Box Out And Rebounding Drills For Youth Basketball

Playing good basketball is about a lot more than just hitting shots to score points — it’s also about playing good defense and rebounding misses to prevent the opposition from putting points on the board. Contrary to what many young basketball players may think, you don't have to be tall or jump high to snag rebounds. What's more important is knowing how to properly box out opponents and get in the right position to rebound misses. 

In this post, we'll cover some of the box out and rebounding drills for youth basketball players to practice so that boxing out and grabbing boards eventually becomes a natural part of their game.-

Box Out Drills

Boxing out is a defensive rebounding position that players take close to the basket. A good box out consists of a player positioning him- or herself between the opponent and the basket, thereby making it easier to grab the rebound and possess the ball on misses. Here's a look at some of the best box out drills for youth basketball:

Box Out the Shooter 

This is a simple drill that helps reinforce good boxing out and rebounding techniques:

• Form two lines, one at the free throw line (defensive players) and another on the perimeter wing (offensive players).
• Players lined up on the perimeter are defended by the players lined up on the free-throw line.
• Defenders should allow players in the perimeter wing line to put up a shot.
• After the shot, it's up to the defender to properly box out the offensive player and get the rebound.
• Offensive players will attempt to rebound their own misses.

Box Out Circle Drill

The box out circle drill consists of teams of players playing both offense and defense, with a focus on defensive players working on their box out technique:

• Have five players around the perimeter of the key playing offense.
• Have an additional five players jog in a circle around the key, within the players positioned on the perimeter.
• A coach will put up a shot.
• The defenders jogging in a circle around the key will immediately begin boxing out the perimeter players who are crashing for an offensive rebound.
• Keep track of proper box out technique and ensure the defenders aren't fouling as they box out.
• If you want to kick this drill up a notch, keep score of how many offensive versus defensive rebounds there are and make the losing side run laps.

Basketball Rebounding Drills

Rebounding is one of the most important parts of basketball, as it secures possession of the basketball to transition to offense. Here's a look at two of the best rebounding drills:

Rebounding Drill 

This is a competitive box out and rebounding drill for youth basketball that also helps players work on reading the path of the ball. Here's how it is run: 

• Form two teams of two players and have a coach or other player at the top of the key who will serve as the shooter.
• As the shooter puts up a shot, the teams will jockey for positioning under the basket to rebound the ball.
• As the player comes down with the rebound, he or she must pass it back out to the shooter.
• Points are awarded based on the teams that secure the rebounds.

Three-Man Rebounding Drill

This drill is ideal for post players and helps them work on their technique close to the rim. Here's how to run it:

• Have three players stand underneath the basket and a coach stand near the free throw line with the basketball.
• Upon the coach shooting the ball, the three players under the basket will vie for positioning on one another and attempt to rebound the basketball.
• The player who rebounds the ball will then have to score in the post over the other two players as they attempt to defend.

This drill isn't just great for working on rebounding, but for helping players work on post-scoring moves.

Making shots is crucial to scoring points — but you can't take shots unless you have possession of the basketball. That's why fine-tuning boxing out and rebounding techniques is so important. Click here to learn more and browse the best equipment and accessories to help you hone these fundamentals at Quality Hoops.