In order for your players to become the best players they can be, they need to be as fast as possible. These basketball drills will help your players obtain that explosive speed they want–and need.
Step Over Basketball Drill
With this drill, your players will begin with a simple walk, where they focus on pulling the toes up toward the shin and pulling the foot down and back. Your players should be lifting the toes just high enough to step over the other ankle.
After some time walking, instruct your players to speed up into a jog. They should be doing the same motion, but jogging–focusing on the toe going over the ankle.
Next, they should proceed to skipping. At this point, they’ve got the two-beat rhythm of a skip as they pull that foot down and back. This teaches that good forceful action of the foot going down and back for speed.
Now instruct your players to go back into a job, stepping over with the toe and being sure to keep that toe pulled up toward the shin.
Next, they should go to a run, increasing the rhythm and going faster with the feet. Continue this until they get warmed up and are able to keep their rhythm.
Falling Runs Basketball Drill
With this drill, your players should start out standing with very good posture. They should focus on sucking in their bellybutton, tucking in their lower back, and stabilizing that core. On your call, your players should fall forward and explode into a sprint.
Have your players focus on putting force into the ground to drive the body forward. They shouldn’t be reaching forward with big steps; instead, we want the focus to be on stepping down quick, pulling the toes up and putting force down to the ground.
Down and back is one repetition. Do three repetitions per set, three sets each time you train.
Three-Step Drops Basketball Drill
This basketball drill involves adding some resistance in order to build up muscle tissue. Your players should take about three steps resisted, and then you should let them go. We recruit more muscle tissue, then we turn it loose, and let it go free.
Give them just enough resistance to let them try and work a little harder, then turn them loose. It’s like a slingshot getting pulled back, and then you’re firing them out of here.
Tell your players to focus on having a good run technique, bringing the knee up, the heel up, and the toe up during this drill.
Resisted Lateral Slide with a Let-Go Basketball Drill
Your players should start in a good athletic position, then do a lateral slide. The first three or four steps are going to be resisted, and then they’re going to fly out of there.
Make sure to work each direction equally. What we do to the right, we’ve got to come back and do to the left.
Down and back is one repetition. Do two to three sets of three repetitions.
Get-Ups Basketball Drill
With this basketball drill, your players should start from a flat position on the ground, in push-up position. The goal is to push up and run all in one motion, pulling the toes up toward the shins and the knees up in front of the body. Remind your players to try not to let their hips go straight up in the air. They shouldn’t stand up, then run. Instead, they should push up and run all at one time. This drill is great for first-step explosion and acceleration.
Push-Up Up Basketball Drill
Your players should start flat on the ground. When they’re ready, they should do a push-up and hold the push-up position for about two to three seconds, then explode into a sprint. This lets you use gravity as an aid to pull you forward for greater acceleration.
Backpedal Basketball Drill
From a sitting position, your player should get up and backpedal, running backwards as quickly as possible, pushing the toes through the end of the shoes. Remind your players to drive the hips back and push away from the direction they want to go–that’s the key to acceleration. Your players should focus on keeping the core solid, sucking in the belly button, and tucking in the back so they have a nice stable core.
You can use either the width of the court or half the court distance as your measurement tool. Down and back is one repetition–do three to five reps per set, two to three sets every time you train.
Do you think that these basketball drills will help your players improve speed? Which one are you most looking forward to trying?