How you start a practice is extremely important. If you start the practice sluggish, and your warmup drills lack energy, it is very difficult to ramp that energy level up as practice progresses. This is why setting the tone with a great “Warm Up Drill” is crucial to ensure communication, effort, and energy is there from the jump. Check out these 10 drills to start you practice on a high note.
UCONN does a Defensive Warm Up for the first 12 minutes of practice 🔥
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) September 25, 2025
Danny Hurley is one of the most detailed coaches of all time
(Via @bball_tips23 🎥)
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Box out directly in transition
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) April 12, 2025
Love this as a warm up at the beginning of practice
Sets the tone for a physical practice and allows the team to get used to the fast pace that will be required for a great practice
(Via @CoachPatsos 🎥 )
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Warm up to emphasize the little things
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) September 30, 2024
Villanova Head Coach, Jay Wright, was notorious for repping this stuff every day
Don’t get bored with perfection
(Via @BillyClapperBCB 🎥)
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Love this warm up drill
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) October 4, 2024
Transition kick ahead
Gets people moving and talking and reps getting the ball up and out without dribbling
Fred Hoiberg uses this drill religiously at Nebraska
(Via @CoachSeibert 🎥)
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Really like this drill as a warm up
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) August 28, 2025
Get your body moving, work on handle, work on perfect pocket passes
Can mix up the passes, too
(Via @CoachKNunley 🎥)
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Great warmup passing drill
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) July 27, 2024
Focuses on perfect passes and playing on 2
Can’t emphasize enough how important repping things like this are
In the end it needs to be subconscious habits
(Via @BBcoachinsider 🎥)
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Use this as a warmup to get your players, moving and talking
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) September 22, 2025
Drive, kick, relocate
We would emphasize playing on two feet at the end of each drive and add a pivot
(Via @reidouse 🎥)
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Oldie but a goody
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) October 31, 2022
Love starting every practice with a warm up like this
Consistent actions build habits
Playing on 2, extra pass, spacing
(Via @coach_mchenry 🎥)
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Love this drill for all levels of basketball, not just youth
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) February 6, 2024
Can use it as a warmup but should be repped every day
Practice different pivots, passing with both hands, different types of passes
Never get sick of the basics as a coach, what to rep you master pic.twitter.com/6VPydKU8Tp
Really good early season drill to promote an identity and build energy in the gym
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) January 24, 2024
1. Close-out & no middle drive
2. Denial swipe deflection
3. Sprint to HELP
4. TAG the ball screen roller
5. Take a charge outside the paint
(Via @basketballnbrew 🎥)
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