Agility ladder drills are used in various kinds of training for sports, fitness, or cross-training. They can assist in improving your footwork, body coordination, ankle stability, and leg strength, among other physical attributes. Here is a list of different agility ladder drills that you can use to enhance your speed, agility, and footwork on the basketball court.Â
Develop a Fleet-Footed Game: Agility Ladder Drills to Include in Training as a Basketball Athlete
Are you looking to leave defenders in the dust whenever you compete on the court? Then make a point of incorporating agility ladder drills in basketball training. To get right into it, here are several exercises you can put into practice.
Linear Speed Ladder Drill
The Linear Speed Ladder Drill is the best way to work on acceleration. When sprinting up and down the basketball court, what separates the good players from the bad is their ability to accelerate through each play. Typically, athletes with better acceleration are more effective ball handlers, better shot makers, and quicker decision-makers. If you are quick, but not fast, you can improve your skills by mastering acceleration.
High Knees Agility Ladder Drill
High knees agility ladder drills benefit your footwork and lateral movement. It is a great way to train in a confined space and improve your agility. It also improves your coordination and speed. When doing this drill, you will want to work with a partner that can help you with resistance or just for safety reasons and in coordination with your movement and exercise timing.
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Lateral Quick Steps Drill
The lateral quick steps drill will quickly get your players up and down the court laterally at game speed. This drill is perfect to teach players how to slide laterally without losing speed. Players will learn how to cut off of 1 foot, while pivoting off of 1 foot, which is essential for pick and roll situations. Â
Jumping Jack Ladder Drill
The aim of this drill is to improve the level jump from a static jump, from one foot onto the other foot. This drill involves using an agility ladder set across the basketball court and performing these jumps as quickly as possible. The complexity of this drill can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the height of the hurdle and the frequency with which obstacles are present in the ladder.
Carioca Ladder Drill
The Carioca ladder drill is a multi-directional drill that mixes basic and lateral movements to effectively improve footwork and agility. Performing the drill with the correct technique will help develop coordination and help players get in a better position to make a play on the ball
Shuffle Speed Ladder Drill
The shuffle speed ladder drills are more of a conditioning drill than anything else. They are similar to the ladder drills but incorporate movements at game speed. These are designed to be incorporated with your team training sessions.Â
The athletes will be running “strides” which helps them improve their footwork and quickness on the court. The second drill incorporates cutting and changing directions. This helps the players learn how to use their feet quicker without having to worry about dribbling or passing the ball.
Lateral Shuffle Speed Ladder Drill
The lateral shuffle speed is one of the agility ladder drills for improving lateral movement without losing power or balance. Perform this drill with either a low or high shoulder crossover run (left and right, respectively), add in crossover jumps, add jumbo steps (long steps over the ladder) and one foot hops off the ladder. You will find yourself more comfortable moving on or around screens on the court.
Boost your agility with these drills!Â
Lateral Single-Foot Jumps Ladder Drill
The lateral single-foot jumps ladder drill will help basketball players improve balance and lateral quickness while simultaneously working on their foot speed. Lateral ladders can also be very beneficial for helping basketball players get quicker off the dribble, which is a common weakness for many basketball players.
Crossover Ladder Drill
The crossover ladder drill is one of the agility ladder drills that are good for foot speed, coordination, balance, quickness, and reaction time. It will help the athlete to improve lateral movement, balance, and overall foot speed. It gives the player a different type of lateral movement to practice that will improve his game.
Hop and Run Ladder Drill
The Hop and Run Ladder Drill will improve your player’s ability to explode off the floor while simultaneously improving cardiovascular endurance. This drill combines a high degree of difficulty with a medium amount of repetitions to maximize conditioning and skill improvement.
Double In, Double Out Ladder Drill
The Double In, Double Out Ladder Drill is a great basketball conditioning drill that will have your players working on their footwork and finishing skills. It should take around 4 minutes to run through the drill, but depending upon the fitness level of your players you can rush or slow up the tempo.
Get Quick on Your Feet
To improve your dribbling skills you can try to run your basketball training session with an agility ladder. The drills are quick and require very little time to boost your footwork, coordination, speed, and other important skills. By including these drills in your basketball training you will quickly make progress toward the top performance of the sport.