Dribbling drills go much further than behind the back and between the legs. It’s not all Harlem Globetrotters—in fact, many resistance drills that improve dribbling speed and performance can be performed without a ball at all. The key to a solid dribble game lies in many factors, starting with sound footwork and balance and skill. These 3 drills will uniquely load a ball player to develop sports specific power to specifically improve a player’s linear, lateral and back pedal speed with and without a ball.
Most resisted dribbling and defensive drills load at the waist which only works the muscles that the foot is in contact with the court pushing against the floor. Note that in these drills, the player is loaded at the waist AND ankles when training. This is important because ankle loading allows us to load the muscles that drive the foot through the air (when it’s not in contact with the court) to develop additional strength and power in the critical muscles that are not overloaded and neglected by a “waist only” connection.
If you really want to maximize every player’s power for first step quickness, train all the muscles involved with the movement–not half the muscles!
3 Basketball Dribbling Drills to Maximize Strength, Power and Control
1: Dribble Drive Drill
Description: This drill combines footwork with ball control, allowing the athlete to target ball handling while moving forward and backwards. With Waist and ankle loading, the VertiMax helps improve the strength and explosiveness of both sets of muscles used in the ground contact drive and airborne phase of the athlete’s foot movement. The result–improved speed getting from point A to B anywhere on the court.
Steps:
- Lay out three cones about 25 to 30 feet from the VertiMax unit, placing the three cones at 10, 12 and 2 O’clock relative to the front side of the VertiMax unit.
- Start at the base of the VertiMax and accelerate out and back sequentially (while dribbling) left to right or right to left to each of the three cones. Out to cone 1 and back, out to cone 2 and back, out to cone 3 and back = 1 Set
- Dribble backwards back to VertiMax unit.
- Continue to each cone.
Sets/Reps: Perform 2-3 sets left to right and then 2-3 sets right to left
Trainer’s Tip:
If you want to focus more on speed development and have the athlete train at higher velocities with the applied resistance to develop strength output at higher velocities, get rid of the ball! The athlete will move much faster and develop higher velocity strength without having to dribble and control a ball.
2. Lateral Dribble Drill
Description: This lateral dribble drill focuses on the quad, glut, and calf drive muscles for acceleration while the ankle bands simultaneously work the abductor and adductor muscle groups to improve lateral deceleration and change of direction speed. The drill also incorporates an added coordination element as the athlete changes his/her dribble hand.
Degrees of Loading Difficulty
Beginner–Waist Loading Only
Intermediate–Ankle Loading Only
Advanced–Ankle and Waist Loading
Steps:
- Lay out a single cone about 25 to 30 feet from the VertiMax unit placing it at the 12 O’clock position relative to the front side of the VertiMax unit.
- Connect resistance bands. Start at the base of the VertiMax and dribble out laterally to the cone and back to the VertiMax unit as quickly as possible 3 times (out & back) which equals one Set.
Sets/Reps:
Perform 2-3 sets driving away from the platform to the athlete’s left, then detach the bands and face the opposite direction, reattach bands and then perform 2-3 sets driving away from the platform moving to the athlete’s right.
Trainer’s Tip:
Stay in the proper athletic position with hips low, maintaining a low center of gravity as you change directions and accelerate quickly on each change of direction to create distance between you and the defender. The athlete should complete each set before they get fatigued and slow down. The “Quality” of reps for explosive training diminishes dramatically as the athlete fatigues and slows down. Maximum effort and maximum speed are essential for quality explosive power training when using training resistance. As with Drill 1, if you want to focus more on speed development and have the athlete train at higher velocities with the applied resistance to develop strength output at higher velocities, get rid of the ball! The athlete will move much faster and develop higher velocity strength without having to dribble and control a ball while moving laterally, which will now emulate a defensive guarding drill.
3. Defending the Dribble Drive
Description:
Similar to Drill 1, this drill improves the athlete’s explosive step, but focuses on back peddling and impeding a dribbler’s forward progress. Again, the bands connected to the ankles directly load the gluts and hamstrings while back peddling. The waist band and band on the airborne foot will load the quads or muscles of the leg in contact with the ground while driving backwards.
Degrees of Loading Difficulty:
Beginner–Waist Loading Only
Intermediate–Ankle Loading Only
Advanced–Ankle and Waist Loading
Steps:
- Lay out three cones about 25 to 30 feet from the VertiMax unit, placing the three cones at 10, 12 and 2 O’clock relative to the front side of the VertiMax unit.
- Attach the number of bands you want to train with and then start at the base of the VertiMax facing the VertiMax unit and back pedal sequentially to each of the three cones. Back pedal to the cone at 10 O’clock and then return to the VertiMax unit base and then back pedal to the cone at 12 O’clock, return to the base as quickly as possible and then back pedal to the cone at 2 O’clock. Once you return to the VertiMax base from the 2 O’clock cone, you have completed one set.
Sets/Reps:
Perform 2-3 sets working from the 10 O’clock cone to the 2 O’clock cone and then 2-3 sets working from the 2 O’clock cone to the 10 O’clock cone.
Trainer’s Tip:
Perform this drill at the maximum speed possible while staying completely under control with respect to balance and stability moving backwards and forwards! Keep hips low to maintain a low center of gravity in the back pedal promoting balance. Focus on stopping quickly and transitioning from the back pedal to the forward movement each time there is a transition in movement direction. They should complete each set before fatigue sets in so the drill speed can stay near maximum velocity for “Quality” explosive power reps!
