Over Dribble

Over dribble is when a player continues to dribble without a purpose. Over dribbling has so many negative effects on a team including scoring fewer points and having more turnovers. This bad offense also leads to bad defense as opponents get more easy scoring opportunities via turnovers and bad shots. Now, how do you fix this? It is through what you teach, what you enforce, and how you practice.

Dribble with a purpose

First, players should know when to dribble. Here is what players might do:

• dribble to score;
• dribble to prevent a 5 second call;
• dribble to create a better passing angle;
• dribble to advance the ball up the floor.

Otherwise, don’t dribble. When you dribble, think lay up. That’s the mentality you should have when dribbling – attack.

Enforce it in practice

If you want to get rid of bad habits, you have to create good habits. You can do this with constraints and correction.

Here are a few examples of drills and scrimmages that utilize constraints.

Dribble Without Purpose = Turnover

If players want to dribble with a purpose, it’s better to set up situations where they have to adhere to this habit. One easy way to do that is to have this rule during practice.

Every time you dribble without a purpose, it is an automatic turnover.

No Dribble Drills & Scrimmages

Here is another constraint that can be applies. You eliminate dribbling from your drills or scrimmages.

This teaches players how to play without dribbling. They quickly learn that they don’t need to dribble nearly as often as they thought. It also teaches them when they truly need to dribble to create a better scoring opportunity.

At first, it can be quite hard as they figure things out. But after a while, a few minutes or a few practices depending on the group, it can transform into beautiful basketball.

Kids are zipping the ball around and you end up with some open shots. At times, it may be noticed that after allowing dribbles again, the offense even worsens.

It’s up to you if you want to do this, but some also allow one dribble after a pass to shoot a lay up.

Limited Dribble Drills & Scrimmages

This is similar to above, except that a player is limited the number of dribbles after each pass. You might use two or three dribbles depending on the age group.

This teaches players to use their dribbles only when necessary.

Enforce it during games

Ahead of time, players should remember if they over dribble during games too much, they will spend a few minutes on the bench.

This tends to be one of the best teachers if they revert to old habits during games.

If you utilize these tips, you’ll be amazed at how quickly these bad habits start to disappear.