3rd and 4th grade Youth Fundamentals practice plan

with Coach Jason Mauser

Jason Mauser has coached youth basketball for more than 20 years. The fundamental principles he coaches to his youth players are the same ones that he embraced during his four-year collegiate career. The Youth Fundamentals practice plan should provide youth coaches with a routine that engages players at the very earliest levels of play and can be adapted to be more challenging as players become more skilled.


Stationary Ball Handling

We use this drill as a warmup for practice. If possible, every player should have their own basketball. We'll spend 30 seconds doing each of the following:

  1. Right hand pounds

  2. Left hand pounds

  3. Front-to-back with right hand

  4. Front-to-back with left hand

  5. Inside-out with right hand

  6. Inside-out with left hand

  7. Behind-the-back crossovers

  8. Between-the-legs Jordan crossovers


Full Court Zig Zags

We'll continue our warmup with some full court ball handling. This drill requires every player to have their own basketball.

Set up three chairs to create a zig zag path for the ball handlers. Each player should do four court-length trips and perform the following moves at each chair:

  1. Crossover (4x)

  2. Hesitation move followed by crossover (4x)

  3. Behind-the-back crossover (4x)

  4. Retreat dribble (3 or 4) followed by crossover (4x)

For a total of 16 repetitions.

 


Form Shooting

Players should partner up at a hoop. Multiple pairs of players can be at the same basket if need be.

One player shoots while the other rebounds. After at least 20 shots, the players should switch positions.

The shooter should make a target with their hands and catch every pass ready to shoot the ball. They must focus on form with their elbow in and guide-hand on the side of the ball. They should hold their follow-through on every shot.

The passer should focus on making good passes and putting the basketball right where the shooter asks for it.


Get access to the remaining drills from the Youth Fundamentals practice plan by Downloading the Hustle app on the iTunes App Store or Google Play: