Drills play
Drill: Sharks and Minnows
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 5 steps
About this play
Heads-up dribbling under pursuit, in the game kids ask to play again, which is why it is in every youth practice I run. The whole team, every minnow with a ball on the baseline, one or two sharks in pinnies and without a ball in the middle. Half court works in a small gym: the far line is the half-court line, marked with cones. On go, the minnows dribble across while the sharks hunt them, changing speed and direction with their eyes up. A tagged minnow stops where he was tagged, puts the ball between his feet, and becomes a scarecrow with his arms out, balanced and unable to move. Scarecrows can tag minnows who dribble past, and a free minnow can release one by tagging him. Any dribbling violation puts a minnow out at once. Last minnow dribbling wins; the next round gets new sharks. Sixty to ninety seconds a crossing, with a time limit if the minnows stall. Mistakes: dribbling straight into a shark, looking down, picking the ball up to run. Progression: sharks who have to dribble too, more sharks, or the cone version where sharks knock cones over. Youth. I got this from Basketball For Coaches' sharks and minnows write-up and the Jr. NBA's version; read them for the extra rules.
