When most parents begin working with their child on basketball, the first thing that comes to mind is shooting.

That isn’t surprising. Shooting is fun, everybody loves to score, and nothing puts a smile on a young player’s face quite like watching the ball go through the hoop.

But there are many other skills that can make an enormous difference in your child’s development.

Here is the real secret:

Your child does not have to be the tallest, fastest, strongest, or most naturally talented player on the court to gain an advantage in these areas.

Whether I am watching a fourth-grade girls game or a varsity high school game, I consistently see players who have yet to master some of these basic skills.

The good news is that every one of them can be improved through focus, repetition, and a strong work ethic.

Mastering these “little things” can help turn your child into the type of player a coach trusts and wants on the court.

1. Ball Handling

Ball handling is one of the most fundamental skills in basketball.

If your child is confident with the basketball and can handle pressure using either hand, she immediately becomes more valuable to her team.

A player who cannot handle the ball becomes limited. A player who is comfortable with it has options.

She can attack the basket.

She can escape pressure.

She can create for teammates.

She can bring the ball up the court when needed.

The best part about improving as a ball handler is that your child can work on this skill almost entirely by herself.

There are hundreds of drills designed to improve ball control, coordination, speed, and confidence. All your child needs is a basketball, a little space, and the willingness to work.

I would encourage young players to devote 15 to 20 minutes a day to ball handling whenever possible.

Over time, those minutes add up.

The goal is to reach the point where the player no longer has to think about controlling the basketball. When that happens, she can begin concentrating on everything else happening on the court.

2. Passing

Passing is one of the most overlooked skills in youth basketball.

When my daughters were young, we spent a lot of time working on the fundamentals: the chest pass, bounce pass, overhead pass, and one-handed pass.

I always emphasized delivering the basketball accurately and with some force behind it.

A pass shouldn’t float through the air and give the defender time to react. It should arrive at the right place, at the right time, and allow the receiver to immediately make her next basketball decision.

Another skill I often see lacking at the youth and high school levels is the ability to make a good entry pass to a teammate posting up near the basket.

It doesn’t matter how talented your post player is if nobody can get her the basketball.

I particularly like the bounce pass in certain post-entry situations because it can be more difficult for a defender to intercept.

Young players need instruction and repetition not only in shooting and dribbling, but also in passing and catching.

Great basketball teams move the basketball.

And great ball movement begins with players who know how to pass.

3. Pivoting

Pivoting is another essential skill that should be developed at a young age.

Knowing how to use both forward and reverse pivots helps a player protect the basketball when she is under pressure.

This becomes especially important after a rebound, when trapped along the sideline, or anytime a defender is aggressively attacking the basketball.

Players also need to understand how to protect the ball while pivoting.

The basketball should not be held carelessly in front of the body where a defender can easily knock it away. Instead, the player should keep it protected and away from the defender.

When moving the ball from one side of the body to the other, it should be moved strongly either high above the defender’s reach or low and protected.

The pivot itself should be quick, strong, and purposeful.

It doesn’t look spectacular from the stands, but good coaches notice players who remain calm and protect the basketball under pressure.

4. No Free Cuts

Not allowing “free cuts” is one of those little things that can make a huge difference defensively.

When guarding a player without the basketball, a defender should not simply allow that offensive player to cut freely through the lane.

The defender needs to anticipate the cut, establish legal defensive position, and make the offensive player work to get where she wants to go.

The goal is to prevent the offensive player from cutting freely across the defender’s face and getting an easy scoring opportunity.

This requires awareness.

The defender needs to see both the basketball and the player she is guarding.

Learning how to defend effectively away from the basketball is an important step in becoming a complete defensive player.

5. Box Out on Every Shot

Rebounding wins basketball games.

A team can play excellent defense for 20 seconds, force a difficult shot, and then waste the entire possession by failing to secure the rebound.

That is why boxing out matters.

Whenever a shot goes up, defenders should locate their opponent, establish contact, create position, and then pursue the basketball.

It doesn’t matter if the person you are guarding is standing underneath the basket or behind the three-point line.

Every offensive player is a potential rebounder.

I also love offensive rebounding.

I used to tell my daughters that becoming aggressive offensive rebounders was one of the easiest ways to create additional scoring opportunities.

There were days when they would come home frustrated and tell me:

“My teammates aren’t passing me the ball.”

My response was usually pretty simple:

Then go get the basketball yourself.

Attack the offensive glass.

Rebound your teammate’s missed shot.

Create another possession.

Give yourself another opportunity to score.

Coaches love players who rebound because those players create additional possessions, and additional possessions can change games.

6. Learn How to Close Out

The basketball moves quickly during a game.

When defending a player away from the ball, a defender may be positioned toward the middle of the lane in help defense.

Then the ball gets passed to the player she is guarding.

Suddenly, she has to recover.

This is where proper closeout technique becomes extremely important.

