When I approach the first lesson with a beginner in basketball, I focus on building confidence and making the experience fun and approachable. I start by getting a sense of their comfort level with the game—if they’ve played casually before or if it’s their first time on the court. Then I introduce the fundamentals: proper stance, basic dribbling, passing, and shooting form. I keep drills simple, break things down step by step, and give a lot of positive reinforcement. I also make sure to include a few light games or challenges to keep the energy high and help them enjoy the learning process. My goal is for them to walk away feeling encouraged, excited to keep playing, and already a little better than when they started.
By lesson 11 and beyond, players are moving past the basics and into more advanced development. At this stage, I start personalizing sessions based on what each player needs most—whether that’s tightening up their ball handling, improving shooting consistency, developing court vision, or strengthening defensive skills.
For lessons 4 through 10, the focus starts to shift from just learning the fundamentals to applying them with more confidence and consistency.
By the 2nd or 3rd lesson, a beginner can expect to start building on the basics they learned in the first session. We’ll review and reinforce core skills like dribbling, passing, and shooting, but start to increase the challenge slightly—introducing movement, decision-making, and more game-like drills. They’ll also start working on footwork, defensive stance, and maybe even light scrimmage situations to apply what they’re learning in a fun, low-pressure way. At this stage, it’s still all about building confidence, developing muscle memory, and helping them feel more comfortable on the court.