The Gauntlet | Fun Youth Basketball Drills from the Jr. NBA available in the MOJO App

Take on a progressively more challenging defense in this game we call The Gauntlet. Use a half-court-sized space. Then use cones to create a rectangular playing area divided into three equal zones. Here's how it looks. Divide the group into three teams of three, seen here in black, red, and blue. If you don't have enough players, feel free to step in and play on a team. To start, the black team lines up on one end, each holding a ball. Send one red player to the first zone, two to the second zone, and all three blue players to the third zone. On your call, the team with the ball starts dribbling through the space, facing more and more defenders in each zone. Teams get a point for every player who makes it from one end of the space to the other without losing their ball. Then the black team rotates to zone three, the blue team rotates to zones two and one, and the red team becomes offense in the next round. Ask players to keep score. The team with the most points after one minute wins the round. Dribblers will have a better chance getting from point A to point B by running in a straight line. The more moves they do in between, the more chances the defense will have to make a steal. Encourage ball handlers to use their entire body to put distance between the defense and the ball.