If a defender simply sprints directly at the offensive player at full speed, she may not be able to stop when the offensive player attacks the basket.

Instead, the defender should cover most of the distance quickly and then break down into a balanced defensive stance as she approaches.

Traditionally, players are taught to shorten or “chop” their steps as they complete the closeout so they can remain balanced enough to react.

The goal is to challenge the shot without allowing an easy drive to the basket.

This is another fundamental defensive skill that doesn’t get much attention from spectators but can make a player significantly better.

7. Talk

This might be the easiest skill on the entire list.

And yet it is amazing how many players don’t do it.

Talk.

Basketball defense requires communication.

When I coached a fifth-grade team, I taught my players to communicate their defensive responsibilities every time the basketball moved.

They would call out:

“Ball!”

“Help!”

“Deny!”

Those simple words helped everyone understand what was happening defensively. They also increased the team’s energy.

Communication is especially important when screens are involved.

If your teammate is about to run into a screen she cannot see, you have to warn her.

A simple “SCREEN LEFT!” or “SCREEN RIGHT!” may prevent a defensive breakdown and can also protect your teammate from running directly into a hard screen.

Talking doesn’t require extraordinary athleticism.

It doesn’t require height.

It doesn’t require speed.

It requires awareness, confidence, and effort.

There is no good reason for a player not to communicate loudly and consistently on defense.

8. Learn How to Use a Screen

This has always been one of my basketball pet peeves.

Over the years, I have had players come up to me during games and say:

“My teammate isn’t setting a good screen.”

Sometimes they are right.

But many times the screen isn’t actually the problem.

The player never properly set up her defender.

For a screen to be effective, the player using it must first put the defender in position to run into it.

That may mean taking the defender in one direction before quickly changing direction and using the screen.

Once the player gets to the screen, she needs to come close to the screener’s shoulder.

If she leaves several feet of space between herself and the screener, the defender can simply slide through the opening.

A properly used screen can create several possibilities.

The player might curl toward the basket.

She might flare away for an open shot.

She might get the basketball coming off the screen.

The screener may become open after the defense reacts.

But it all starts with understanding how to set up the defender before using the screen.

It is a basic fundamental that deserves far more attention at the youth level.

9. “Always Look Eye”

Readers of a certain age may recognize the inspiration for this section from the 1980s movie The Karate Kid.

“Always look eye.”

I have always instructed my children that when a coach is speaking directly to them, they should look the coach in the eyes and listen.

That is especially important when they are being corrected.

When my daughter was in fifth grade, her club director was coaching the team.

We were ahead by about five points with roughly a minute remaining. The other team was pressing.

My daughter attempted a long pass that wasn’t a good decision.

The pass was intercepted, and the other team scored.

During the next timeout, the coach strongly corrected her for making the pass.

My daughter looked him directly in the eyes and nodded her head.

She didn’t argue.

She didn’t make an excuse.

She didn’t look away.

She listened.

After the game, the coach approached me and specifically mentioned how impressed he was with the way she had responded during the situation.

That moment taught her a valuable lesson.

Players are going to make mistakes.

Coaches are going to correct them.

Learning how to accept coaching is an important skill.

Look at the coach.

Listen to the message.

Learn from it.

Then move on to the next play.

That is a lesson that extends well beyond basketball.

10. Sprint Back on Defense

Does this really need to be discussed?

Unfortunately, the answer is:

YES!

Watch almost any youth basketball game and eventually you will see a player jogging back on defense after a turnover or missed shot.

Maybe she is disappointed that she missed.

Maybe she thinks she was fouled.

Maybe she is frustrated with a teammate.

Meanwhile, the opposing team is running toward the other basket.

Transition defense begins with effort.

As soon as possession changes, players need to sprint back.

Not jog.

Not complain.

Not stand underneath the basket thinking about what just happened.

Sprint.

I always wanted my daughters to develop the habit of running hard back on defense every single time, regardless of whether the opposing team appeared to be pushing the basketball.

A coach might not always praise a player for sprinting back.

But a coach will certainly notice when she doesn’t.

That is the definition of one of basketball’s “little things.”

The Little Things Become Big Things

None of these ten skills requires a player to be six feet tall.

They don’t require exceptional speed.

They don’t require an incredible vertical jump.

And they don’t require extraordinary natural talent.

They require attention to detail.

They require repetition.

They require effort.

And most importantly, they require a willingness to consistently do things that many other players won’t.

A young player who can handle the basketball, make accurate passes, pivot under pressure, defend cutters, box out, close out properly, communicate, use screens, accept coaching, and sprint back on defense becomes valuable to a basketball team.

She becomes the type of player a coach can trust.

And trust often leads to opportunity.

As parents, it is natural to spend time helping our children become better shooters and scorers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But don’t overlook the small parts of the game.

Because one of the greatest lessons basketball teaches us is that the things that appear small today can make an enormous difference tomorrow.