Height, perhaps more than any other physical trait, is a trend in basketball. Generally, taller basketball players have the added advantage of being closer to the rim. Obviously, the closer you are to the hoop, the easier it is to make successful shots. Being a tall player also means that you can out-rebound shorter players and block their shots much more quickly.
It’s not always about being tall, though. We’ve indeed seen a crop of professional basketball players, including Allen Iverson and Chris Clemons, who’ve excelled in the game without being taller than average.
That’s because being a great basketball player comes down to techniques. And while ‘you can’t teach size’ to your players, the best basketball drills can help perfect their dribbling skills, quickness, speed, agility, and ability to shoot. For the next few minutes, we’ll be pointing out 7 basketball workouts that will develop and improve your players’ court skills- shooting, dribbling, sprinting, and communication.
As a coach, your team’s success (or lack thereof) mainly depends on how you plan for the practice sessions. The best basketball coaches spend more time planning for the practice than the actual exercise- and the results always speak for themselves. On this note, we recommend making short notes on what basketball skills and drills the players need to work on. At the end of the session, make additional notes on drills that need more attention.
Stretching is a good way of revving up the cardiovascular system and muscles before practice. A 10-20 warm-up session may help in lessening the risk of injury and reduce muscle soreness.
Dribbling and ball-handling basketball practice drills should be practiced by all players regardless of their position in the court. Besides perfecting particular moves, these workouts also make your players great athletes in general. Importantly, ensure that you don’t show favoritism to any players. Everyone should feel that they are vital for the team’s success.
This is among the best basketball dribbling drills that develop your players’ ability to dribble in tight corners. This drill forces the players to keep their heads up. This increases their awareness of the players around them, and who of their teammates is open. It also develops their ability to dribble with both hands. This is necessary for preempting the pressure and avoiding a potential turnover.
During the drill, encourage the players to keep their heads up while changing the dribbling hand continuously. Importantly, identify the seemingly timid players in the group and encourage them to face off aggressive teammates.
Offensive techniques are necessary for increasing the team’s ball possession and shot attempts. But not all shooting attempts will fall, so the team also needs to have excellent defensive skills to guarantee their continued success in dominating the court.
This 1 on 1 basketball training is a fast-paced drill that develops the players’ competitiveness when facing a defensive player during a close-out. The focus of this one-on-one basketball training is to boost your players’ confidence when guarding the opposition.
Ensure that the players utilize only one-half of the court for this drill. This limits their attacking space forcing the offensive players to attack fast. The limited space also pressures the players to make quick decisions. Check some more basketball defense drills.
Whenever your players execute a screen during the game, they need to read the defender in order to make the right cut that will get them open. This drill is designed to make your players smart by developing the three major reactions that will help your players explode past the defender; curling, fading, and cutting.
Professional coaches and basketball enthusiasts understand the significance of two-ball dribbling drills. While some people may view these basketball skill drills as overtraining, there’s no doubt that they dramatically improve players’ dribbling and coordination. As a matter of fact, these basketball training drills are based on the concept of performing a challenging task (2-ball dribbling) so that an easier task (one-ball dribbling) becomes less difficult.
There are a variety of basketball exercises that your players can accomplish within this one;
It’s paramount for your players to perfect different types of passing in basketball as well as dribbling and footwork skills. But let’s face it: shooting may be the most vital skill to have as a player.
Perfect shots take quite some time to master. Therefore, having different basketball shooting drills to do in basketball will hone this skill from different game-like scenarios. The bunny shooting drill, for instance, focuses on making well-controlled stops and maintaining balance when making the jump shot.
When perfecting these workouts for basketball players, it's important that the player balances the workload by practicing on both sides.
This is one of the most popular workouts for basketball players who want to perfect their passing and catching skills. Because it involves sprinting across the court, the Argentine passing drill may also be considered for speed, agility, and conditioning purposes.
The players first should perfect passing the ball to their right before sprinting to make these basketball workouts a success. Also, encourage them to call out the name of the players to the right before running. This will help in developing their communication skill. Note that you can modify this drill, for instance, by utilizing the entire court if you want the players to run a little more.
Being able to finish at the hoop often is a surefire way of guaranteeing victories in the game. The power layup drill is one of the best workouts for basketball players in this regard as it trains them on how to transition from top speed to a comfortable encounter with the rim. This is considered one of the most important moves for NBA players as it makes it possible to make an easy shot without giving up speed and momentum.
When doing a layup, the ball hits the backboard gently before reflecting into the net. You can also execute it so that the ball rolls nicely over the top of the rim before dropping into the net.
While there are various ways of doing a layup in basketball, all are shots close to the rim and are worth 2 points.
Besides the physical aspect, basketball workouts also need to include cognitive skills, such as visual attention, focus, and fast decision-making. Blazepod- an App-powered Flash Reflex Training kit complete with pre-defined activities- is just what you need to bring the game-like competitiveness to your basketball workouts. See how this light-based training system can improve your basketball exercises.