Coach Big Bang — Basketball & Football Training

1. Stand in an athletic stance: feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent, eyes up.
2. Dribble the ball hard with your right hand, keeping it below your knee, for 30 seconds.
3. Switch to your left hand for 30 seconds.
4. Rest 30 seconds, then do 3 more rounds on each hand.
5. Challenge: keep your eyes on something across the room, not the ball.

Coach's tip: Pound it like you're trying to make the ball bounce back faster. Fingertips, not your palm.

1. Hold a ball in each hand and stand in your athletic stance.
2. Dribble both balls at the same time for 30 seconds.
3. Next round, dribble them one after the other (alternating) for 30 seconds.
4. Rest 30 seconds. Do 3 rounds of each.

Coach's tip: Your weaker hand will lose the ball at first. That's the point. It gets better fast.

1. Stand about 6 feet from a solid wall.
2. Throw 20 chest passes: step toward the wall and push the ball with both hands, thumbs ending down.
3. Throw 20 bounce passes: aim for the ground about two-thirds of the way to the wall.
4. Catch every pass with two hands and get right back in your stance.

Coach's tip: Step into every pass. Your legs give the pass its power, not just your arms.

1. Stand right in front of the basket, about 3 feet away.
2. Use only your shooting hand: elbow under the ball, wrist bent back.
3. Push the ball up and snap your wrist so your fingers point at the rim (hold that follow-through).
4. Make 10 shots, then take one step back. Keep going until you miss 3 in a row, then step back in.
5. Add your guide hand last, resting on the side of the ball.

Coach's tip: Make it perfect up close before you move back. Great shooters build from the rim out.

1. Get low: feet wide, knees bent, back straight, hands up.
2. Slide 5 steps to the right without letting your feet touch or cross.
3. Slide 5 steps back to the left.
4. Do 30 seconds of sliding, rest 30 seconds, 4 rounds.

Coach's tip: Stay low the whole time. If your head bobs up and down, you're standing up.

1. Set up 5 cones (or shoes) in a line about 4 feet apart.
2. Dribble toward the first cone with your right hand.
3. Right before the cone, cross the ball low to your left hand and keep going.
4. Cross back at the next cone. Go down and back 4 times.
5. Next set: try between-the-legs or behind-the-back moves.

Coach's tip: Keep the crossover low and quick, below your knee. A high crossover gets stolen.

1. Carry the ball high and tight: fingers over the tip, ball against your forearm, other tip pressed into your elbow.
2. Hold it against your chest and jog 20 yards.
3. Switch the ball to the other arm (the outside arm, away from defenders) and jog back.
4. Have someone try to swipe at the ball as you jog past (gently).

Coach's tip: The ball is the team. Hold it like it's the most important thing on the field, because it is.

1. Make a diamond: thumbs and pointer fingers touching, hands up in front of your face.
2. Have a partner toss the ball to you from 5 yards. Catch it with your hands, not your chest.
3. Look the ball all the way into your hands, then tuck it high and tight.
4. For balls below your waist, turn your hands so your pinkies touch.
5. Do 20 catches, then move back 5 yards.

Coach's tip: Watch the ball hit your hands. Most drops happen because you look upfield too early.

1. Draw a ladder with chalk or lay out sticks: 10 boxes, each about 18 inches.
2. Run through putting one foot in every box, as fast as you can, on the balls of your feet.
3. Next, two feet in every box.
4. Next, step sideways through the ladder, two feet in each box.
5. Do each pattern 3 times. Walk back to rest.

Coach's tip: Quick, light feet beat big, heavy steps. Stay on your toes.

1. Set 3 cones in an L shape, each 5 yards apart.
2. Sprint from cone 1 to cone 2, touch it, and sprint back to cone 1.
3. Sprint back to cone 2, go around it, weave around cone 3, and come back around cone 2 to the start.
4. Rest 1 minute between runs. Do 4 to 6 runs.

Coach's tip: Sink your hips before you turn. Low and controlled turns are faster turns.

1. Grip the ball with your fingers on the laces and a little space between the ball and your palm.
2. Stand sideways to your target, front shoulder pointing at it.
3. Step toward the target with your front foot as you throw.
4. Bring the ball back by your ear and throw over the top, finishing with your thumb pointing down.
5. Make 20 throws to a partner or a target 10 yards away.

Coach's tip: Point your front foot at the target. The ball goes where your foot points.

