Authored by Rodney Southern in Basketball
Published on 11-28-2009
The art of the pass is one of the most overlooked areas of coaching basketball. While passing the basketball seems like a relatively easy skill, you would be surprised at how many kids do not know how to do it correctly. Learning all the different types of basketball passes should be among the first things that a young player should learn. Here is a look at the most common basketball passes and how to execute them correctly:
Chest Pass – Executing the chest pass is fairly easy for most basketball players to pick up, but it is important they use proper technique to maximize the power of the pass. First you take the ball with two hands up to your chest, and then you thrust both hands forward rotating it back towards you. Good follow through is a must. A good solid chest pass is often the most important one to master. A lazy chest pass will get stolen nine time out of ten.
Bounce Pass – The bounce pass is executed preferably with two hands but can certainly be done with one if necessary. You take the ball and bounce it to the other player on one hop. You should aim so that the ball will bounce cleanly up to the other player’s chest. This pass is one of the most commonly used and should be perfected by all players on your team.
Overhead Two Hand Pass – This is a pass that is used to start the fast break, or when you need to throw a very fast pass. This pass is executed by bringing the basketball over the head with two hands, and throwing it to a player. You should step towards the player you are passing to unless the pass is executed from out of bounds.
Overhead One Hand Pass – This pass is the same as the two handed pass but is done with one hand instead. The one handed pass is great for a last minute decision-type pass. If you are unable to throw with both hands, then one hand will usually get the job done. This is another great pass for a long outlet pass, and is used often with a fast break type offense.
Alley-oop – The alley-oop is not used very often, and only when you have skilled players to do it. This is when you lob the basketball over the defense to a leaping player who then taps the ball into the basket. It is a very good weapon if you have the talent on your team to pull it off. The alley-oop can be executed using any number of the passes mentioned above other than the bounce pass.
Each of the basketball passes above are very common to most ball players, and each of them are important to play the game well. Coaches should spend plenty of time on this basic skill to maximize the talent on their roster. If they do, then the results will be a fundamentally sound basketball team that knows how to pass.
