Helena Frye
Basketball is a physically demanding sport that requires strength, speed, and agility. To improve your ability to go up strong in basketball, you should focus on developing your body positioning, technique, and physical strength. This involves practicing proper foot placement, knee bend, and ball positioning, as well as working on your finesse moves and layups. Additionally, strength training, such as dumbbell rows and tricep exercises, can improve your explosiveness and power. Core work and a combination of plyometrics and resistance training can also enhance your performance. However, it's important to maintain a balance and avoid excessive bulking, as speed is also crucial in the game.
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What You'll Learn
Dribbling techniques
Dribbling is one of the most fundamental skills in basketball, and proper dribbling technique can help deter defensive players from stealing the ball. Here are some tips and drills to improve your dribbling technique:
Stance and Posture
Before dribbling, get in a low, defensive stance. Spread your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees, and drop your hips back slightly as if you were sitting in a chair. Keep your back straight, head up, and shoulders square. Avoid a tall, vertical posture, and don't bend at the waist. This stance helps protect the ball while giving you mobility.
Hand Placement and Ball Control
Use your fingertips, not your palm, to make contact with the top and sides of the ball. This gives you better control and requires less strength to keep the ball bouncing. Spread your fingers out across the surface of the ball for a wider, more even contact area. Keep the palm of your hand directly over the ball so it bounces up into your fingertips. Don't bounce the ball too high—keep your dribble low to improve control and make it harder for defenders to steal the ball.
Drills
- Figure 8: Spread your legs about shoulder-width apart and dribble the ball in a figure 8 through and around your legs. Try this in different directions (front to back, back to front) and at different heights (low dribbles, waist-high dribbles). For an extra challenge, try it with one hand instead of two.
- Spider Dribble: Similar to the Figure 8 drill, but with a wider stance.
- Crossover: Step forward with your right leg, keeping your back straight and left heel on the ground. Bring your dribble forward of your right foot, keeping the ball at shoe-top height. Switch legs and dribble hand, crossing over to the left side.
- Through Legs: Put the ball through your legs at shoe-top height. Try doing this three times in quick succession (left, right, left).
- Torso Twist: Spread your legs outside of shoulder width and dribble with your right hand. Keep your legs straight and bring the ball across your body to the left side, dribbling behind your left foot.
- Running While Dribbling: Focus on building speed without losing control of the dribble. Practice running and dribbling the length of the court before training.
- Protective Dribbling: Practice dribbling with one hand (usually your dominant hand) while raising your non-dribbling arm to hold back a defender.
- Power Dribbling: An advanced drill involving cutting sideways while pounding the ball into the court. This move helps elude defenders and allows for an open jump shot or dunk.
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Shooting drills
The elbow pull-up drill
This drill is excellent for guards who want to work on their shooting form. You will need a basketball and a hoop or target on a wall to shoot at. Start by standing about 10 feet away from the hoop or target with a basketball. Take your primary shooting arm and extend it up while holding the ball so your elbow is level with your shoulder. Bring your shooting arm to shoulder height and bend it at a 90-degree angle. Keep your elbow in and place your opposite hand directly below your shooting elbow to prevent it from moving. Focus on pushing the ball up and out through your fingers. Your elbow should finish above your eyes.
The rebound shot drill
This drill is important because it helps offensive centers learn how to rebound and shoot or lay up the ball quickly in the post. You will need a basketball, a shooting guard, an offensive center, a defensive center, and a half-court or full court with a hoop. The shooting guard will take a shot and purposefully miss, and the offensive center will have to compete against the defensive center to rebound the ball and make a quick layup or a short-range shot. Repeat this process until you’ve made 10 successful baskets from different hoop angles and short-range distances.
The Mikan drill
This drill is named after basketball legend George Mikan. It’s a simple and effective shooting drill that centers can work through alone or with a partner.
The cone drill
This drill helps players work on their dribbling skills, footwork off the catch, and a variety of shots. Each player will need a basketball. Set up two lines on the half-way line on either side of the court, with three cones near the halfway line for dribbling practice. Players weave in and out of the cones, pass to the coach, receive the ball back, and then shoot a variety of shots off the catch, switching sides each time they shoot. The coach must first tell the players which shot type they’re going to work on first. On the coach's call to start, the first player starts weaving in and out of the cones. At the end of the dribbling, the player either makes a two-handed chest pass to the coach or a 1-handed push pass depending on age and skill level.
The layup drill
This drill helps players work on their finishing on a layup. Each player will need a basketball. The player starts by rebounding their basketball and then joining the line at the top of the key on the opposite side from the one they shot from. The player then steps back and shoots without dribbling, does a one-dribble pull-up from the elbow, a two-dribble attack on the rim for a layup, and drives baseline as if the defender cheated under the screen.
