Basketball is a very dynamic sport, full of excitement, but a skill that players often under utilize today is the weak hand.  In my workouts I put a great emphasis on developing this skill, especially emphasizing shots around the bucket, but obviously also including dribbling and passing.  When drilling we always work on both hands, but I increase the reps on the weak side.

As far as ball handling goes, I always my students to think of their hand as a hammer and the ball as a nail, visualizing driving the ball through the floor.  This overemphasis on pounding the ball strengthens the weak hand quickly by building the underdeveloped muscles in the off hand.  Sometimes, I introduce a ball that is slightly deflated to ensure that the weak hand is working harder than it would have to in a game situation.  The flat ball can also be incorporated on the weak side of two ball dribbling drills.  A simple drill I use constantly involves players dribbling the length of the court and back 10 times with their weak hand concentrating on control as well as keeping their head up.  I believe in wasting no time in practice so if a have a group of players working out together and one is struggling on a skill, I’ll have the remaining players pound the ball with their weak hand until I can get the lagging player caught up.  Also, during shooting drills after a player rebounds his shot, I have him execute a weak hand dribble move while moving back to the line – there is no reason to waste that trip.

Coaches typically hate the one handed pass, but I feel that the ability to pass the ball with one hand makes you a more dangerous player.  I spend about 10 minutes working on executing all passes again concentrating on the weak hand.  We work on baseball, across the body, between the leg, and behind the back passes with the weak hand and even if you never utilize these specific passes in a game, the practice continues to build your passing confidence as well as your weak hand’s muscles.

When shooting around the basket it is critical that you have the ability to finish with both hands. To properly develop this ability, I have a series of lay ups that I use during workouts - basic, reverse, same hand same foot and the power lay up.  With the strong hand I require players to make 5 apiece and with the weak hand, 7 made shots are required for each skill.  I even work on floaters with my players using both hands from different angles.  Of course I emphasize the most underused shot in the game, the running hook shot with both hands giving even more reps to the weak hand.  I also have my players shoot weak hand free throws simply to build muscle.

The following drill is one of the best drills I have ever come up with because it works on the 3 major skills - game passing, dribbling, and shooting.  The drill begins with a player performing a 2 ball alternating dribble around the half court line and coming down the right side of the court.  A coach stands in the deep right corner. As the player reaches the 3 point line the and the ball in the right hand hits the ground, the player passes the ball in his left hand across the body to the coach standing in the corner.  Without dribbling again the ball in the right hand is crossed over low to the left hand and then laid up on he opposite side of the rim with the weak hand.  This is done over and over until it is executed perfectly.  Variations of the crossover include between the legs as well as behind the back.  This drill should be done from the other side as well.  You can also build on this drill by shooting the jump shot instead of the lay up, but the key regardless of how you finish is to be able to execute all 3 skills at game speed.

Another basic drill I often use involves dribbling the length of the court, executing either the hesitation dribble, the in-and-out, or the circle dribble, then exploding to the basket.  These moves never require the ball to leave the weak hand – so the ball should never touch the strong hand.

The weak hand is a necessary tool to own in the game of basketball - even at the highest level players don’t utilize the weak hand as much as they should.  Having a strong weak hand makes you twice as hard to guard especially if you are proficient at finishing strong around the basket with both hands.  So when you are in the gym working out or playing competitively make sure you use your weak hand until it is no longer weak.