Youth basketball drills are the lifeblood of any kids' basketball coach. Whether you’ve never set foot on a court before or you’ve been coaching teams since your firstborn learned to dribble, here are some drills that will get your team on the right course.

Dribble Dare
Dribbling is a basketball fundamental, and young players need to learn to do it correctly before they establish any bad habits.
  
Start by letting your players dribble, bouncing the ball with their right, then left hands, until they have the basic coordination down. Make sure that they are using their fingertips rather than their palms.

Once your kids can bounce the ball, line them up on the baseline (the one under the basket) and have them dribble up to the free throw line and back. Next, send them all the way to half court and back, and progress from there to the other foul line and, finally, to the opposite baseline.

Pass It On
Since basketball is (in theory) a team game, players must know how to pass the ball. Teach your team by lining players up 10 to 12 feet away from one another to work on chest passes—bringing the ball to the chest, and using the elbows and wrists to snap the ball to their partners’ chests. Once they have this down, move on to bounce passes—which should land two-thirds the distance to the partner, bouncing up to their midsection.

Lay ‘Em Up
The layup is generally considered to be the most basic shot in the basketball game, but it doesn’t come easily to young players. Here’s how to teach the shot.

Form your players into two lines at half court, one on either side of the floor. Give the players on the right-hand side the basketballs, and have them dribble toward the hoop to shoot a layup. Teach your players to jump off their inside (left) foot, raising the right knee as they toss the ball off the square in the backboard, ideally into the hoop.

Have players in the other line rebound the ball, and chest-or-bounce-pass it up to the next in the layup line. After doing this for a while, pass the balls over to the left side, and repeat—having players go off their inside (right, this time) foot while laying the ball up and in with their left hands.

Only the Beginning
And there you have three of the most basic elements of basketball, as well as some beginner drills to get it all down. Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult, but a nice place to start what will surely be a long love of the game.