Driving left(Hnadles Left) Vice Versa

[Marv_Albert]

I've been looking to increase my game by making my left handles and ability to drive and finish with my left the same as my right i'm good going right, but left is average next to shit. Any tips on how to improve? Thanks.

[01amberfirewv]

I've been looking to increase my game by making my left handles and ability to drive and finish with my left the same as my right i'm good going right, but left is average next to shit. Any tips on how to improve? Thanks.


Two hand drills, full court lay-ups while dribbling left and looking at the rim, toss and catch a tennis ball with your right hand while dribbling with your left.

[Kiarip]

don't do 2 ball dribbling drills, they're such a waste of time. You're never gonna dribble 2 balls at a time in a game, why would this help?

Just start driving left only in one on one, it's easier than in a team game where the help could strip you, if it's not good enough for that practice open lay-ups but at full-ish speed, so that you're forced to dribble a lot. Practice the side to side, and back to front dribbles like you would with your right hand, and just keep practicing it regularly.

[Kiarip]

don't do 2 ball dribbling drills, they're such a waste of time. You're never gonna dribble 2 balls at a time in a game, why would this help?

Just start driving left only in one on one, it's easier than in a team game where the help could strip you, if it's not good enough for that practice open lay-ups but at full-ish speed, so that you're forced to dribble a lot. Practice the side to side, and back to front dribbles like you would with your right hand, and just keep practicing it regularly.

[Ai2death]

don't do 2 ball dribbling drills, they're such a waste of time. You're never gonna dribble 2 balls at a time in a game, why would this help?

It helps develop hand eye coordination and also builds ball handling with either hand, yes you will never play with 2 balls or need to. But you'd be surprised that doing 2 hand drills for like 30 minutes each day will not only build your ball control but also confidence. I mean, of you can dribble 2 balls between your legs and round your back, in a game, how hard would it be to do one?
Also if it does nothing... Why does pretty much every colledge team practice 2 or even 3 ball dribbling drills?

[01amberfirewv]

It helps develop hand eye coordination and also builds ball handling with either hand, yes you will never play with 2 balls or need to. But you'd be surprised that doing 2 hand drills for like 30 minutes each day will not only build your ball control but also confidence. I mean, of you can dribble 2 balls between your legs and round your back, in a game, how hard would it be to do one?
Also if it does nothing... Why does pretty much every colledge team practice 2 or even 3 ball dribbling drills?


It also helps separate your hands. There is a more scientific term but that's how I explain it to my players. Before doing two ball and tennis ball drills your hands have a hard time working independently which is pretty important in basketball.

[Ai2death]

It also helps separate your hands. There is a more scientific term but that's how I explain it to my players. Before doing two ball and tennis ball drills your hands have a hard time working independently which is pretty important in basketball.

Ah I never thought of that, but that said, I would also think it would help teach players to keep both hands up and ready to dribble, I think this may help to throw off defenders in an iso or such? Instead of dribbling one handed and allowing the other arm just to stay by their side until they crossed?

[01amberfirewv]

Ah I never thought of that, but that said, I would also think it would help teach players to keep both hands up and ready to dribble, I think this may help to throw off defenders in an iso or such? Instead of dribbling one handed and allowing the other arm just to stay by their side until they crossed?


It does help give you an "active off hand" as does tossing the tennis ball. I've had people tell me that two ball drills are a waste of time but they definitely have a purpose. Here are a few quick ones that I filmed for my players;

This drill really helps you get the ball under the defenders hands but it also helps you leave and recover the ball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngNpDcz9Mlk&list=UUrzBBX2lc6IIBqRGaDe4aIA&index=4&feature=plcp


They also help speed your hands up, here is a clip of Ryan Goodson and Corey Rich,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Hj1XUUsw0

Ryan gives several reasons for doing two ball drills, one of the reason is that you are working on both hands at the same time. If noting else your weak hand has to learn to keep up with your strong hand.

