Basketball is a dynamic and demanding sport that requires high levels of fitness, agility, coordination, power, speed and strength. Basketball players train hard to develop their skills. A number of training aids and workout tools are available to help basketball players hone their abilities.
Vertical Jump Height
A big vertical jump is important in basketball, and many training aids are available to help you increase the height of your leaps. You can use weighted vests and belts to increase your lower body strength and resistance band systems to increase the load on your jumping muscles. You can wear special shoes designed to put extra load through your calves to increase your jumping ability; however, this type of equipment may pose some risk of injury because of the stretch placed on your Achilles tendon.
Shooting Ability
Shooting baskets is a combination of balance, eye-hand coordination and skill. One way of improving your shooting accuracy is to reduce the basket rim size. A variety of devices are available that attach to a standard basketball hoop to decrease rim size. To help you perfect your shooting arm action, you can buy an arm brace that guides your arm into the correct position for producing an accurate trajectory. Using Velcro straps, these braces attach to your arm and ensure you bend your elbow correctly.
Dribbling
Dribbling is an essential basketball skill. Dribbling requires you to use your fingertips, but many beginners use the palms of their hands to pat the ball. You can purchase devices that fit on the palm and hold your hand in the correct position for fingertip dribbling. You should not look at your hands or the ball when dribbling but, instead, focus on your opponent. Blinders and shielded eye glasses are available that restrict your downward vision so you can dribble only by feel. Basketballs that are above regulation weight and size are available to increase your wrist and finger strength, making playing with a standard ball feel much easier.
Agility
Agility describes your ability to act and react quickly during a game—for example, blocking an opponent’s scoring attempt. You can develop your agility by using aids such as speed ladders, slalom poles, cones and reaction balls. Numerous specialized basketball drills incorporate this type of equipment to help enhance your agility; such drills include dribbling around slalom poles, performing high knee running drills along a speed ladder or executing reaction drills using cones.
Speed
Basketball players need to be fast. Making a break to score or running back to a defensive position requires speed. You can increase your sprinting speed by using a breaking parachute or weight sled to overload your sprinting muscles. You can develop your leg speed by using “over speed” running harnesses that force you to run faster than normal—they pull you forward and force you to keep up by increasing your leg turnover speed.
References
- "Five-Star Basketball Drills"; Howard Garfinkle and Will Klein; 1998
- "Basketball for Dummies"; Richard Phelps; 1999
- "Complete Conditioning for Basketball"; National Basketball Conditioning Coaches Association; 2007
Member Comments