Basketball Drills for 12 Year Olds: Dribbling, Passing and Games

Basketball dribbling drills for 12 year olds, passing and cutting drills, decision games and a 90-minute practice, all written for players this age.

Twelve is the top of the learn-to-train years and the start of middle school, and this guide collects the dribbling drills, passing and cutting drills, decision games and practice plans written for players this age.

Basketball dribbling drills for 12 year olds, and the passing drills that go with them, look different from the games used with younger kids. Twelve sits at the top of the Learn to Train stage in the stage model (boys 9 to 12, girls 8 to 11) and at the start of the middle school band in an age-band model (ages 11 to 14).

A two-goal middle school plan gives each session two goals and uses small games with a rule that forces a decision. This page uses only drills written for this age or for middle school teams, and it says which band each one fits. It covers the age, dribbling, passing and cutting, decision games, shooting, defense and practice plans. Younger players have their own page at basketball drills for 10 year olds, and older ones at basketball drills for 14 year olds.

Add a goal. The two-goal plan gives each 90-minute practice two stated goals and builds its games so a rule forces the decision, such as calling a teammate's name before the pass.

What Changes at 12

Stage. The stage model's Learn to Train stage covers boys 9 to 12 and girls 8 to 11, with sessions of about 90 minutes and about four practices for every game. Its next stage, Train to Train, starts around 12 for boys and depends on the growth spurt.
Stage, alternate listing. The same model lists Learn to Train as 9 to 11 at 90 minutes and puts 12 and 13 year olds in Train to Train at 120 minutes.
Two goals per practice. The two-goal plan gives ages 11 to 14 two stated goals per 90-minute session, where a younger team gets one.
Under-12 plan. More advanced dribbles, weak-hand work, spacing, 2-on-2 defensive triangles, and no full-court man defense until the shell, help and rotation are understood.
7th and 8th grade. Daily ball handling, footwork, layups, passing, jump shot basics, foul shooting, and defensive stance, slides and help-side basics. Its 8th grade adds post moves, screening, help-side rotation and presses.
Equipment. Two plans put the 10-foot rim at 6th grade. One of them also uses a 28.5-inch ball in 6th grade, a regulation ball from 7th grade, and counts every shot as two points through 6th grade so players have no reason to shoot threes early. Check what your league uses.
Positions. A position-free plan says positions barely exist from 7 to 12 and that tendencies can be leaned into from 12 to 14, and it warns against locking the tallest 12-year-old in the post.

The wider rules for coaching this age (fun first, a win for every child, far more practice than games) are on coaching youth basketball and middle school basketball coaching.

Match the plan to the age band and your league.

Basketball Dribbling Drills for 12 Year Olds

The Learn to Train lessons, written for 9 to 12 year olds, give dribbling two full sessions. Each one teaches the technique, then loads the same drill with more difficulty rather than switching drills.

Static dribbling, then load it

Stance. Knees bent, feet shoulder width and staggered, head up, the ball pushed to the floor with the fingertips and the off arm across the body between the ball and the defender.
Reps. Players dribble on the spot with the right hand, then the left, then at different heights, and shout out how many fingers the coach holds up so their eyes stay up.
Loads. Add two balls (together, then alternating), then figure 8 and around-the-leg dribbles, then push-pull and a half crossover.

Dribbling games from the same lesson

Frozen Dribble Tag. Everyone has a ball and two chasers try to tag them. A tagged player freezes and does a ball-handling move on the spot, such as body circles, until a teammate dribbles a ball between his legs. Change chasers every minute.
Music Dribbling. Dribble around the court while the music plays, static dribble on the spot when it stops. Repeat high and low, faster, and with the other hand.
Circle Trap. One group joins hands in a circle that opens and closes on the coach's signal. The other group dribbles in and out of it and cannot leave through the spot next to where it came in. Count how many dribblers get trapped.
Dribble Elimination. Everyone tries to knock away other balls while keeping his own. Shrink the area from full court to half court to the three-point line to the key.

Change of direction

The second session teaches the change of direction: plant the outside foot, bend the knees and lower the hips, push off and shift the weight, and speed up into the new direction. Its drills:

Zig-Zag Dribbling. One line in the corner of the baseline, each player with a ball. Dribble in a zig-zag between the sideline and an imaginary line down the middle of the floor. At each line, plant and cross over to switch hands. Load it with between-the-legs and behind-the-back changes.
Speed and control dribble. Three lines on the baseline. Speed dribble to the far end and back, switch into a control dribble on one whistle and back to speed on a double whistle. Right hand, then left, then right going and left coming back. Load it with two balls.
Run Rabbit Run with a ball. One player starts on the free-throw line and another on the baseline, both with a ball. The back player dribbles after the front one and tries to tag his back. When the front player crosses the free-throw line he passes a ball to the next player in line, who starts once the chaser reaches the free-throw line.
Dribble Game. Everyone has a ball and one extra ball is the game ball. A player must dribble two balls at once to move, everyone must keep dribbling, and the team moves the game ball down the court by dribbling or passing to score. Load it by making the defense dribble with the weak hand.

