If you have limited time for basketball training each day, make the most of your time by focusing on drills, scrimmaging or conditioning. Or, if possible, work on all three. Even if you have hours each day, be sure to use the time to reinforce good habits, like proper shooting technique, and getting into basketball shape by improving your quickness, agility, flexibility, endurance and strength. Scrimmaging is important to build game experience and develop a sense of game speed, but games don't allow you much opportunity to work on things such as your release on jump shots or dribbling with your opposite hand.
Drills Before Scrimmages
If you're going to devote an hour a day to basketball training, spend the first 30 to 45 minutes warming up and working on specific passing, defense, rebounding or shooting drills, or specific plays such as out-of-bounds plays, and the remaining time scrimmaging. For example, a practice plan could start with a warm-up of layup lines from the right and left sides, followed by three-man weaves and six full-court sprints. Then you could work on backdoor passes by having your point guard fake a pass to the wing player and have that wing player break hard to the basket to catch a backdoor pass and make a layup. Another good drill is to have players work on crossover dribbles. The player with the ball dribbles with his left hand, takes a wide step to the left, makes a head fake to the left and then quickly switches hands and starts dribbling with his right hand as he cuts to the right. Have defensive players give token effort and then end practice with a scrimmage.
Shooting Skills
NBA stars make hundreds of shots every day as part of their training. One way to get your muscles and shooting touch ready for the season, or to maintain your shooting groove, is to start your shooting session close to the basket with layups. Pick a number, such as 20. Once you've made 20 layups, step back a couple of feet and shoot short jumpers from all around the basket. After 20 "makes," step back a couple of more feet and make 20 jump shots. Continue doing this until you reach the limit of your range, perhaps a couple of feet beyond the 3-point line. Make this an everyday part of your basketball training and watch your shooting percentages improve.
Offseason Training
The offseason is a good time to work on agility and flexibility training, as well as improving endurance. Start with a five-minute warm-up of jumping rope and then do some slow stretches, particularly of the large muscle groups like the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves, as well joints such as the shoulders. A simple but effective shoulder stretch can be done by pulling one elbow across your chest toward the opposite shoulder. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat with the opposite arm. Remember not to bounce when you stretch. Endurance training involves distance running of a few miles a day, and agility drills can include a figure-8 around three cones. Set up the cones about five yards apart. Start to the left of the first cone and dribble fast to the middle cone. Make a hard cut as you dribble around the middle cone and return to the first cone. Repeat, but go to the far cone and return to the first cone. Do two repetitions on the left side and two on the right, resting 60 seconds between reps.
Considerations
If you're training on your own, try to find a partner or better yet a few players to work on drills together and play at least three-on-three games, if not five-on-five. You'll be able to do more with passing skills and scrimmaging if you have more players involved. Working out and running with a partner also will help keep you motivated.
Member Comments