Basketball drills for 12 year olds

At 12

The age at a glance

This year

The first year in the 12-14 group: a 10 ft basket, a three-point line at 19 ft 9 in, every defense and a 30-second shot clock; girls keep a size 6 ball and boys move to a size 7. Rest drops to at least one day a week.

The game

A size 6 ball for girls and a size 7 (29.5 in) for boys, a 10 ft basket, an 84 or 94 by 50 ft court, a 19 ft 9 in three-point line and a 15 ft free-throw line.

Practice

Practices of 60 to 90 minutes, two to four times a week, and games of 28 to 32 minutes, twice a week.

Rest and hours

One rest day a week, and no more than 10 hours a week of organized basketball; near that limit, no second organized sport at the same time.

At 12

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 12 hours for a 12 year old. Basketball alone: no more than 10 hours a week of organized basketball at this age (USA Basketball). Shooting baskets alone at home is not counted as organized basketball.

Season and sleep

At most 7 months a year of organized basketball, and 9 to 12 hours of sleep a night at 12 (8 to 10 hours from 13).

At home

SSTracker keeps one home session for a 12 year old within 60 minutes and plans at most 5 home days a week, with rest days between.

36 drills

Drills for 12 year olds

Every drill here is one the app opens for 12 year olds, at the level for the age. Each page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a practice log to print.

No hoop needed

At home without a hoop, at 12

8 drills for 12 year olds need no hoop or basket, so they work in a driveway, garage or hallway: Cone Crossover Weave, Retreat Dribble and Pass, Spider Dribble, Two-Ball Dribbling, Figure Eight Wraps, Pound Dribbles, Red Light Dribble Game, Stationary Ball Handling Circuit. Each drill's page says what to bring.

• Cone Crossover WeaveAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Retreat Dribble and PassAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Spider DribbleAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Two-Ball DribblingAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Figure Eight WrapsAges 7 and up · 8 min
• 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

Questions parents ask

Basketball for 12 year olds: questions and answers