Are you a fan of NBA superstars like Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, Kemba Walker, etc.? Do you wish you could do the same mind boggling dribbling moves they make on a nightly basis but don’t know where to start? Here at Toby’s Sports, we’re all about giving everyone the tools they need to achieve their optimum level of health and fitness, and information is one of the these tools. So if you want to work on your game and you want to improve your ball handling, skills here are some basic stationary basketball dribbling workouts for you to do to build a solid foundation for an amazing handle.
Wrap Around Series
The Wrap Around series of stationary drills requires you to, well, wrap the ball around parts of your body to perform them. These drills not only improve your hand-eye coordination, but also your joint flexibility. These are the bases needed to build up your ball handling skills. Here are some wrap around drills you can perform with one basketball.
Ankles
Start by standing up straight with your feet together. Wrap the ball around your lower leg/ankles as fast as you can without letting the basketball touch the ground. Set a time of thirty (30) seconds and see how many times you can wrap the ball around your ankle without dropping the basketball.
Waist
Wrap the ball in a circle motion around your waist as fast as you can without dropping the basketball. Set a time of thirty (30) seconds and see how many times you can wrap the ball around your ankle without making errors.
Around the Head
Wrap the ball in around your head as fast as you can without dropping the basketball. Set a time of thirty (30) seconds and see how many times you can wrap the ball around your ankle without making errors.
Around the world
This drill involves combining the drills mentioned above into one drill. Start by wrapping the ball around your head, then bringing it down and around your waist, and finally around your ankles. Then back up to your waist, then head, then waist again, etc. The completion of one cycle counts as one rep. Set a time of thirty (30) seconds and see how many times you can wrap the ball around your body without making errors.
When the drills start to get easier for you, try challenging yourself by closing your eyes and/or keep your head up. Being able to see your surroundings is an important skill, especially in ball handling. Having the ability to dribble the ball without looking at the basketball allows you to survey the floor, see what the defense doing, react to it, and protect the basketball all at the same time.
Between the Legs Series
This series of wrap-around also aims to improve hand-eye coordination and flexibility. The additional perk that these drills provide is that they simulate the movements your body makes when you dribble the basketball between your legs.
Figure 8 Around Legs
Get down and squat with your legs being shoulder width apart and your back up right. Wrap the ball in a figure 8 motion between and around your legs. The completion of one figure 8 motion counts as one rep. Set a time of thirty (30) seconds and see how many reps you can perform without losing control of the basketball.
Around Right Leg
Get down and perform a split squat where your right leg is in front and your left leg is planted behind you. Wrap the ball around only your right leg. Set a time of thirty (30) seconds and see how many reps you can perform without losing control of the basketball.
Around Left Leg
Get down and perform a split squat where your left leg is in front and your right leg is planted behind you. Wrap the ball around only your right leg. Set a time of thirty (30) seconds and see how many reps you can perform without losing control of the basketball.
Double Leg, Single Leg
This final drill in the wrap around series combines “Around the Ankle”, “Around the Right Leg” and Around the Left Leg.” Get down in a squatting position with your legs together with a basketball in hand. Wrap the basketball around your legs, then wrap the ball around your right leg, then back to the ankles, and finally, wrap the ball around your left leg. This completes cycle counts as one rep of the Double Leg, Single Leg drill. Set a time of one (1) minute and see how many reps you can perform without losing control of the basketball. This drill caps the wrap around series and is something you should try to incorporate at the end of your workouts.
These are some of the basic yet extremely effective stationary drills you can perform to improve your ball handling skills. Your ball handling won’t be at a pro level overnight with these drills but if you keep doing these drills on a regular basis, you’ll definitely be able to step your game up.
