That Basketball Life

  As a coach, I've said it a thousand times: your feet are your most important offensive tool . You can be the fastest player on the court, but if you don't know how to pivot, you are a sitting duck the moment a defender puts pressure on you . A proper pivot isn't just about moving your feet; it's about protecting the basketball, creating separation, and reading the defense before you make your next move . The Essential Pivots To become a versatile threat, you need to master these three movements while staying low in your triple-threat stance: The Forward Pivot (Front Pivot): You step forward with your non-pivot foot, rotating your body toward the basket . This is your go-to move when you need to face up the hoop to shoot or attack a defender who is playing you tight . The Reverse Pivot (Back Pivot): You step backward with your non-pivot foot, rotating your body away from the defender . Use this to shield the ball when you are being overplayed . The Jab Step: F...

  As a coach, I've always emphasized that footwork is the bedrock of basketball . You can have the best shot in the world, but if your feet are slow, disorganized, or inefficient, you will struggle to get that shot off against competitive pressure . In my experience, the best way to train footwork isn’t by standing in static lines, but by incorporating high-intensity, decision-making drills that mimic the chaotic nature of a real game . Here are the essential drills I use to build coordination, speed, and defensive stance in my players. 1. Defensive Footwork Drills Defensive success is built on maintaining a low, wide base while moving with controlled power . Lateral Slides: Players maintain a low, wide base while sliding laterally across the court without crossing their feet . Focus on keeping the nose behind the heels to maintain balance and avoid falling forward . 5-10-5 (Pro Agility) Shuttle: This is essential for change-of-direction mechanics . Players sprint 5 yards i...

One of the common traits that all great basketball players have is balance.  If you watch videos of the great ones they always seem to be under control.  You'll hear people say how the great ones have elite body control.  This body control starts with footwork.  The great ones can do what they want on the basketball floor because their footwork always keeps them in balance.  Even with the acrobatic shots they make, if you pay close enough attention you will notice how the great ones always manage to stay balanced and square.  This is what separates the athletes from the great ball players.  It's true that many of the great basketball players are also some of the best athletes in the world but it's also true that not all great athletes are great basketball players.  There are a lot of factors that come into play when we are talking about what makes great basketball players and one of them is footwork. We will spend some time on this topic and try...

10 Fundamentals for Proper Footwork : Proper footwork is the foundation of the game of basketball. Building a skill-set of solid footwork techniques can ensure the proper development of 12-year-old youth players and high school players. Some footwork techniques included here are time-tested basic fundamentals. Others may be completely...

Here at TBL we've spent years refining our coaching philosophy. Early on in our coaching careers, we spent little time looking at footwork and how important it is in basketball. We just assumed that if you do enough reps of a skill you would eventually get the footwork down as a by product. The older we've gotten and the longer we've been coaching the more we've come to realize that if you take the time to coach kids the proper footwork the better they will become as basketball players. Basketball is about coordination and about quickness. Spending time working on footwork helps with both. As a matter of fact, if you spend time once a week for half an hour doing footwork skills you will become quicker. This is a fact because you are committing the practiced skills to muscle memory the more you do them thus making them become second nature to you. So if you want to speed up your shot off the dribble you don't necessarily want to rush your shot but rather speed up the...

I have been coaching 5-6 year olds for the past few years. During that time I have been able to see first hand what kids at that age thrive on and what they need work on. The one thing kids that age really love to do is run. At this age, kids will run all day. This is especially true if they are having fun while doing it. You may be asking how does running help kids get better at basketball. The answer to that question lies in the fact that at this age kids are still working on perfecting their fine motor skills and coordination. Running helps with both coordination and fine motor skills as do many other basketball related footwork drills. I like running the following drills in practice: Stance Running sprints forward Running backwards Defensive slides Hopping forward/backwards over line with 2 feet Hopping side to side over line with 2 feet Hopping forwards/backwards over line with 1 foot Hopping side to side over line with 1 foot Standstill jump 2 feet Standstill...

Found this video which shows Kobe Bryant and what his mindset is when he is out on the wing with the ball in his hands. He says that when he has the ball in his hands, he looks past the man who is guarding him. He knows he can beat him. What he is looking at is how the defense is lining up behind the man who is guarding him. This will determine what he does with the ball.

Expanding on our topic from yesterday, we continue our discussions on perimeter footwork using Jay Wright's teaching methods. Enjoy!

Jay Wright is a coach who believes in trying to get the best out of his players. He doesn't rely on his players just being the best athletes on the floor. He prefers to teach them the footwork required to be more comfortable when playing. Check out this short video on jab steps and how he trains his players to feel comfortable using these moves.

Below is a full court shooting drill that is awesome for getting shots up in a short period of time and for conditioning.  In addition, this drill helps players practice passing and their footwork on the catch and shoot.  This is a great drill to run in season, especially if you have limited practice time.

In basketball the rip is one of the moves that all players should get into the habit of using.  This move allows the person with the ball an opportunity to create space when being guarded closely and can also allow that person to begin a drive by the defender who is covering them.  The are 3 types of rip moves and all 3 can be effective when properly used.

Nice video on how to get open on the wing when you are being overplayed. Video includes some nice drills to run in practice.

One of our mottoes here at That Basket Life is take nothing for granted.  This is why we spend a lot of time covering topics like pivots, and close-outs and all sorts of topics related to footwork and screening.  They may be boring on the surface but if you master the details you will become a better more efficient basketball player.  In this post's discussion we are covering another one of these boring yet important topics.  Specifically, we will be discussing some of the more popular cuts involved in basketball.  Cuts are very important in basketball.  So important that in order to stand a chance to challenge a defense, any offense should have at least some sort of cutting action in it. Some of the cuts we'll be covering below are: Basic Cut V-Cut L-Cut Flash Cut Backdoor Cut Curl Cut Loop Cut UCLA Cut Flare Cut Laker Cut

Continuing on our recent posts about various pieces of footwork, today we will discuss the topic of defensive slides.  Defensive slides are a bit of a misnomer because you don't really want to slide your feet when you are doing this piece of footwork.  As a matter of fact, if you slide your feet while doing this it will make you slower not faster.  The main goal when sliding is to try to stay in front of the man you are covering.

Here is another post on one of the most important but often neglected parts of the game.  As I've mentioned before, footwork is so important yet so often neglected by coaches.  It should be a part of every practice especially early in the season and often reinforced during the year. In an effort to cover all of the important elements of footwork, I am prepared to discuss another of the essentials.  Closeouts are a very important part of the game.  Closeouts are the moves a defender tries to make to cover a man who generally has the ball.  The quicker you close out the better off you will be.  There are different steps to a good closeout: Dig deep and sprint to the man you are closing out on as quickly as possible. Once you are about 2/3 of the way there begin chopping your feet.  This serves 2 purposes: It helps you slow down and prevents you from over running the offensive player. It keeps you in balance and your feet close to the ground in an...

Below is a great video on the jump stop.  The jump stop one of the most powerful moves in basketball.  It combines power and control especially in the paint.  I will have a whole article on the beauty of the jump stop soon but for now this is a nice video.

Footwork Progressions for all ages.

This is a cool video showing how important footwork is to the game of basketball.