Basketball drills at home for 18 year olds

At a glance

At 18

74 basketball drills the app opens for an 18 year old work at home, across 6 skills.

How long

One home session of about 50 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 75 minutes for an 18 year old.

How often

At most 5 training days a week, with rest days between. Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 18 hours for an 18 year old, with two rest days a week.

What you need

Most used: basketballs (59 of the 74 drills), hoop (31), cones (13), wall (5), tape (3), chair or cone (2), agility ladder or tape lines (1), backboard (1). 3 drills need nothing but space. 22 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

Safe at home

One child and one parent in a room, garage or yard. Never tackling, contact, diving or head-first falls, no stunts or loaded lifting, and nothing that needs a coach, rink, pool or court. Stop when anything hurts.

74 at-home drills

Basketball drills for 18 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for an 18 year old and one that works at home: a room, garage or yard, one parent as the partner, no venue. Each drill's page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a log to print.

athleticism

Athleticism

• Line JumpsAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Quick Feet LadderAges 7 and up · 10 min
• Reaction StartsAges 14 and up · 12 min

ball handling

Ball Handling

• Pound DribblesAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Red Light Dribble GameAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Stationary Ball Handling CircuitAges 7 and up · 10 min

defense

Defense

• Closeout and ContainAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Wall Up at the RimAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Closeout and ContestAges 11 and up · 10 min

passing

Passing

• Pivot and Pass FakesAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Wall PassingAges 7 and up · 10 min
• Pick-and-Roll FootworkAges 14 and up · 12 min

rebounding

Rebounding

• High-Point CatchAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Where Does It Bounce?Ages 7 and up · 8 min
• Crash From the Weak SideAges 14 and up · 12 min

A 50-minute session

A home basketball session for an 18 year old

A warm-up, 3 drills and a cool-down, 50 minutes in all. Do it up to 5 days a week, with rest days between.

1. 1Basketball Warm-Up, Ages 14 and UpA 12-minute moving warm-up for basketball players 14 and up: moving stretches, strength, single-leg control, cuts and build-up runs, then basketball moves at practice speed.12 min
2. 2Dribble Move CombosThe first move sets up the second. Explode out of it.12 min
3. 3Read the DefenderSee it, say it, then do it.12 min
4. 4Active Hands Wall DrillQuick hands, not reaching. Stay balanced.6 min
5. 5Basketball Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 14 and UpA 8-minute cool-down for basketball players 14 and up after training: stretches for the legs, hips, shoulders and inner thighs, each held 20 to 30 seconds, never to pain.8 min

At 18

What changes in basketball training at 18

The app opens the same 74 at-home drills at 18 as at 17; the ones below are a different selection from that list.

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 18 hours for an 18 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting basketball into a week at 18

At 18 the limit is 18 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 5 sessions of 50 minutes is 4.17 hours, which leaves 13.83 for team practice and games. Even 5 days at the app's longest, 75 minutes, is 6.25 hours.

The research behind it

• Ages 13 to 15 are the "specializing years", after the sampling years of 6 to 12.

  Côté and Vierimaa 2014

• Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week.

  NATA youth sport specialization recommendations

Questions and answers