Basketball

Handbook

www.funteamalberta.com
 WHAT IS FUNTEAM?

FunTeam Alberta is a non-profit recreational sport

organization that assists individuals and families in
the participation of less competitive and low cost
sports and recreation. Children, youth and adults
can participate in physical activities in an
atmosphere of fun, co-operation and fair play.
FunTeam is designed to guide volunteers in the
organization and implementation of sport in their
own neighborhood or community.

FUNTEAM’S MISSION

FunTeam aims to foster, through active leadership,

the participation in sport for children, youth and
adults interested in sport and recreation, in an
atmosphere where enjoyment is maximized for all
and the costs associated with participation are
minimized.
 FUNTEAM BASKETBALL
SETTING UP A FUNTEAM BASKETBALL GROUP:

ESTABLISH A LOCATION

Select a court to play on.

It doesn’t have to be an official basketball court in

a gym. If you don’t have a gym, try to find an
outdoor hoop at a local community or school.
Remember to always first do a safety check and
walk around the court to check for hazards like
glass, etc.

EQUIPMENT

Balls

EVERY PLAYER SHOULD HAVE A BASKETBALL. For

younger children a smaller basketball will work
best. If you cannot secure basketballs for each
player contact FunTeam and we can arrange
basketballs for your group.

Hoops

For hoops, you can use the local community league

or schools outdoor basketball court (hoops may be
high for young ages. Players could work on other
skills besides shooting). If you play in a gym you
may be able to adjust the height of the hoops.

Players

Players can wear running shoes/basketball

shoes. Players should wear shorts and a t-shirt.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

FunTeam basketball sessions can be run with any

number of players. Play 2 vs. 2, or up to 5 vs. 5.
There's no wrong way to play. If you have different
age groups you can divide them into groups based
on age or ability and run more than one game at a
time. A smaller group allows for more involvement
and more touches on the ball.

RECOMMENDED TIME COMMITMENT

Run one or two sessions of 45-60 minutes a week.

Focus the session on keeping the players moving
and changing up the activities in a reasonable time
frame throughout the session to keep the players'
interest as well as have them try a variety of skills.

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF A FUNTEAM

BASKETBALL SESSION

The main reason that kids quit sport is because it

isn’t fun anymore. It is our job as FunTeam
coaches to make sure that the drills and skills are
taught in an enjoyable way!
Tips to running a practice:

- PLAN AHEAD!
- Plan more than the time allotted.
Sometimes drills end up taking less time
than anticipated.
- Switch up the drill often. Kids get bored
easily. You want them to stay engaged and
have fun!
- Provide the players with lots of positive
feedback and support!

Below is a suggestion for organizing your weekly

basketball sessions:

1. "Dynamic Warm-Up" (5 minutes)

Helps prevent injury, improve performance, and

improve athletic ability. Have each person on the
team lead a different dynamic stretch. (Ex. High
knees, butt kicks, arm swings, lunges)

2. “Partner Passing Warm-up” (5-10

minutes)

Each player gets into pairs and lines up across from

each other. On the coaches command they will
either bounce pass, chest pass, or overhead pass.
As the passes are consistently successful you can
get them to take a step back (away from each
other).
3. “Free Time skill builder" (5 minutes)

You need a ball for each player to practice

dribbling skills. Show them a few skills and allow
them to create/experiment on their own. This gives
players the opportunity to get more comfortable
with the ball.

3. “Mirror the Coach" (5 minutes)

Have all players’ line up on the baseline facing you.

Everyone needs a ball. Players copy everything you
do with the ball. Ex. Switch from a low dribble,
waist high dribble, soft dribble, hard dribble,
crossover to the other hand. This forces the players
to have their heads up while dribbling.

4. "Dribble Tag" (10 minutes)

Create a playing space with pylons (about a quarter

of the gym) or use the 3 point line. Everyone
dribbles around and tries to hit other player’s balls
outside of the area without losing control of their
ball. When a player gets out, they wait outside with
their ball until the next game. As the more players
get knocked out, you make the playing space
smaller. The Last dribbler in the space wins the
game.