Basketball dribbling drills for 12 year olds, zig-zag dribbling from the corner with a crossover at each turn

Zig-zag dribbling. Players start in one line in the corner and dribble between the sideline and the middle of the floor, crossing over at each turn.

The two-goal plan adds a dribbling drill with a defender:

1v1 Chase Down. Pair players of similar speed. The dribbler starts a few steps onto the court on one side and the defender a step or two behind him. On the whistle the dribbler speed dribbles toward the far basket and the defender sprints to get in front of him. They play until the offense scores, the defense gets the ball or it goes out of bounds. Move the starting spots to fit how fast each player is.

Basketball dribbling drills for 12 year olds, 1v1 Chase Down with a speed dribble and a defender sprinting from behind

1v1 Chase Down. 1 speed dribbles to the basket and X1, starting a step behind, sprints to get in front of him.

Moves and cues for every dribble are on how to dribble a basketball and 50 basketball dribbling drills.

Teach the technique, then load the same drill.

Basketball Passing Drills for 12 Year Olds

The Learn to Train passing lesson teaches four passes (chest, bounce, one-hand push and overhead), each starting from triple threat with the target identified and the receiver's name called.

The bounce pass lands two thirds of the way to the receiver. The receiver gives a target hand, watches the ball into his hands, cushions it and finishes in triple threat. Its drills:

Flinch. A warm-up. Players stand in a circle 8 to 10 feet from the coach, hands at their sides. The coach passes to anyone or pump-fakes, and a player who flinches on a fake or drops a pass is out. The last player left runs the middle.
Partner passing. Partners 6 feet apart, ten passes back and forth with each pass. Load it by moving 2 feet farther apart.
Two-man passing on the move. Partners shuffle down the court passing each pass back and forth. Load it with two balls.
Keep Away. Two defenders try to get the ball while the rest use all four passes to keep it from them, with no dribbling. An interception swaps the defender with the player who threw it.

Basketball passing drills for 12 year olds, Keep Away with no dribbling against two defenders

Keep Away. Four passers, two defenders, no dribbling. An interception swaps the defender with the player who threw it.

The same model's games approach uses small games of three, four or five a side with no dribbling, where a dribble is a change of possession, to build passing, vision and decisions together. More drills are on basketball passing drills and the 3-man weave.

Name the receiver, make the pass and finish in triple threat.

Pass and Cut Drills

An open offense for middle school boys is taught through cuts that each answer one defender position. Its definitions:

Cut	When	How
Quick cut	The defender does not jump to the pass	Cut right across the defender's face
Delay cut	The defender drops into the lane after the pass	Two steps away, then cut across his face
Rear cut	The defender jumps to the pass	Step toward him, then cut off his back
Nail cut	Filling the top of the key	Pop to the top of the key if the defender sits below the nail, back cut if he sits above it
Back cut	The defender is above the three-point line	Step closer to him, then cut off his back to the rim

Its drills teach each cut in isolation before adding a defender:

Quick Cuts and Delay Cuts. Make a pass, then make the cut to the basket for a layup, using all five spots on the floor. Shooters go to the passing line and passers to the shooting line. Once players have the idea, add a defender for 1-on-1.
Nail Cut Rip and Drive. The cutter goes to the nail and pops to the top of the key for the pass because the coach stands below the read line. On the catch he makes a small shot fake, rips the ball and drives. With the backcut the coach stands above the line and the cutter goes to the rim.
Back Cuts. Start in the corner, cut up toward the wing as if to fill it, and back cut to the basket at a cone. A variation back cuts when the ball handler dribbles at the wing: step toward the ball, plant on the outside foot and go. Replace the cone with a defender once players get it.
3-on-3 Cut and Fill. Every passer reads his defender and makes the right cut, and the others fill spots to keep the floor balanced. Start with a no-dribble rule so players have to cut to get open, then allow two dribbles so they learn to use the dribble on purpose.

Basketball passing drills for 12 year olds, a pass and quick cut to the basket for a layup

Quick cut. 1 passes to the wing, cuts straight to the basket and gets the ball back for a layup.

Cutting itself is on cutting in basketball.

Teach each cut alone before you add a defender.

