Basketball Drills for Kids: 5 Skills to Practice Before Summer Camp

By Stephanie Rudnick, Founder of Elite Camps

Summer is coming. And if your child is signed up for basketball camp this year, or you are still thinking about it, there is something you can do right now that will make their experience ten times better.

Let them practice.

Not in a pressure-filled, “we need to get you ready” kind of way. In a fun, low-stakes, grab-a-ball-and-go-outside kind of way. The goal is not perfection. The goal is comfort. A kid who walks into camp having touched a basketball a few hundred times in the last month is going to feel more confident than one who has not picked one up since March.

Here are five drills your child can do at home, in the driveway, or at a local park. No fancy equipment needed. No coaching degree required.

1. Stationary Ball Handling: Build Confidence One Touch at a Time

This is the foundation of everything. Have your child stand in one spot and move the ball around their body: around the waist, around the knees, through the legs in a figure eight. Start slow. Speed up as they get comfortable.

Why does this matter? Because at Elite Camps, we follow what I call the 300 Rep Rule. In a typical team practice, a kid might touch the ball 15 or 20 times. In our programs, they get hundreds of repetitions in a single session. But that process starts with being comfortable holding and moving the ball. The more touches your child gets before camp, the more ready they are to absorb what our coaches teach.

Even five minutes a day adds up fast. Set a timer. Put on some music. Make it a game, not a chore.

2. Dribbling on the Move: Get Comfortable With the Ball in Motion

Once your child can handle the ball standing still, it is time to move. Have them dribble from one end of the driveway to the other. Right hand down, left hand back. Then switch. If they are a bit older (say 9 or 10), challenge them to dribble without looking at the ball.

This is one of the most common gaps we see when kids arrive at summer day camp. They can dribble in place but freeze up the moment they need to move. Practicing this at home, even casually, closes that gap before they walk through the door.

And here is a tip from someone who has watched thousands of kids go through this: do not correct every mistake. Let them dribble it off their foot. Let the ball get away. Mistakes are not the enemy. At Elite Camps, we teach our coaches that failure is the backbone of skill development. A kid who is afraid to mess up will never take the risks needed to improve. So if the ball bounces off their shoe and rolls into the garden, laugh about it. Pick it up. Try again.

3. Form Shooting Close to the Basket: Repetition Over Range

Parents love to watch their kids shoot from far away. I get it. It looks impressive. But here is the truth: the best shooters in the world built their shot from close range first.

Have your child stand about three to four feet from the basket (or even closer if they are under 8). Focus on their shooting hand, elbow under the ball, flick of the wrist, and follow through. Forget about making every shot. Focus on the motion.

This is exactly what we work on in our basketball shooting drills for kids during Weekly Lessons. We break the shot down into pieces and build it back up. If your child can arrive at camp with a basic feel for their shooting form, they will progress faster because the muscle memory is already started.

Ten shots from the right side. Ten from the left. Ten from the front. That is 30 reps in under five minutes.

4. Partner Passing: Make It a Family Activity

Passing is the most underrated skill in youth basketball. And it is the easiest one to practice at home because all you need is another person. You do not even need a court.

Stand about eight to ten feet apart. Chest passes back and forth. Then bounce passes. If your child is 10 or older, add a bit of movement: step to the left, catch, step to the right, pass. This builds hand-eye coordination, timing, and spatial awareness.

Here is what I have noticed over 25 plus years of running Elite Camps: the kids who show up understanding how to pass are the ones who thrive in scrimmages. They see the game differently. They make friends faster on the court because they involve other players. Passing is not just a skill. It is a social connector.

And honestly? Passing a ball back and forth with your kid in the backyard is one of those quiet parenting moments that matters more than you think. No screens. No distractions. Just you and your child sharing something simple.

5. Defensive Slides: The Drill Nobody Thinks About

Most kids who come to camp have practiced some version of dribbling and shooting. Very few have practiced moving their feet on defense. This is your child’s secret advantage.

Have them get into an athletic stance: knees bent, feet shoulder-width apart, hands out. Slide to the right for five steps. Slide back to the left. No crossing the feet. Stay low.

It is not glamorous. But defensive footwork is one of the first things our coaches teach at D-League and in our camp programs, and the kids who already have a feel for it stand out immediately. Not because they are the most talented. Because they are the most prepared.

The Real Goal: Confidence, Not Perfection

None of these drills are about turning your child into a superstar before summer. They are about building comfort and confidence so that when your child walks into camp, they feel like they belong there.

One of the things I love most about Elite Camps is what I call the Clean Slate effect. When kids come to camp, there are no pecking orders, no team politics, no history of who made the team and who did not. Everyone starts fresh. Our coaches are 100% paid professionals, not volunteer parents from the local league. Your child gets evaluated for who they are right now, in that moment.

A few weeks of casual practice at home gives your child the confidence to take full advantage of that fresh start.

Summer camp spots are filling up. If your child is between 7 and 16, now is the time to register for a summer camp and give them an experience they will carry with them long after the final whistle.

P.S. Our Weekly Lessons run year-round for kids as young as 4. If your child is not quite camp age yet, or you want to keep the momentum going after summer, Weekly Lessons are the perfect next step. Sessions are filling up for fall. Get on the list now.