Rebounding War
Compete hard to box out and win every rebound.
What this drill teaches
The box-out as a habit of contact: find your opponent, hit first, then go get the ball. Making every miss a scored contest supplies the competitive edge rebounding needs and never gets in shooting-line drills.
In games: Second-chance points decide youth games — the team that boxes out ends possessions with one shot, instead of giving up three cracks at the rim.
- Contact made before looking for the ball
- Rebounds chinned strong, not held loose at waist height
- Second and third efforts when the ball bounces free
U12: one-on-one box-outs for a point keep it simple. U14–U16: expect full-contact multi-player battles, scored both ways, finished with an outlet pass.
Equipment
1 ball, 1 hoop
Setup
Two or three players per team under the rim; coach shoots.
Steps
- 1Coach shoots a miss.
- 2Every defender finds and boxes out an opponent.
- 3Whoever secures the rebound scores a put-back for a point.
- 4First team to a set score wins.
Coaching points
- Find, hit, then go get it.
- Chin the ball strong on the grab.
- Second effort wins boards.
Why kids love it
Turns the unglamorous skill of rebounding into a fierce, fun battle.
Variations
One-on-one box-out for a point.
Offence gets two points for a putback, defence one for a clean box-out — both sides compete.
The rebounding team must complete an outlet pass to the coach before the point counts.