10 Tips on Improving your Speed

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches, For Players | 0 comments

In Basketball, speed can be defined as the player’s quickness in running, dribbling, and shooting the ball. Speed in useful in any sport like basketball. If you move quickly, it would be difficult for your opponent to guard you. Another thing is if you are quick you can easily establish a position desirable for you to pass or shoot the basket; or, you can have significant chances on penetrating and driving towards the basket. You can have numerous advantages among the others if you have the speed.

This skill is difficult to achieve if you do not exercise the necessary workouts to improve it. There are relevant ways which you can make use of in order to develop and enhance your speed. Consider the following ten tips on how to improve your speed:

1. Muscle stretching
Do warm–ups first before engaging any other activities. Stretch the muscles in your arms, hips, abdomen, neck, and legs, and feet. Muscle stretching can help you establish a more flexible muscle. Flexibility is essential for you to get your limbs, or any part of your body, in proper position. In addition to that, when you stretch your muscles, you are conditioning it to a certain level of stretch. It is dangerous to quickly settle your muscles in activities that needs total muscle functioning. Your muscles may experience abrupt stretch more than it can handle, causing them to break their fibers. This muscle injury can cause a much serious problem.

2. Sprint workouts
You can practice sprint for about 10 to 50 yards, or 9 to 46 meters. Try to run back and forth to establish a great speed. You cannot develop your speed in one single sprint alone. At times the maximum speed can be achieved if you continue to make a series of long distance run. In other words, the peak of your speed is determined in the middle of your sprint when you already maintained a certain level of speed. Moreover, this exercise can enable you to establish a run at a faster pace.

3. Do plyometrics
You can perform this drill by running up and down a stair. I do not mean that you have to run an entire staircase. Just make use of one single staircase. While on the ground, raise your dominant foot first on the single staircase, follow your non-dominant hand, then step your dominant foot down the staircase, and then follow your non-dominant foot. You can use a big stable rock, or wood, as alternative for the staircase. Repeat the steps as far as you can tolerate.

Plyometrics can help you move your feet and legs at a faster speed. Your agility will also be improved. Speed and agility are essential for a basketball player to make quick changes of position and direction.

4. Do one–leg hops and frog hops
In one leg hops, stand on one leg and hop for a distance, maybe around 10 yards. And then switch on the other leg and do the same hops. On the other hand, frog hops can be performed by imitating the stance of a frog. When you get to that stance, hop like a frog for the same distance as above. You should have a specified distance in order for you to set up the goal of reaching such distance. These exercises can help you strengthen the muscles in your legs which includes the back of your thighs (hamstrings), front thigh (quadriceps), inner upper thigh (adductor), lower back of the thigh (biceps femoris), and calves (gastrocnemius and soleus).
In basketball, strong legs are necessary to run quickly and shift gears.

5. Improve your speed acceleration
Acceleration is the term used to describe as you start to sprint down and increase your speed. Your acceleration pushes you up to a good start. The relevance of enhancing your speed acceleration is for you to get into a position swiftly than your opponent. Not all runners who have high speed have high acceleration. The same is true with cars. There are cars which have high speed but low acceleration, which means they start slowly, and then eventually get faster. That should not be in basketball. In order to get your guard nailed on their feet, you must exert quickness every time you start your move. The thing here is that you must be the first one to be positioned in an area where you want to take your shot.

6. Keep up with your endurance
Endurance gives you the energy to keep your speed in a maintained pace. There are a lot of exercises for this one. You can jog around for longer distances, or run on a tread mill. In addition to that, you can do stationary or outdoor biking.

7. Set up cones or chairs and dribble around them
This is a drill to help you enhance your speed and agility. You can line up the cones, or chairs, in a zigzag pattern. Use enough number of cones/chairs. Do not make it too long since you will be running back and forth. Start running in between them until you get to the last one, and then go back again until you reach the starting line. The cones/chairs are positioned in a zigzag pattern. And so, it is expected that you also run in a zigzag direction. Level up this drill by using a ball. By this time, you do not just run. Instead, you run and dribble the ball. Be sure not to get in contact with the cones/chairs. Set up a timer to monitor your improvement. The smaller the time of completion, the faster you are.

8. Jump rope drills
You can make use of a jumping rope. It is just like playing with it. This drill will help you enhance you foot speed. The quickness of your feet movement is important to the development of a more solid footwork.

9. Parallel Squatting
This exercise helps you develop a much stronger hip and leg muscles, most especially the muscles of your thighs. In parallel squatting, you bend on your knees to a 90 degree angle while keeping your back erect. Your thighs should be parallel to the ground. This can also condition you to get used to moving in a low position when you are playing basketball.

10. Keep a high level of energy
Energy is the ultimate and vital key to the execution of the tips for speed enhancement. Keep a high level of energy by eating the right kind of diet, and getting enough sleep and rest.

Keep on exercising the above tips. It is wise to perform them on a regular basis to maintain and keep your speed up to the next level. You cannot maximize your speed if you stop at some point. Try to keep on improving. Do not settle down if you think you have already established a certain degree of speed. Be competitive enough to out speed not just your opponents, but you yourself as well.

