduction. So if the team dribbled 3 times, and makes the free throws, its worth 7 points. (encourage aggressive basket attack in transition)
5. Set a limit to aim for. I usually start out my teams at 30, and increase it as they become better at scoring. Don't be surprised when after a few sessions you have a team drop 30 points on 3 possessions. 

A few suggestions:

• If you have more than 10 players, get a scoring spotter for each team so you can observe the action and do some coaching afterwards.
• Have different presses set up for each team. It a great opportunity for your players to get an idea of which spots on the court are vulnerable to different presses.

I would love to hear reader feedback regarding this drill, and also about the idea of creating drills or scrimmages that encourage good basketball habits and behaviors.