Basketball Speed and Agility Drills
Basketball is a fast-paced game; it requires players to be fast with quick moves and quick feet. Practicing speed and agility drills can help improve your quickness on the court and more importantly, separate yourself from your defender. While these drills are most often performed by guards and small forwards, they can also help improve the low blocking moves and skills of centers and power forwards.
Work on your quickness, speed to the ball and hand speed with the hustle drill. Divide your team into two groups of five. Have each group line up along one out of bounds line in a straight line. Give each player in the groups a number one through five. Have all players get down on all fours with their heads facing down. Place a basketball at any point in the center of the court. Call out a number and have the two players with that corresponding number jump up and chase down the ball. The player who gets the ball gets a point for his team. The team with the most points wins the hustle drill.
Weave In Weave Out
Making quick turns on the court is crucial in basketball. The weave in weave out drill can help your team learn this skill. Grab four cones and place them in a straight line, four yards apart. From here, grab an additional four cones and place each one three yards to the left of the middle point between each two cones. This should create an angular pattern for you to run through. Stand several feet behind the starting cone and wait for your coach's whistle. On his whistle, sprint to the first cone, transitioning into a defensive slide position. Slide to the second cone, leading with your right leg first. Once you hit the third cone, rotate your defensive slide to lead with your left leg. Repeat this pattern until you have completed the course.
Improve your foot speed with the T-cone drill. Grab three cones and place them in a straight line, three to four feet apart. From here, grab two more cones and place them in a perpendicular line with the top cone, making sure they are at least 10 feet apart. This should create a t shape for you to perform the drill in. Start at the base of the "T", running through the three cones before sprinting out to one end of the top of the "T". Once you reach an end, backpedal to the start and repeat, alternating between the two ends of the top portion of the "T".
The box drill also helps improve your speed on the court. Using cones, section off a six by six square portion of the basketball court. Put a cone in the middle of the box and stand at this cone. Have your coach give each outer cone a number and wait for him to call one. As soon as he calls it, sprint out to the cone and touch it with your hand and sprint back to the center. Repeat for 60 to 90 seconds before resting.
- The Coach's Clipboard: Basketball Drills
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Jason Aberdeene has been a freelance writer since 2008. His articles have appeared in the "UCSD Guardian" and on various websites, specializing in teen health. An assistant at Kagan Physical Therapy since 2009, Aberdeene has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of California, San Diego.