Basketball requires athletes to use a variety of skills to be effective on the court. Having a team that is fast and agile could be the difference between winning and losing. Drills to increase speed, agility and quickness are needed to help prepare your team for game-time situations. Use these drills to improve the ability of your players on the floor.
Lateral Movement
Being able to move laterally is essential to both offense and defense. This drill will help both side-to-side movement and reaction time. Start with your players facing you with a stance that is low to the ground with their feet shoulder-width apart. Have your athletes perform a mini hop in place by hopping in place only a few inches off the ground but maintaining their center if gravity and stance. As they hop in place have them watch you for visual cues, either pointing left or right. When you point they will immediately shuffle in that direction staying low and never crossing their feet and keeping their shoulders, knees and hips facing you at all times. When yourstop pointing, they will return to the mini hop until the next command is given. Do this drill for two minutes and then allow you athletes to recover.
Directional Jumps
Have your players face you with their knees bent slightly above 90 degrees, with their arms pulled in front of their bodies with their hands face level. Have them hold that position until you point in a direction. You can point forward, left, right, backward or even diagonally. When they jump, make sure they sink down to 90 degrees and as they do their arms swing at the shoulder behind them. When their arms are behind them and their knees are bent to 90 degrees, they will explode up and toward the indicated direction. After landing, make sure each player holds the position until the next command is given.
Attack and Retreat
This drill adds speed, agility and quickness together and can be used for conditioning. Set up cones in the shape of a five yard box, with one cone at each corner and one in the middle. Have the players stand at one of the corners. At your command, a player runs to the middle cone. When he reaches the cone he will jump as high as possible as if rebounding. He will then backpedal to the next corner cone and again jump and retreat. Continue this until intensity or form begin to weaken.
To make this drill harder and more basketball specific, stand at the middle cone and toss a basketball up for the athletes to rebound.
Doing it Right
In all of these drills, the two most important things are the effort and the form. These drills should be used to increase speed, agility and quickness, not to condition athletes. Doing something the wrong way will only reinforce negative habits.
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