Basketball season is here, and your shooting game still isn’t quite where it should be. Maybe your coach isn’t driving you hard enough. Or maybe those preseason practices are still in slow motion. Here are some drills to help you and your teammates get better on your own.

Shooting the line

This is a great way to work on your touch and make shots from different ranges.

• You need four cones—one at each elbow and in a line right outside the 3-point line.
• Dribble to the first 3-point cone, shoot and move down the line and shoot from every other spot.
• The object is to make 10 shots from each spot.
• Move right to left and repeat from left to right.

This can also be a partner drill. The rebounder passes the ball as the shooter continues to shoot. Then they alternate.

Coach’s call

This is a fun drill where you have to react as your partner chooses how the play will finish.

• Have your partner stand at the top of the key.
• Stand either to your partner’s right or left.
• Throw the ball to your partner, then attack the basket. 
• Your partner calls out a finish (jump shot, layup, floater) and you must react quickly and perform the finish.
• To make it fun, add a defender and force him to shadow you. React and create the proper finish with two dribbles based on reading the defender.

Beat the clock

This one challenges you to use your dribbles efficiently and finish under control.

• Start with the ball at half court. 
• Your job is to get to the basket and make a layup, then return to half court and make a layup on the opposite end; if your first layup is right-handed, the next one will be left-handed.
• If you’re in high school, challenge yourself to make 10 layups in one minute. If you’re in middle school, try for 10 layups in one minute, 30 seconds