**Short water break- explain/demo next activity.

5. "Dribbling Race" (10 minutes)

Extension of skills worked on in previous

drill. Set out 2 lines of pylons evenly spread out
from baseline to baseline. Have a lineup behind
each line of the pylons with one ball. Players will
take turns dribbling through the pylons and back
and passing it to the next player in line. (For more
experienced groups, add in a different move that
needs to be made at each pylon. Ex. Crossover,
through the legs, behind the back, two ball
dribbling together, two ball dribbling alternating)

**Short water break. Quickly set up next activity

6. "THEIR GAME TIME" (10-15-minutes)

“Let them play”. Run more than one game at a
time if you have a lot of participants. Apply general
rules: No contact, no double dribbling, no travelling
and have Fun! (Be lenient on the double dribbling/
travelling with younger groups)
REMEMBER THE 3 P’s:

BE POSITIVE
BE PLANNED
BE PATIENT
Fundamentals
A) Dribbling

1. Use your fingertips not your palm

2. Low stance (bend your legs) and keep the ball low
3. Keep your hand on top of the ball
4. Protect the ball with your opposite hand
5. Head up

Dribbling Violations

Traveling: Holding the ball and moving your feet in an illegal

matter without bouncing the ball or pivoting. Changing your
pivot foot will also result in a travel violation.

Double dribble: Dribbling the ball with both hands at the

same time. It also includes picking up your dribble and
dribbling again.

Carrying: When a player is dribbling and brings their hand

under the ball and brings it on the top again.

B) Passing

1. Chest Pass: Use 2 hands and pass the ball from

chest height to chest height to your teammate. Finish
with your thumbs facing down.

2. Bounce Pass: Use the same motion as a chest pass

but aim the ball about ¾ of the distance between you
and your teammate at the ground.

3. Overhead Pass: Bring the ball over your head with

both hands and follow through.
C) Shooting

1. Hold the ball on your fingertips

2. Have the ball resting on your shooting hand while
your other hand is on the side of the ball for guidance
3. Make sure your elbow is tucked in and facing the
middle of the rim
4. Bend your knees
5. Straighten your body as you go through the motion
6. Snap your elbow
7. Follow through: arm extended straight up “hand in
the cookie jar”

D) Layups
Right hand layup:

1. Dribble close to the basket with your right hand.

2. Step toward the basket with your right foot.
3. Jump off your left foot
4. Shoot with your right arm as you lift your right leg
5. Aim for the sweet spot on the backboard

(Left handed layups have the opposite footwork)

Other basketball fundamentals:

Rebounding
 Grabbing a missed shot that bounces off the
backboard or rim.
 Explosively jump up to the ball before it hits the
ground.
 “Boxing out” or putting your body in an inside position
between your opponent and the ball is key in being
successful when rebounding.
Defending
 Trying to keep the opponents from scoring.
 Putting yourself between your opponent and the
basket
 Players should be facing the opponent, knees slightly
bent, on the balls of their feet, with their hands up.
 If you are guarding a player who does not have the
ball, you should be able to see your man, the ball and
the net all with just a quick turn of the head.
Resource #1

Sample Practice
Plan
-
Basketball Canada/Basketball Alberta

http://www.basketball.ca/en/page/coaching
http://www.basketballalberta.ca
 CONTACT INFORMATION

FunTeam Alberta
11759 Groat Road
Edmonton, Alberta
T5M 3K6

Phone: (780) 490-0242

Fax: (780) 485-0262

Toll Free: 1-888-FUNTEAM

Email: info@funteamalberta.com

Website:
www.funteamalberta.com
 SESSION #1
5 m in Welcome In troductions a) Get to know everyone’s name b) Introduce the Three Values
1. T reat others the way you want to be treated 2. Do what is right 3. Do your best
15 min Fu ndamental Movement Skills
Warm-Up (4 min)
Moving around the lines of the court, the players execute different types of movements as called out by the
coach.
NOTE: Using the badminton courts is a good way to divide the children up into manageable groups.
• Walking – Use this to familiarize the players with the lines of the court.
• Call “Stop” – Get in a ‘grizzly bear’ stance. Bend and show your claws. This is a ready position.
 Jog • Skip
 Run backward • Double-legged hop
 Change speed on different lines • Hops side-to-side over the line
P ac man (2 min)
The players spread out around the gym, but must stand on a line. One player is chosen as "the Pac man".
He/she moves along the lines trying to tag another player. Once a player is tagged, he/she is now the Pac
man. You cannot retag the old Pac man.

