Covering the Basics of Rebounding

This is probably mostly review or common sense for most of you coaches out there but since I was out the other day watching a youth practice and game with players who clearly did not have the fundamentals of rebounding down, I thought I would go over some basics and a couple of really easy drills for youth coaches to go through so that players get used to the idea of how the ball comes off the rim, how they should catch it, and how to block out.

The Basics:

Rebounding is all about attitude, determination, and aggressiveness. Some players have bodies that are better fitted to being successful rebounders (tall, long arms, high jumpers), but unless they have the right mindset, I've seen great athletes be average or below average rebounders because of their attitude. A great habit to constantly reinforce during practices is to keep the ball from hitting the floor at all during any rebounding situation.

For young players, they should be taught to rebound the ball with 2 hands at all times, and not to dribble the ball up to gain control. In other words, 2 hands, above the head, then chin the ball to secure it. Defensively, young players need to get into the habit of making contact each and every time on block outs. This is often a difficult concept for some girls which is all the more reason why it must be practiced.

1v0

Very basic here. 2 lines around the free-throw line. The coach shoots the ball to miss. Again, you should focus on:

- attacking the ball with 2 hands at all times
- rebounding the ball above the head, then rip it down
- using an athletic stance
- chin the ball to secure, outlet to coach


The coach switches to a different place after everyone has gone through once. Also make sure players observe how the ball caroms off the rim/backboard each time so that they can anticipate where the ball is likely to go based on where the shot is attempted from.

Over the Back 1v1

The natural progression from 1v0 is 1v1. The idea here is to pair up, one on offense, one on defense. The player behind is the offense and attempts to gain position to back-tip or outright gain the rebound. Therefore, the defense must make contact with their backside, maintain the balance while boxing out, then attacking the ball,


For more rebounding ideas, check out Jim Calhoun's new DVD on Rebounding and Basketball Wisdom. Coach Calhoun is the long time head coach of the UConn Huskies who made it to this season's Final Four in Detroit.