passing drills and tips

Chest passes
Throwing the chest pass is a key part of the game. Being able to throw this pass with strength and accuracy is essential.

Here's a great drill for working on throwing good shest passes. Stand about six to eight feet apart from a teammate and throw a chest pass, stepping forward with your right foot, fully extending your arms, and flicking your wrist as you make the pass. Your teammate will make the same pass back to you. Make 10 passes, stepping forward with your right foot for five of the passes, and with your left foot for five of the passes.

Then, step back five feet and repeat the drill. After completing 10 passes at this distance, step back another five feet and repeat the drill. Continue moving back five feet and repeating the drill until you are no longer able to make a good pass to your teammate.





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Bounce passes
Making good bounce passes will help you become a better offensive player. In lots of situations, bounce passes are much more effective than a chest pass.

To practice bounce passes, stand about six to eight feet apart from a teammate and throw a bounce pass. The bounce pass should hit the ground about 2/3'rds of the way to your teammate and bounce up so it gets to the player around waist level. Just as you do with a chest pass, step forward with one leg as you make the pass.

Make 10 bounce passes at this distance, then step back five feet and make another 10 passes. Continue moving back until you can no longer make a good pass to your teammate.





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Push passes
Push passes are great passes for getting by a defender. If you are being crowded by the defense, stepping past the defender and making a push pass is sometimes the only way to get the ball to a teammate.

To practice push passes, stand about six to eight feet apart from a teammate and throw the pass. Here's how: if you are going to go to your right to make the pass, step forward with your right leg (a big step forward), keep both hands on the ball, and as you plant your right foot past the defender, push the ball out to your teammate, making a nice bounce pass.

Make 10 push passes to your teammate from six to eight feet, then step back five feet and make another 10 passes. Continue moving back until you can no longer make a good pass to your teammate.


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Overhead, 2-handed passes
Making an overhead, 2-handed pass is an essential tool to playing offense. There will be lots of times when you need to make a long pass to a teammate who is across or up the floor from you.

Have a teammate stand 20 to 25 feet away from you. Put the ball above your head, and hold it with both hands. As you step forward with one foot, move the ball back slightly so it's above your head and slightly back (so it's not directly above your head, but just above and behind it). As your foot hits the ground, extend your arms out so you make a good, strong pass, and your arms end up full extended, out in front of your head.

Practice throwing these pass over farily long distances, because that is the typical situation in which these passes will be thrown in game situations. As you practice passing to your teammates, keep moving back so you have to throw the pass over longer and longer distances.