Although most basketball players tend to use their dominant hand (right hand in most cases) more often, it is essential that you work on improving your weak hand as well. Fail to do this and you will only perform at half of your full capacity. Luckily there are basketball workout drills to help you improve.
Even if your basic basketball skills like dribbling, scoring, and passing are perfect on your dominant hand, you will elevate your game even further with left-hand training. While there are various ways to approach training, in this article, we will cover four simple drills that will show you how to improve left hand dribbling or how to train with your non-dominant hand. You can implement any of these basketball training techniques into your basketball dribbling workout.
Two-Ball Pound
Goal: the aim of this drill is to help develop your ability to dribble with your weak hand.
For this drill, you will need to have two balls in your hands (one for each hand). Begin by taking an athletic position – lower your hips and keep your back straight with your eyes up. You should also bend your knees to allow you to get as low to the ground as possible.
In this position, start dribbling with both of your hands simultaneously. Try to pound the balls on the ground as hard as you can and keep your elbows behind the balls as you do so. You should also try to synchronize both hands to maintain the same speed. Keep your eyes up throughout this drill and not on the ball.
Zig-zag Speed Dribble and Layup
Goal: this drill is aimed at helping you to master how to dribble and layup using both of your hands.
Position yourself under the basket on one end of the court then try to dribble with just your weak hand in the direction of the sideline. When you reach the sideline, towards the opposite direction and continue to dribble, but this time at a 45-degree angle. Continue like this in a zigzag motion until you reach the basket on the other end of the court.
When you get to the basket, try shooting layups with your left (or non-dominant) hand. To do this, you jump off the court on the opposite foot to the hand you are using for the layup. That is, jump off your right foot to do a left-handed layup and your left foot to do a right-handed layup. It takes a while to master and get used to this move, but with time, you will.
Two-Ball Weak-Hand Pass
Goal: the aim of this exercise is to help you work on your left-hand passing skills.
This is a left-handed basketball drill that can be done within teams. You will need to work on this drill with a teammate so both of you can develop your passing skills with your weak left hands. This drill also helps with your left-hand dribbling and catching skill. One of you should hold two balls while the other teammate holds one. The teammate holding the two balls dribbles both balls simultaneously (about three times) then push-passes the ball in their left hand to the other player. The other teammate will take their turn to dribble with both balls as well and do a left-hand pass.
Tennis Ball Juggle
Goal: the goal of this exercise is to help teach you how to handle the ball well and sprint with the ball using your weak hand.
For this drill, you will need a tennis ball and a basketball. Hold the tennis ball with your right hand and the basketball with your left. Start by walking while tossing your tennis ball and dribbling with the basketball at the same time. You can move to the other end of the court like this and pick up pace as you get a better handle on the drill.
Conclusion
Note that the drills describe above apply to either your left or right hand, depending on which one is less dominant. Now that you have learned how to train your left-hand for basketball, spend a few minutes practicing these basketball drills regularly and you will notice your left-hand skills getting better with time.
Until you can dribble fluidly with both hands, it will be easy for your opponents to predict your moves and guess which way you are headed. You will become a better and more confident player when you can play with both hands. So which techniques are you going to implement into your basketball drills workout?
