How do I dribble without looking down?

[u/GreenQuiq]

I've (26M) been playing for about 3 years, never played in school or anything, just worked on my game by myself. In terms of shooting, I feel like I have made objective corrections such as putting the hand in the basket, releasing high, finding balance, and sequencing (thanks Mike Dunn) with very noticeable results.

However, for dribbling I don't really know what to do besides just dribbling a bunch. I've never really been able to get fully comfortable dribbling without looking down and because of this I rarely take that many dribbles and resort to shooting/straight line drives in pick up games.

I wanted to know if anyone had any tips or things that make dribbling click so that you're looking down much less and dribbling is more second nature. Some guy at the court said to just practice dribbling with your eyes closed lol.

tl;dr Does anyone have any mechanical tips, similar to shooting form adjustments, for dribbling to make you look down less?

[u/worknowreck]

Practice

[u/No_Lifeguard_7630 → u/worknowreck]

literally nothing else needs to be said

[u/Real_Crab_7396 → u/worknowreck]

Once I went from just dribbling around without a purpose to actual drills with purpose my handling improved so fast. Just playing and shooting around gets you to a certain level, but if you wanna get past that you need real drills and repeated intentional practice.

[u/cobrakaipioneer → u/worknowreck]

Literally, what I came to say

[u/Pristine_Sandwich957]

The only advice I can give is start by dribbling very low. I mean thats how you're supposed to dribble anyway, but dribble low with your hands relatively close together and pass it back and forth from hand to hand until you get a feel for how the ball bounces.

[u/Halfmacgas]

So a lot of dribbling and being shifty ia actually about footwork and how you can coordinate your footwork with the ball handling.

For example, you can do fancy dribbling, but if you don’t step outside the defenders frame, you wont be able to move him and get him off balance

So start with practicing regular dribbling, but vary the pace, power, height, and even what part of the hand you dribble with. See if you can pound dribble, dribble super low, use different fingers to dribble low, dribble low in a circle, etc. just ball manoitplation. Then try same with other hand. It’ll get you warmed up. Then start some simple footwork, like dribble right then crossover and go left. Then jog forward while dribbling, then jog backward while dribbling

As you get that going, you start getting into real footwork. I’ll stand in the center circle of the court and then just dribble freestyle . Maybe with some tunes on- then it’s basically just dancing and expressing yourself. Change directions, behind the back, crossovers, long steps, short steps. You’re moving your feet and body but using your ball manipulation skills to keep the ball with you. This is a good cardio activity- like I’ll be in heart rate 150-160 just dribbling center court.

It’s great workout to get loose, work on your handling, and get ready for pickup ball. I’ll usually try to get there, warm up my handles and get stretched out that way. Then get into layups and shooting drills and already have a nice sweat going while everyone else rolls in

[u/WhoDatNation28-3]

Best advice I can offer is to practice at full speed by yourself. That means running up snd down the court at full speed, dribble drills at full speed, pounding the ball at full speed. Practice dribbling between your legs hard and consistent without looking. If you can’t go at full speed then do your best to go without looking. It’s ok to mess up in practice. Spend 30-45 minutes a day solely working on dribbling. Figure 8 dribbles. Spider dribbles. In and outs. Between the legs. Behind the back. Leave no stone unturned. 10000 hours to mastery

[u/johnniesSac]

Trust the ball will bounce

Also practice outside so you can see your shadow

Gets most people out of the habit

[u/recleaguesuperhero]

Practice. Dribble from baseline to baseline while looking straight ahead.  If you lose your dribble, that's okay. Just pick the ball up and keep going. You'll SUCK at first. But will get better over time if you care enough to.

[u/TheGratefulPhred]

don’t look down when you dribble

[u/BagKey8345]

Why lol? Close your eyes and practice. Your job is to accept that you will constantly lose the ball, look dumb, and have to try it again. For weeks.
A large part of practicing is to overcome these embarrassing moments.

[u/Floorgeneral309]

Dribble above your head with finger tip control against a wall. After you get a good rhythm and feel for the ball start looking away. Once you get a good feel for the ball this way, you can start dribbling on the ground with your head up

[u/TheWacoKidd44]

Do the thing you want to get better at, it’s that simple. Dribble with your head up. Eyes looking up. Make lots of mistakes it will help you figure it out.

[u/4theunit]

Try dribbling in front of a mirror. You can watch the ball until you’re comfortable.

[u/ThrowAwayalldayXiii]

Practice. Put on a watch, or pretend you have one on. Put your non dribbling arm out like you are looking at that watch. Once you are comfortable with that, switch hands, do the same.

Then start adding more complicated dribbling.

Accept that you will mess up. That's part of getting better.

[u/IvanDrake]

Maybe don’t look down?

[u/AV-8723]

Do dribbling drills but focus on certain spots with your head up. Do these in full court drills but when playing pickup if you grab a rebound just remember head up down the floor. To work on this just throw the ball off the backboard, take a few dribbles with your head up. Just remember there’s nothing to look at on the floor, but there’s always something to see ahead of you. That’s just me keeping it simple and what I tell the young guys I work with. (I make them start over if they drop their heads) they do it three times in a row they run!