Overhead Toss
Introduce the overhead pass for throwing over a defender's outstretched arms.
- Duration
- 7 min
- Steps
- 4
- Equipment
- 2 items
- Difficulty
- Beginner
How to run it
- 1
Hold the ball above the forehead with both hands behind it.
- 2
Snap the wrists forward, releasing above the head — no windup.
- 3
Pass to a partner 12 feet away; the ball should arrive at chest height.
- 4
15 reps each, then add a cone 'defender' in the middle to pass over.
Coaching points
- Release above the forehead — never bring the ball behind the head.
- Snap the wrists; it's a wrist pass, not an arm throw.
- Step into it for power.
Equipment
- Basketball
- Partner
Why it works
Young kids only know the chest pass, which gets blocked the moment a defender puts hands up. The nugget: the overhead pass is the escape valve against pressure — it's how you pass over a defender to an open teammate, start a fast break, or inbound the ball. Teaching it early gives a kid a second passing tool so they're never stuck with one option when the defense takes the chest pass away.
Overhead Toss
Purpose: Introduce the overhead pass for throwing over a defender's outstretched arms.
▶How to run it
- 1Hold the ball above the forehead with both hands behind it.
- 2Snap the wrists forward, releasing above the head — no windup.
- 3Pass to a partner 12 feet away; the ball should arrive at chest height.
- 415 reps each, then add a cone 'defender' in the middle to pass over.
✓Coaching points
- ✓Release above the forehead — never bring the ball behind the head.
- ✓Snap the wrists; it's a wrist pass, not an arm throw.
- ✓Step into it for power.
▢Equipment
★Why it works
Young kids only know the chest pass, which gets blocked the moment a defender puts hands up. The nugget: the overhead pass is the escape valve against pressure — it's how you pass over a defender to an open teammate, start a fast break, or inbound the ball. Teaching it early gives a kid a second passing tool so they're never stuck with one option when the defense takes the chest pass away.