Dot drills are exercises that can help athletes, particularly basketball and football players, develop faster and more accurate footwork. Five dots are positioned on the ground in a similar design to the dots on a pair of dice. An athlete hops from dot to dot in different patterns. When performed on a regular basis, dot drills not only improve your agility but also can be an effective anaerobic workout that conditions your whole body.
Getting Started
Set up the dot board. If you are outside, draw it on the sidewalk in chalk or paint it into the grass using field paint. Draw a square that measures 1 yard on each side. In each of the four corners, draw dots that are about 5 inches in diameter. Place another dot directly in the center of the square. Once this is finished, you are ready for drills.
Pattern 1
Facing into the square, place your left foot in the bottom left square and your right foot in the bottom right square. Bend your knees and launch yourself into the air and land on the middle dot with your feet together. Jump again and split your legs apart, landing with your feet on the top left and right dots. Turn around and repeat the two-part hop, heading back to where you started. Repeat this drill five times.
Pattern 2
Create a figure-eight pattern. Beginning in the bottom left corner, lift up your right leg and balance on the left. Using only one foot, hop in a diagonal fashion onto the center dot and then to the upper right dot. Turn to your right and jump to the dot in top left corner. Still on one foot, turn to your right and jump diagonally to the center and then to the bottom right corner. Finish up by turning again to the right and hopping to the dot where you began. Repeat the figure eight with your right leg.
Pattern 3
For a drill that takes you in an hourglass pattern, begin at the bottom left corner of your square. Using both feet, hop to the center dot and then the top left dot. Jump across to the top right dot, turn right and hop back to the center dot. Finish up by hitting the bottom right corner and head back to the bottom left, where you began. Repeat five more times.
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