Expert Advice from GREG BRITTENHAM, Former Asst. Coach/player Development, New York Knicks.
Taking care of your body away from the court will greatly improve your perfomance on the court. Plyometric exercise are one way that can help. When performed correctly they are safe, fun to do, and go a long way in helping basketball players develop their quickness, speed, agility, and jumping ability.
The purpose of performing plyometric exercise is to increase a player's explosive power. The best part of these drills is that they're easy to do and require very little equipment. When performing the drills concentrate on speed and quickness rather than on how high you are jumping. Here are a few drills to get started. The entire plyometric session shouldn't last more than 15-20 minutes.
JUMP ROPE
Skipping rope is actually a low impact plyometric and a great way to introduce your muscles to the quickness required when performing the drills correctly. Jump rope for about 5-7 minutes to get loose. Remember to stay on your toes.
BOX RUN
Use a small sturdy wooden box or a stair step, no more than 10 inches high. Start with your right foot on the box/step and the left foot on the floor. Jump and simultaneously switch your feet so that the left foot is now on the box and the right is on the floor. Immediately repeat (without stopping). Perform 10-20 switches then rest for 1-2 minutes. Do this drill 3-5 times. This is a good drill to develop sprint speed and jumping ability.
BOX JUMP
Stand with both feet on the same box/step. Your toes are on the edge of the step (your heels are hanging over the edge). Step off backward and land on the floor simultaneously with both feet. Immediately jump back to the top of the box. Concentrate on how quickly you can jump off the floor and back up onto the box. Rest for a second or two and then repeat 10-15 times to complete the set. Rest for 1-2 minutes between sets. Perform this drill 3-5 times. This drill will help your vertical leaping ability.
TOWEL HOP
Spread a towel out on the floor. It will form a rectangle. Start at one corner of the towel and perform a double leg jump around the towel's edges touching all four corners of the rectangle. Perform 3-8 complete "roundtrips" (a roundtrip is one complete revolution touching all four corners) then repeat in the opposite direction for 3-8 roundtrips. Reset 1-2 minutes. Do this drill 3-5 times. This drill will help improve you agility.
LATERAL JUMPS
Now take the same towel and roll it up to form a tube shape. Put a piece of tape around it to hold it in place. Lay the rolled up towel on the floor and stand sideways to the towel. Jump "laterally" (sideways) over the towel. The instant your feet touch the ground on the other side of the towel immediately jump back to the starting position. Repeat back and forth jumping until you have performed 6-10 "roundtrips" (a roundtrip is over AND back).
