It is not often that losing the basketball while dribbling is encouraged, but with this tennis ball basketball dribbling drill, you want to push yourself so hard that you lose the basketball. You do this so that when dribbling the basketball at a slower normal speed in a game, you will feel completely comfortable doing all of the moves.
You want to overtrain your hands so that they are continuing to get quicker and better. It is called kill the grass because you want to visualize if you were doing this basketball dribbling drill on grass when you finished, all the grass would be dead around you from you dribbling the basketball so hard and so fast. Basketball drills like this will not only help you become a better ball handler, but they will improve overall hand coordination as well.
Basketball Drill Overview
Drill Name: Tennis Ball Toss Kill the Grass Basketball Dribbling Drill
Equipment Needed: 1 basketball and 1 tennis ball.
Similar Basketball Drills and Resources
- Behind the Back Toss Tennis Ball Basketball Drill
- Between the Legs Toss Tennis Ball Basketball Drill
- Cross Toss Tennis Ball Basketball Drill
Goals of the Drill
- Develop quick hands and work on your handles.
Coaching Points
- Don’t worry about losing the basketball or tennis ball; push yourself to go as fast as you can.
- Be creative with your moves and try not to do the same move two times in a row.
- Keep your eyes up and do your best to give yourself a good toss with the tennis ball.
- Try to stay in a 5-8 foot space the whole time.
Basketball Drill Instructions
- Start with a tennis ball in one hand and a basketball in the other.
- Start dribbling the basketball and then toss the tennis ball up in the air.
- Do any move that you want with the basketball and then catch the tennis ball with the hand that doesn’t have the basketball in it.
- Keep doing as many moves as you can for 30-60 seconds.