Variations
a) If you have a large group, use the lines of a badminton court to divide the group into smaller groups.

b) Vary the type of movement the children use: walking, sliding, skipping, high knees, running, hopping,
dribbling.
Ben ding and Twisting (2 min) Twist and Swing ( 2 min)
These can be done with or without a The ball is held with the arms
ball. We want the athletes to pound straight and swung in a pendulum
the ball hard on the floor, as this will action. It can be kept at the same
prepare their hands for catching. height, from low to high, or high to
low. (Like a golf swing.)
Si de Bends
Facing forward, bend to the side and M oving the Ball Around the
bounce the ball with a hard two-hand Body
dribble. Catch the ball and repeat on The player moves the ball around
the other side. NO TE: The ball should various parts of the body;
be pulled through with the entire body, neck, waist, legs, etc.
not just with the arms.

Front Bends
The above action is repeated only
bending forward and backward.
Tracking Skills (2 min)
It is very important that the players learn to track the ball with the eyes and coordinate this movement with the
hands to catch the ball.
Start by pouring the ball from one hand to the other while standing straight.
NO TE: With young children, catching with two hands is enough of a challenge. Use the progression below
Loading the skill:
• Toss it faster
• Toss it higher
• Toss it behind the neck
• Add an action (clap hands, spin 180) before catching
Bal l Toss (3 min)
The player stands behind the line with the ball. Start in a grizzly bear stance with
the ball. Begin by tossing the ball in the air and catching it. Next, have the players
clap and catch the ball. Make it a personal challenge.
“How many claps can you make and still catch the ball.”
“See if you can make one more clap.”
Make these individual challenges, not group challenges.

Finally, have the child toss the ball so it goes up in the air and bounces once before
it reaches the next line (about 3m away). After tossing the ball, the child runs and
catches the ball. Assume a grizzly bear stance once you catch the ball.

© Coaching Association of Canada and Canada Basketball

FUNdamentals
15 min Bas ketball Skills
Frog shooting (7 min)
Perform a squat. It is important that the player “sit in the chair." Place ten fingers on the ball. Raise the ball
to the forehead at the same time pushing with the legs. The player should be able to look under the ball to
see the target at release. This is to teach the proper activation of the shooting muscles. NOTE: This should
happen in a continuous motion. The children may sight the target by looking over the ball, but at the release
you should encourage them to be looking under it. Power comes from the legs, finesse from the upper body.

The next step is to place the ball at different spots on the floor. Have the athlete get behind the ball and
perform the shooting action.

The third progression is to roll the ball to pick it up before shooting.

The target does not always have to be a basket. Give the players different objects to shoot at varying
heights. We want the players to discover that "finesse, not power" is needed to shoot a basketball. Power
comes from the legs. Having a partner or a coach (parent) holding a hula hoop makes a good target.

Around the World Shooting (8 min)

The coach marks out spots from which the players will shoot. Use spot markers or pylons. The players take
turns shooting from each spot. The basket or target should be at an appropriate height. The distance should
also reflect their abilities.

One way is to hang a hula hoop from the rim. This way the children have two targets to shoot at; a
higher target and a lower target.

20 min G am es Progression
In the first part of the game, the bean bags are all in the center. You can have up to three players per team
go at a time. The child scores a basket and runs to half to retrieve a bean bag. The child places the bean bag in
the team’s hula hoop. The next child in line then goes. The children keep scoring baskets until all of the bean
bags are depleted from the middle. The coach can determine how many children can go at a time. It is best to
allow only two or three children from each group to go at any given time.

Record which teams have the greatest number of bean bags.

In the diagram, player #4 for the triangles shoots a basket and then runs to center to collect a bean bag. The
player runs back to the end line and places the bean bag inside the hula hoop. Player #2 does the same task
for the circles.

In the second part of the game, the players must now run to the far end and
shoot a basket. After making the basket, the players take a bean bag from the
opposing team’s hula hoop, return to their own end, and place the captured bean
bag in their team’s hula hoop. Restrict the number of players who go at any one
time. Time the length of the game. Count which team has the most bean bags in
order to determine the winner.

If time permits, repeat the second phase. This time, though, add a restricted area
from which the ball must be shot behind. A skipping rope is a good way to mark this
space.

5 m in D ebrief
Have the children assist in putting the equipment away.
Practice slow, deep breathing to help relax them and prepare them to leave – have them model your breathing pattern.
As k debriefing questions:
What activities did you enjoy?
What can you do on your own before our next session?
Task for the week – Practice a) some of the fun activities you used b) using your three values you learned. Have Mom, Dad,
or another family member help you.

© Coaching Association of Canada and Canada Basketball

FUNdamentals