Teaching Basketball Skills Effectively…A Critical Key to Your Success

Coaches, do you need help Teaching Basketball Skills to your players. If so, you’ve come to the right place!

As a coach you have many responsibilities to your players and to yourself. You have to provide your players with a safe and fun basketball experience. At the same time you have to challenge them enough to help them improve their overall basketball skills.

In order to help your players improve their game, you have to understand the basics for teaching basketball skills. Regardless of the skill being taught, the level of competition, the experience of the players, or the experience of the coach -there are four main points for teaching basketball skills.

To be an effective coach, you must have a solid knowledge of the skills of basketball. But more importantly, you MUST be able to effectively teach these skills to your players.

I’m sure everyone knows a coach that has more knowledge of the game than anyone else they know – but they are not able to coach effectively. They know everything about the game but aren’t good at teaching basketball skills to their players. That’s unfortunate for the players and for the coach!

Don’t let that happen to you! Follow the guidelines below and you will be on your way to becoming a more effective basketball coach!

Teaching Basketball Skills For Success

1. Introduce The Skill Being Taught To Your Players.

• Coaches must first get the attention of their players. Make sure you have everyone’s attention before you begin.
• Coaches must name the skill so that the players can easily remember it. This will help avoid confusion with other skills being taught.
• Coaches should always explain the importance of the skill to their players. This will help the players understand why they are learning this new skill and how it will help them improve their game.

2. Demonstrate The Skill Being Taught To Your Players.

• Coaches should realize how important this step is – as most players learn better by seeing a visual demonstration.
• Coaches should always use correct form when demonstrating the skill.
• Coaches should demonstrate the skill a few times. This will ensure that each player has seen and understood the demonstration.
• Coaches should demonstrate the skill at a slower speed a couple of times. This will help the players get a closer look at how the skill is performed.
• Coaches should perform the skill at various angles. This will help the players get several perspectives on how the skill is performed.
• Coaches should demonstrate the skill with the right and left hands. This will show the players how the skill is performed with either hand. It also reinforces the importance for the players to practice using both hands for the basketball skills.

3. Explain The Skill Being Taught To Your Players.

• Coaches should give an explanation of the skill as they are demonstrating it. This will help reinforce what is being demonstrated.
• Coaches should use simple terms when explaining the skill. They should speak in a way that is easy for the players to understand.
• Coaches should keep the explanation short and to the point. This will prevent players from getting distracted or bored.

4. Help Your Players Practice The Skill Being Taught.

• Coaches should guide and monitor all players as they practice the new skill. Some players will pick up the skill quickly, while others will need more direct attention.
• Coaches should offer positive feedback and constructive criticism as the players practice these skills. This will help players understand what they are doing well and also what they need to work on.
• Coaches should allow extra time to help work one-on-one with any players struggling to learn these new skills. This will prevent the player from falling behind in practice as new skills are being introduced.

Once again, teaching basketball skills is an area of the game that coaches must work on in order to become more effective. Having a thorough understanding and knowledge of the guidelines above will give coaches a solid foundation for teaching their players the required skills of the game.

Whether you are a new coach or have many years of coaching experience, this information applies to you! I hope you enjoyed it, understood it, and will use it to improve your coaching experience.

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I hope you found these tips on Teaching Basketball Skills to be helpful and informative. To be an effective coach, you must have a solid foundation on how to properly teach the skills you want your players to learn. These guidelines and tips should help you build that solid foundation!