Decision Games

The two-goal plan (ages 11 to 14) builds its skill block from small games that each carry one goal, its example goals being passing decisions and transition defense:

3v2 Around the Key. One offensive player on each block and one behind the free-throw line. One defender begins just in front of the rim and his partner stands two steps out from him.
Play it out. The coach passes to any of the three and they play until the offense scores, the defense gets the ball or it goes out of bounds. Everyone picks a new starting spot and the coach passes again. The plan asks the coach to coach only the passing decisions, the goal the players were told about.
Call Names 3v3. A normal 3v3, full court or two half-court games, with one added rule. Before he passes, or before he picks up his dribble, the ball handler has to say out loud the name of the teammate getting the ball. Passing or picking up the dribble without calling a name is a turnover, so the decision happens while he is still dribbling.
Balance the Floor 3v3. A normal 3v3 until a shot goes up. Then any offensive player below the free-throw line goes to rebound and anyone above it sprints back. If the defense gets the ball, everybody freezes so the coach can check the floor balance.
Baseline Touch scrimmage. Full court, 5v5 if possible. A player who shoots must touch the baseline before rejoining the play, which stresses transition defense and gives the offense a brief 5-on-4 to show its passing decisions.

Basketball passing drills for 12 year olds, 3v2 Around the Key with the coach passing to any of three offensive players

3v2 Around the Key. One player on each block and one above the free-throw line, two defenders in front of the rim. The coach passes to anyone and they play.

More games built this way are on basketball drills and games for kids.

Let the rule force the decision.

Shooting Games

The same open offense adds two scored shooting drills.

Move Shooting. A player must get 10 points from a spot before moving to the next, with threes worth 3 and twos worth 2, the tenth point can be a layup, and the first team all the way around wins.
5 Spot Shooting. Players need 6 makes at each spot in 5 minutes.

Form and more shooting work are on basketball shooting drills, and the closer-range shooting games for younger players are on the 10-year-old page.

Score every shooting drill.

Defense at This Age

These plans keep 12-year-olds in man to man.

Player-to-player in the stage model. The Learn to Train stage plays player-to-player defense.
Person-to-person by rule. A provincial association's 2010-11 rules wrote person-to-person defense into under-11 and under-12 play.
Help only after a clear advantage. Those rules allowed help only when a beaten defender has given up a clear advantage, and said the point was to stop players standing in the key as a one-man zone.
Drop back when ahead by 15. The same rules made a team leading by 15 or more drop back behind the 8-second line when the trailing team had the ball in its backcourt.
Hold off on full-court man. The under-12 plan above holds off on full-court man until the shell is learned.
A simple 2-3 by 8th grade. A development-first plan that would let 8th graders play a simple 2-3 still says the focus at this level is development, not wins.

Check your own league's rules. Drills for the defense are on man to man defense drills.

Teach the shell first, and stay in man to man.

Practice Plans for 12 Year Olds

Plan	Length	Blocks
Two-goal plan, ages 11 to 14	90 min	Warm-up 10, skill games 45 (3v2 Around the Key, Call Names 3v3, 1v1 Chase Down, Balance the Floor), team strategy 15, Baseline Touch scrimmage 15, cool-down 5
Learn to Train, 90 minutes	90 min	Introduction 2 to 3, warm-up 5 to 12, teaching progression 30 to 45, games 20 to 30, debrief and cool-down 5 to 12
Grades 6 to 8, fundamentals first	120 min	Fundamentals 60, defense 25, offense 25, flex 10
Half-court hour, middle school	60 min, half court	Fundamentals and man-to-man defense every practice, a simple offense and a couple of out-of-bounds plays added just before the first game

The half-court hour is built for seven one-hour, half-court practices before the season, and it is said to fit 5th and 6th grade teams too.

Move quickly. It moves quickly from drill to drill, and if players struggle early it moves on, because they will get another chance next practice.
Stretch off the court. It also keeps stretching off the court by having players arrive early.

More templates are on basketball practice plans and basketball practice drills for youth.

Keep it moving, and let tomorrow's practice finish what today's did not.

Want the printable playbook packs?

OBP Pro members get the premium playbook packs: the zone attack, out of bounds and practice plan PDFs, plus each new pack as it is finished. The membership page lists what is in each one. Or draw your own version free in PlayDraw.

See what OBP Pro includes

Questions Coaches Ask

What are good dribbling drills for 12 year olds?

Static dribbling loaded with two balls and combo moves, zig-zag dribbling with a crossover at each turn, speed and control dribbling on a whistle, Frozen Dribble Tag, Dribble Elimination and the 1v1 Chase Down.

What are good passing drills for 12 year olds?

Partner passing with all four passes, two-man passing on the move, Keep Away with no dribbling, 3v2 Around the Key and Call Names 3v3, plus pass and cut drills that teach which cut to make.

How long should practice be for 12 year olds?

The plans here run 60 to 120 minutes. The stage model gives a 12-year-old 90 or 120 minutes, depending on the listing, and the two-goal plan uses 90 minutes with two goals per session.

What size ball and rim do 12 year olds use?

Two plans put the 10-foot rim at 6th grade, and one uses a 28.5-inch ball in 6th grade and a regulation ball from 7th grade. Leagues differ, so check yours.

Should 12 year olds play zone defense?

Most plans here keep this age in man to man, and leagues can write it into their rules. A development-first plan allows a simple 2-3 by 8th grade.

More Guides From This Batch

Back to Youth Basketball Coaching Guide and every Player Development page.