15 Feb 2026 Kids of the Month: Lil’ Dribblers

By Colleen Holt

Greenbrier School District has found a great way for its youngest students to develop their basketball skills in fun and exciting ways, while learning how to work together as a team.

Through the Lil’ Dribblers after-school program, students can learn ball-handling skills, perform before their fellow students and parents, and grow confidence in their abilities for the future. Lil’ Dribbler teams at Eastside Elementary, Westside Elementary, Springhill Elementary and Wooster Elementary are open to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Coaches include Cassie Wilcox at Eastside, Natalie Reynolds at Westside, Tracy Moseley at Springhill and Leslie VanPelt at Wooster.

“The Lil’ Dribbler program is designed to help students understand how to properly dribble and handle the basketball. We don’t practice shooting, just dribbling and other ball handling skills, but these are crucial skills for future basketball players,” said Reynolds.

Moseley said the groups perform at halftime of the junior high and high school games, along with performances at some of the surrounding colleges.

“I love watching the kids’ eyes light up when they can do the ‘fancy moves’ and to see how much they improve with each performance. The team loves to get out in front of the crowd at basketball games and perform for them. Some students have done Lil’ Dribblers from kindergarten through fifth grade, and it brings me great joy to see the difference in them from when they started to when they finish,” said VanPelt.

At Eastside, Wilcox works with assistant coaches Alexi Burcham and Tori Wickless, and with Audrey Paladino, an eighth-grade student and former Dribbler. “I have 44 members on our team with all skill levels. My older Dribblers are a big help with my younger new beginners. We break out into groups at the beginning so that the ones that need help have a little bit more one-on-one or small group instruction,” she said.

Reynolds said she has one large team at Westside. “Some Dribblers may be able to dribble between their legs, while others roll the ball on the floor because they haven’t developed that skill yet.” She became involved with the Lil’ Dribblers several years ago when the person who had been doing it at Westside left. “At this time, I was a classroom teacher. Now, as the Westside PE teacher, being in charge of this program is one of my job responsibilities.”

Moseley said the Springhill team typically has 25 to 45 kids. “I try and do skills with a way to make it more of a challenge. In years past, I had some Dribblers use two balls instead of just one. I have also used different ball sizes to help offset the skill level difference. As a PE teacher, we teach a ton of different skills that kids can use into adulthood to keep them-selves active. Lil’ Dribblers is geared more towards being a sports-specific skill, but could also be something they continue to play into adulthood to keep themselves active as well.”

“We do not teach the game of basketball, but what we do does help in the development of their basketball skills,” said VanPelt. “Many of our team members play pee-wee basketball and go on to play basketball in middle school and high school.” This year, Wooster Elementary has 40 team members.

All the coaches said building relationships is their favorite part of Lil’ Dribblers. “Some of the students do not play basketball or anything else, and this lets them be a part of a team and hopefully lets them develop a love for the game and play in their future,” said Wilcox. “I also love how much they improve from the beginning of the year until the end, as well as the excitement they get on their faces after being able to successfully complete a challenging skill for them.”

Reynolds said the growth of confidence she sees in her students is priceless. “I love seeing students who have no prior knowledge of basketball not only learn to dribble, but have confidence in themselves,” she said. “I also love how excited they get when people in the stands cheer for them and when they have that sense of accomplishment. My main goal is to see each student leave dribbling better than when they came to me, having more confidence in themselves and their skills, and loving the game of basketball.”

Moseley emphasizes having fun in her goals for the Lil’ Dribblers at her school. “My goal is simple … help kiddos have a better ball-handling skill set than they did when they first started and then can use those skills to help them be more successful when they are playing basketball. I also want them to have fun doing it and gain confidence in themselves along the way. It’s not easy to do new things, but they are able to see the growth that comes from continuing to work at something.”

For VanPelt, the continuation of the program in the Greenbrier School District is vital. “As long as I’m at Wooster Elementary, the Lil’ Dribbler program will continue and hopefully grow with even more students getting involved.”