Building a Basketball Speed Philosophy
It’s funny to think about is how hard coaches work on their X’s and O’s but completely miss how they want their players’ footwork to be performed.
Not all coaches fall into this category, but a lot do.
Many basketball coaches will use “motivation” to get their players to move faster.
You know the approach, “if they don’t move faster, they put them on the line and run!”
A better solution is to treat basketball speed and footwork just like an offensive and defensive set.
Think about that for a second.
If footwork is that important, why would it be ignored from a technical standpoint?
It doesn’t make sense!
Here is the best solution…
…For the primary defensive situations, have specific footwork that is taught to be more efficient.
How does that footwork look if your players move from denial on the wing to help in the lane when the ball is reversed?
Is it a denial position to a Hip Turn to a shuffle or Lateral Run?
If I were me, It would be a denial stance to an aggressive Hip Turn and immediately into a Power Lateral Run Step followed by a small shuffle to make sure two feet are in the lane.
What would you do if the ball is skipped back to your player while in the help position?
What is the footwork?
My philosophy is a hard Lateral Run First Step, one additional acceleration step, then a closeout forcing the player to the baseline side.
The key is to know the footwork that is most suitable for that defensive play or situation.
Think about all the areas to have a solid foundation of specific footwork patterns.
- Denial
- Recovery
- Hedging
- Drop coverage
- On ball defensive
- Trapping footwork and recovery
These are just a sample of the different scenarios a player would find themselves in and must rely on great footwork to execute the defensive effectively.
If you want a massive start on learning the footwork patterns and how to teach them, jump on the first-to-know Certified Basketball Speed Specialist Level 1 waitlist – -> www.BasketballSpeedSpecialist.com