1. Start in a low stance, weight on the balls of your feet.
2. Backpedal for 5 yards with your shoulders over your toes, arms pumping.
3. When a partner points (or on your own count of 3), plant your foot and sprint forward 5 yards.
4. Next round, break to the side instead. Do 8 reps.

Coach's tip: Don't lean back when you backpedal. Stay over your toes so you can break fast.

1. Jog in place or around the yard for 2 minutes.
2. 20 jumping jacks.
3. 10 arm circles forward and 10 backward.
4. 10 walking lunges (5 each leg).
5. 10 leg swings forward and back on each leg (hold a wall).
6. 2 short sprints at half speed.

Coach's tip: Warm muscles are fast muscles. Never skip the warm-up.

1. 10 bodyweight squats: sit back like there's a chair, chest up.
2. 8 push-ups (knees on the floor is great).
3. 20-second plank: straight line from head to heels.
4. 10 glute bridges: lie on your back, squeeze and lift your hips.
5. 10 jumping jacks.
6. Rest 1 minute, then repeat for 3 rounds total.

Coach's tip: Good form first, more reps later. Ten perfect squats beat twenty sloppy ones.

1. 15 bodyweight squats.
2. 10 push-ups.
3. 10 reverse lunges each leg.
4. 30-second plank.
5. 20 mountain climbers (each knee counts as one).
6. 10 squat jumps: land softly with bent knees.
7. Rest 90 seconds, then repeat for 4 rounds total.

Coach's tip: Land soft on every jump: quiet feet mean your knees are taking care of themselves.

1. Warm up first (see the 10-Minute Warm-Up).
2. 4 x 10-yard sprints from a standing start. Walk back to rest.
3. 4 x shuttle runs: 5 yards out, touch, 5 back, touch, 5 out.
4. 3 rounds of the Quick Feet Ladder.
5. Finish with 2 minutes of easy jogging.

Coach's tip: Sprint at full speed, then rest fully. Tired sprints teach your body to be slow.

1. Walk for 1 minute to bring your breathing down.
2. Hamstring stretch: sit, legs straight, reach for your toes. Hold 20 seconds.
3. Quad stretch: stand, hold your foot behind you. 20 seconds each leg.
4. Calf stretch against a wall. 20 seconds each leg.
5. Arm-across-chest stretch. 20 seconds each arm.

Coach's tip: Stretch gently: it should feel like a pull, never pain.

1. Fill about half your plate with fruits and vegetables.
2. Add a protein: chicken, fish, eggs, beans, turkey or lean beef.
3. Add a grain for energy: rice, pasta, whole-wheat bread, tortillas or potatoes.
4. Add a dairy or calcium food: milk, yogurt or cheese.
5. Eat until you're full and satisfied, not stuffed.

Coach's tip: Different colors on your plate means different vitamins. Try to eat the rainbow.

1. Breakfast: eggs or yogurt, fruit, and toast or oatmeal. Don't skip it.
2. Lunch: a sandwich or wrap with protein, plus fruit and veggies.
3. After-school snack (1–2 hours before practice): banana and peanut butter, crackers and cheese, or a granola bar.
4. Dinner after practice: build your plate with a protein, a grain and vegetables.
5. Water all day long.

Coach's tip: That after-school snack is your practice fuel. Don't show up to practice on empty.

1. 3–4 hours before: a normal meal like pasta with chicken, a turkey sandwich, or rice and beans.
2. 1 hour before: a small snack like a banana, orange slices or a few crackers.
3. Avoid greasy or very heavy food right before you play.
4. During: water at every break.
5. Within an hour after: a snack with protein and carbs, like chocolate milk or a turkey wrap.

Coach's tip: Eat what you're used to on game day. Game day is not the day to try new foods.

1. Fruit: bananas, apples, grapes, orange slices.
2. Yogurt or a cheese stick.
3. Peanut butter on whole-wheat toast or apple slices (if no nut allergy).
4. Trail mix or a granola bar.
5. Veggies like carrots or cucumbers with hummus.

Coach's tip: Pack a snack in your sports bag so you're never stuck with vending-machine junk.

1. Drink water when you wake up and with every meal.
2. Drink water before practice and take sips at every break.
3. Drink more on hot days. Pale yellow pee means you're on track.
4. Sports drinks are only for long, hard, sweaty sessions (over an hour). Water is enough most days.
5. Skip energy drinks. They're not made for kids and teens.

Coach's tip: If you feel thirsty, dizzy or get a headache in the heat, stop, drink water and tell an adult.