Skills - Footwork (Big Post Focus)

Post Play

If someone asks you describe natural attributes a post player must possess, you’d say they need to be tall and big. One so there closer to the basket, two he takes up space in the paint. Both answers would be right, but he also needs other skills to succeed as a good post player.

      With anything in life if you want something to last, you need good foundations. And with that there’s no difference between building a house or a post player. The difference between a good post player and a great one is footwork.

With any position in basketball footwork is at the top of the list. It starts with basic movements, dribbling on the move, passing the ball, making a layup without travelling and shooting footwork is at the beginning of every play in basketball.

Relevant footwork needed to learn, Front pivot, Reverse pivot, Drop step, Step through, Jump Stop and one two stop.

Drills which can help coordination and improve foot speed, Ladders and several cone drills.

Ladder sequence:

Ø  One footed hop (each box)

Ø  Two footed hop (each box)

Ø  High Knees (One foot in each box)(Drive Arms)

Ø  High Knees 2 (Concentrate you land in each box 1-2, 1-2, 1-2)(Drive Arms)

Ø  Sideways (One foot in a box at a time, shuffle across)

Ø  Sideways 2 (Two feet in box every shuffle across)

Cone Drills:

Ø  Four  Cone Drill ( Make a box with 4 different colours  5m by 5m, stand in the centre when the coach calls a colour out you sprint forward to the cone and slide back to centre or slide back to cone and sprint forward to centre. 4 reps per set  / 3 sets)

Ø  Key Shuttle (Place 4 cones on the corners of the Key. Start facing baseline, on instruction of right or left, defensive slide to top right of key. Back peddle as fast as possible to then baseline slide to middle of key turn and face baseline and wait for new instruction. 4-6 reps / 2 sets)(Keep arms up at all time, it’s the little things in drills which carry over to games)

Ø  Compass Drill (Place one cone in the middle and make a diamond around it 4m by 4m. The middle cone is numbered 1 and then the others 2,3,4,5. With hand on middle cone facing cone 5 on whistle, turn sprint to the 2 cone touch cone come back to cone 1 touching it. Then on to cone 3 and so on till cone 5. Stop watch finishes when you run past cone 5)(2 sets, S(1) 1,2,3,4,5 / S(2) 1,4,3,2,5)