Picture credit: Panther1619 • Creative Commons Attribution

Effective Weight Training Routines

Posted by Eitel in For Players | 2 comments

Any good coach will tell you that there is more to building strong, healthy basketball players than simply running drills and playing games. The fact is that the best basketball players have well-rounded fitness routines that include weight training, aerobic exercise and drills to target the specific skills that require development and training.

It can be hard to look at the many individual weight training exercises and put them together in a way that will help your players develop well rounded physiques as well as muscles that will help them perform better on the court. One thing that you need to keep in mind is the importance of spacing out the days where you target specific muscle groups. There are a few reasons for this.

Off-Season Training Tips – Part II

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The basketball season for youths is one full of energy and learning. The young athlete may not have many coping mechanisms for stress. A child who experiences stress without coping mechanisms can lead to a lack of success for him or her. This may discourage the child from reaching towards new goals.

The off season can be the perfect time to help them manage stress levels. During the off season parents are able to help the child athlete build self-confidence and leadership skills which they can then bring to the court and their game. Many parents may be concerned that children will lose skills during the months when schedules become lax. There are ways that the athletic youth can gain skills, knowledge, and maintain core abilities while still being a child and having fun.

Although it is important for all athletes, no matter what your age, to maintain aerobic fitness and muscle tone all year long, one can take advantage of good weather and time off to do a myriad of new things which can help build leadership skills, manage stress, and help to keep a fresh outlook on what can be a monotonous routine. Many leading authorities today can testify to the fact that children learn at a rapid pace when their attention can be kept undivided on the activity at hand. By adding fun to the menu of learning ones child athlete can continue to excel at top speed all year long.

Part II: Youths
It is important for developing athletes to continue to work on the fundamentals of their particular game during the summer. Standard skills drills and strength training are integral to the upcoming season. Youth’s find that they grow over the summer months and being involved in inter-mural summer leagues are a great place to make new friends and keep up conditioning to overcome any awkward stages. This involves activities which the youths have to do during the regular season. To ease the monotony of the summer months and while improving the youth’s fitness they should also participate in novel activities. Here are examples of activities which young athletes can participate in and it will carry over to basketball training.

Martial Arts like Tai’Chi and Karate assist with balance and limberness while stimulating the mind. Youths will also learn coping mechanisms for stress which will assist in the regular season.

Youth camps sponsored by the NBA or other professional leagues where fun activities are designed around basketball drills, physical fitness, and healthy eating can also be ideal. The youths get to meet people they admire and keep up their fitness while learning important techniques to improve their athleticism.
Youth nutritional classes are designed to assist children in learning about good health through eating which aides in a stronger athlete.

Day camps can often be found at local community centers designed around swimming, intermural sports like Basketball, nature walks, team building exercises, and leadership games which build communication skills while maintaining physical fitness. As a bonus for parents these courses are often very inexpensive.

Photo credit: zenobia_joy

Off-Season Training Tips – Part I

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The basketball season is an intense time of athleticism and power. Whether an amateur or professional, athletes work hard to create a body which performs with prowess and dexterity. The synergy of adrenaline, sweat, and muscle creates the ability to move with agility and grace. During the regular season daily practice combines with a high level of competition to keep the athlete in peak condition but even a championship season eventually comes to an end. This may lead one to have thoughts on how to maintain one’s fitness level during the off season.

As Sir Isaac Newton stated, “A body in motion stays in motion.” If continued without variation the routine required during the regular season can land one in a rut. The human body needs diversity to maintain its highest level of fitness an one must take advantage of the mind body connection in order to create a superior athlete. The off season is a great time to take a vacation from the daily grind and add fun to the agenda while maintaining and even improving performance levels.

Part I: Adults
Tips for adults to stay in shape during the off season are similar to those suggested for the youths with a little more emphasis on conditioning. Intermural summer leagues and competitions are great. Hiring a training coach who specializes in the area in which one wants to improve their game is helpful especially if one can receive on-on-one interaction. Also attending seminars given by professional athletes will assist you in getting feedback about your game.

Eating healthy and daily conditioning like running and aerobics are very important. Adults might also benefit from a cooking class so that they can learn to prepare the types of meals that will suit their particular body type. Participating in summer marathons keeps one in the spirit of competition while causing an athlete to maintain fitness with a focus that is separate from their usual routine. Practicing the weakest part of one’s game is important to gain competency. Many adult athletes find participating in classes such as yoga, spinning, martial arts, and Pilates will increase their flexibility and build their level of aerobic fitness. An added bonus to these types of classes is the reduction in instances of muscle strains and tears.

The off season is an excellent time to start new athletic endeavors which assist you with your flexibility and improve your basketball game. Diversity during the off season makes for a stronger athlete.

Other off season training tips:

• Participate in pickup games at local parks and recreation centers.
• Charity basketball clinics held in your local area by professional basketball players.
• See a nutritionist for the proper eating plan to build muscle and maintain proper weight.
• Keep a daily journal of your physical progress and make goals to reach during the summer.
• Watch videos on how to improve specific parts of your basketball game and learn new techniques to use during the regular season.

Photo credit: duchamp