[Ai2death]

It does help give you an "active off hand" as does tossing the tennis ball. I've had people tell me that two ball drills are a waste of time but they definitely have a purpose. Here are a few quick ones that I filmed for my players;

This drill really helps you get the ball under the defenders hands but it also helps you leave and recover the ball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngNpDcz9Mlk&list=UUrzBBX2lc6IIBqRGaDe4aIA&index=4&feature=plcp


They also help speed your hands up, here is a clip of Ryan Goodson and Corey Rich,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Hj1XUUsw0

Ryan gives several reasons for doing two ball drills, one of the reason is that you are working on both hands at the same time. If noting else your weak hand has to learn to keep up with your strong hand.

Awesome, I don't really have a weak hand cause I can dribble good with both. But I'm definitely gonna practice some of those drills as soon as I can afford 2 balls. (my 2 got stolen when my car got jacked)
My biggest weakness with my left hand is left handed lay ups. As in I can't lol. Is there any drills for this other then just practicing left handed lay ups?

[01amberfirewv]

Awesome, I don't really have a weak hand cause I can dribble good with both. But I'm definitely gonna practice some of those drills as soon as I can afford 2 balls. (my 2 got stolen when my car got jacked)
My biggest weakness with my left hand is left handed lay ups. As in I can't lol. Is there any drills for this other then just practicing left handed lay ups?


Start in close, take one step and lay the ball up. Do that until you become comfortable with it then go to two steps. Also the mikan drill really helps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Um2k6tmL1U

[Rake2204]

To offer some tips from another direction (since practicing and working through left handed drills has already been touched on), I'd recommend developing finishing moves coming off of a left handed dribble. Oftentimes, the problem I see with players going left is not their ability (or inability) to dribble with their left hand. Instead, it's their inability to complete a play on a left side dribble versus right.

In my case, I cannot jump off my right foot (for a left-handed layup) as well as I can jump off my left. Therefore, no matter how effective of a left-handed dribbler I become, if I try finishing at the rack with a routine right-leg, left hand layup, it's going to be weak and perhaps not even half as effective as my strong leg finish. For years, I tried to force the right-leg jumping. It just wasn't happening. Eventually, I worked on devising alternative finishing approaches from the left side of the hoop, ranging from a two-foot takeoff with lefty finish, to a reverse pivot spin, to reverting back to jumping off my left foot and finishing with my strong hand on the left side.

In my case, finishing with my right hand at the rim on the left side is far more effective than trying to finish with my left well below the rim on that same side. I highly encourage experimentation to find numerous effective ways to complete the left-handed process once you enter the paint (don't forget the pull-up jumper).

Finally, my one contribution to the actual left-handed dribbling (for now): When working on that lefty dribble, make sure you pound the rock. Push yourself to dribble as hard as possible. It may be possible to effectively practice left-handed dribbling with a medium-strength dribble, but know that once gametime arrives, your adrenaline (and the defense) will be causing you to dribble at a strong, quick pace. Therefore, it's best to prepare yourself by pounding the rock in practice.

Also, don't be afraid to mess up. That's the point of practice. If we work on our left just to the point that we're working but we're not messing up, it means we're not pushing ourselves beyond our boundaries. We're just reaching our previous skill level and staying there. It's like Rock Band. We could really master Medium level, right? But mastering Medium won't make us awesome at Hard. Instead, we have to get in there, try Hard, suck, then build ourselves up. That's how I approach ballhandling. Going only hard enough to not mess up is bourgeois.

[Pushxx]

People put too much hoopla around certain practicing techniques and drilles.

Wanna get more stamina? Run treadmill and do HIIT.
Wanna get a better left hand? Force yourself to do things lefty over a long period of time. That's how muscle memory works.

I got great with my left hand because I just forced it upon myself. I made myself go left in games too. Sure I sucked at the beginning but you keep adding more and more to your left hand and getting more fluid.

If you are good with your right hand, that means you know dribbling fundementals. Just apply that to your left, practice, repeat, profit...

[NastyCrossover1]

You want to get your left hand good?

Get out on the court and use it, dribble drive and finish with your left, shoot jumpers with your left, only use your left.

[LA KB24]

You want to get your left hand good?

Get out on the court and use it, dribble drive and finish with your left, shoot jumpers with your left, only use your left.
Why would you shoot jumpers with your left hand?