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Mental preparation
Routine and Consistency
Having a consistent pre-game routine is essential for mental preparation. This includes activities such as meditation, listening to music, or going over the scouting report. Meditation can help clear your mind and focus on the present moment. It is also beneficial to have a consistent routine in your daily life, such as eating the same meal at the same time or practicing the same shots. This consistency will promote consistency on the court and help you feel more prepared and calm before a game.
Visualization and Self-Talk
Visualization is a powerful tool to mentally prepare. Take a few minutes before a game to close your eyes and imagine yourself playing well, making shots, and achieving your goals. Visualization helps you mentally rehearse your skills and increases your chances of success. Additionally, creating a list of positive self-talk statements that you repeat daily can boost your confidence. These statements should be simple and easily memorable during games, such as "I am confident," or "I am a strong defender."
Focus and Resilience
Mental toughness in basketball is about resilience, focus, and bouncing back from setbacks. During a game, focus on what you can control, such as your positioning and choices, rather than outcomes like making shots or rebounds. This will help you stay present and avoid getting caught up in past mistakes or future expectations. Additionally, set challenging goals for yourself before each game to ensure you are constantly striving to improve.
Confidence and Gratitude
Confidence is key to mental preparation. Ensure you have earned the right to be confident through practice and skill development. However, it is also important to not let fear control your behavior. Use film to balance viewing areas for improvement with your strengths, increasing your confidence and seeing your game objectively. Finally, practice gratitude by appreciating the opportunity to play the sport you love, which will help you stay motivated and focused on the process of improvement rather than short-term results.
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Defensive tactics
Man-to-Man Defence:
In this strategy, each defensive player is assigned a specific opponent to guard, often someone with a similar position or an offensive threat. Stay within arm's reach, shuffling your feet and using your body to deny them easy scoring opportunities, whether it's shots or driving to the basket.
Help Defence:
This is about being aware of the overall game situation and providing support to your teammates. Rotate to cover open players, rush to contest shots, and assist in trapping or double-teaming opponents when necessary. Help defence is crucial for maintaining a strong team defensive structure.
Closeout and Shot Contest:
When an opponent has the ball, rapidly move towards them while maintaining a defensive stance, ready to challenge their shot. Extend your hand to contest the shot, balancing aggression and control to effectively disrupt the shooter without fouling.
Positioning and Footwork:
Proper defensive positioning and footwork are fundamental. Keep your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, pointing forward, with your knees bent. This lowers your centre of gravity and gives you a strong base.
Deny Passing Lanes:
When defending an offensive player without the ball, stay in your defensive stance with one arm and foot in the passing lane to deny an easy pass.
Block the Shooter's Vision:
When a player goes up for a shot, put your hand up to their face to distract them and disrupt their view of the rim, forcing a missed shot without fouling.
Practice and Drills:
Improve your defensive skills through drills and by playing against highly skilled offensive players. A drill to improve your defensive slide and rebound tracking involves setting up cones and practising sliding between them in a defensive stance.
Remember, defence in basketball is about effort, focus, and teamwork. By mastering these defensive tactics and staying committed to your defensive position, you can become a strong contributor to your team's success.
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Physical conditioning
Basketball is a physically demanding sport that requires aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. Therefore, it is essential to focus on building strength, agility, and endurance through proper training techniques. A well-rounded basketball player should incorporate upper-body and lower-body workouts, as neglecting either could lead to poor performance or injury.
For example, dumbbell rows (or using water jugs) can help target back muscles, which are crucial for explosive drives and rebounds. Single-arm rows ensure that each side of the body is targeted evenly. Tricep exercises, such as bodyweight dips or tricep extensions, are also important for dribbling and shot release. For the lower body, jump squats are an excellent way to build strength and improve your vertical jump.
In addition to strength training, basketball players need a strong aerobic base due to the sport's stop-and-start nature. Running 100-500 metre sprints every 30-60 seconds can improve VO2 Max results by about 10% in a month and a half. Running at 85-90% of your max heart rate will help develop this aerobic base.
It is also beneficial to incorporate basketball-specific drills into your training. For example, dribbling and sprinting drills can help improve your conditioning and ballhandling skills. Additionally, performing layup drills can help improve your conditioning and shot accuracy.
Remember, consistency is key. Aim for a minimum of two to three training sessions per week, gradually increasing the number of reps and sets as you get stronger.
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Frequently asked questions
To go up strong, you need to ensure your feet are shoulder-width apart, knees bent, back straight, and the ball held firmly at chest level or higher.
Core work is essential for basketball players, as it improves balance and generates explosiveness. Upper and lower body strength can be improved with a combination of plyometrics and resistance training. Dumbbell rows and tricep exercises are also crucial for dribbling and shot release.
Focus on developing explosiveness and power. This can be achieved with 3-5 reps at 50% 1RM, performed quickly. High-volume light weights are preferable to heavy weights, which can cause bulkiness and slow you down.
Ensure a strong gather of the ball, then transition into a proper layup, using your fingertips. Initiating body contact first can also help draw fouls and create opportunities for scoring.
