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Speed Training and Basketball

johnmakell

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

A prerequisite to reading this blog is to first read my Preparing Athletes for Sports That Feature Starting, Stopping, and Changes of Direction blog. I may repeat some things from that blog but certainly won't go into as much detail.


It goes without saying, that preparing the players to execute the fundamentals on the court is the most important thing. I submit, however; that helping the basketball player to maximize explosiveness and speed to get from point A to point B without having to deal with opponents and other responsibilities, can be a very important part of the learning progression.


Some athletes, without being told anything are better than others at coordinating their actions and recruiting the right muscles to push-off explosively into some kind of sprint, have their body aligned well during the process, as well as doing a good job of keeping the body segments in front of the body while minimizing any action that occurs to the back of the body. A visual that can be observed is when running, the thigh of the leg that is pushing off should travel no more than just a little bit past being in line with the torso, and then will recover up in front of the body. This is referred to as having good front side mechanics. When the body is in a position where the hips and torso are angled forward, ie; during the start and initial acceleration, the same thigh to torso relationship applies.


In regard to various sports, a key aspect is what the athlete is preparing to accomplish. In a race, the athlete is simply trying to get from Point A to Point B efficiently and effectively, which doesn't include navigating through opponents, trying to score, defend, etc... Efficient movement basics, however; still apply, in some form or fashion.


As for front side mechanics, it is definitely easier to be effective at decelerating, changing direction, stopping, etc..., when the legs are recovering up in front of the body as they should, feet under the center of gravity, and in the appropriate dynamic posture for the given sequence. Meaning, that an athlete that runs with too much backside mechanics has a harder time being effective in these situations. The same goes for having good trunk and shin discipline (explained in the Preparing Athletes for Sports That Feature Starting, Stopping, and Changes of Direction blog.


Check out this Fastest NBA Players of All-Time video for examples of what an asset speed can be on a basketball court. It is important to note, however; that although an athlete may be elite, may be explosive, very fast, etc..., it doesn't mean that he/she is using sound mechanics to run, jump, land from a jump, etc..., and some flaws in running technique may lead to injury, see video.  


Training for speed also can be a very important part of knee care training, as properly recruiting the glutes and hamstrings are important for knee care as well. In my mind, considering knee care should be mandatory for sports that include jumping, cutting, and pivoting like basketball, soccer, and volleyball. FYI - Non-contact ACL tears are especially prevalent in these sports, especially among females. Although the injury rate is not as great among males, they also need to give attention to knee care as well. In my opinion it is a mistake to conduct a program meant to increase explosive performance in basketball players without also giving attention to the knee care aspect.


When sprinting, during the start and initial acceleration, the head is angled downward, and the eyes are focused downward. When engaging opponents on the basketball court, however; although the hips and torso may be angled forward, the head is basically up, to be able to have adequate vision. The hanging forward that is done during the drive phase on the track is replaced by whatever is most appropriate for the skills that need to be executed.


A lot of basketball is obviously played with the athletes not moving very fast but who must be ready at a moment's notice to move explosively and powerfully. This is where body alignment and movement efficiency during the lesser intense movement becomes very important, and this, of course, must be done in a fundamentally sound manner in regard to the basketball situation, ie; the ballhandler must keep the ball protected.


Since jumping is such a big part of basketball, attention needs to be put into whether or not the athlete is setting up the jump effectively. The next to last step before a jump is called the penultimate step and plays a critical role in setting up the jump. Check out this Penultimate Step Video as well as this video which shows the penultimate step during one leg jumps.


One huge benefit in coaches and players becoming familiar with the mechanics that support speed is that when watching film, there can be a better understanding of what went right during those instances when the player looked exceptional. Understanding what happened can better enable the player to be able to replicate that more frequently.

  

My suggestion for a big picture off-season plan is:

 

1. Basic conditioning which, along with running, includes; good bending, good glute and hamstring recruitment to start movement in a variety of ways. Assess athletes ability to bend properly.

 

 

 

4. Jumping, hopping, landing, cutting, pivoting, stopping, and back pedaling skills, first without a ball and without game-like competition to help instill basics while assessing what athletes have concerns. Before adding a ball and competitive game-like situations and games, have a plan for those that have demonstrated significant injury risk during assessments, so obviously there has to be some note taking and recording of what is observed while assessing the athletes.

 

5. Add the ball and competitive game-like situations, drills, and games.

 

 

At the end of the day, the goal is for all players to be able to play basketball, executing the skills and movements at a high level and in a safe fashion. Once again, it goes without saying that first and foremost, the bottom line is that basketball players need to be prepared for all of the demands of their position, but obviously, some of these demands have to do with speed in various ways, and like it or not, coaches, easily fall in love with speed. So please check out my blogs that detail sprinting and allow time for the lessons to translate into performances on the court.

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Runners Taking Off

               The Start Doctor

The start of a race can set the table for success throughout the rest of the race. Although executing key fundamental aspects of running, and the top speed (max velocity) attained in the race are of the utmost importance, the skill of executing and managing various aspects, ie; things that affect stride length, stride frequency, running position(s), and the quality of the ground contacts during the start and initial acceleration, not only impacts performance during the early portion of the race, but also can put the athlete in position to maximize the quality and effectiveness of the top speed. For sprinters in the sport of track and field, the starting blocks provide an angled platform to push off against to launch into the race. A failure to skillfully utilize the starting blocks impacts the basic elements I previously alluded to and can negatively affect the rest of the race. A problem, however; is that there must be an effective teaching strategy because using starting blocks can provide quite a challenge for athletes of all ages and stages of maturity. My suggestion is to focus on skillfully starting and accelerating from various positions without blocks before adding starting blocks. Read on for the learning progression that I use to develop fundamentally sound starting block use. This teaching method can also be used to enhance the abilities of starting, stopping, changing direction, and achieving top speed effectively during other sports where prowess in these areas is important.

Ironically

This is not to say that athletes need to spend an inordinate amount of time throughout the year practicing starts. As a matter of fact, in the sport of track, many training runs, are not done by starting and accelerating very explosively in order to save the legs from excessive wear and tear, and as I said above, it is the top speed (max velocity), that is the primary consideration. In my opinion this includes the top speed attained in sub max training runs, as the athlete can demonstrate the ability to react and respond effectively and coordinate movements, along with the timing and rhythm to maximize efficiency at the various speeds and intensities, with the idea being for the athlete to develop the ability to maximize running efficiency and effectiveness at any pace. I also maintain that even when moving into starts, ie; with a roll, hop, etc..., or otherwise starting and accelerating in a lesser intense manner, that these reps can still support the development of body control and the maximizing of performance that I just alluded to. When in sufficient condition, and during an appropriate time in the training period, it of course, is beneficial to get reps starting explosively and moving toward and into top speeds in a similar manner that is done during competitions. Doing so allows the athlete the opportunity to master operating with the body and its parts moving through angles, paths, trajectories and applying force in ways that correspond with competitive intensities. When not in sufficient condition, however; repeated intense sprinting can lead to injury. Check out my blogs for my take on maximizing sprint success.

Some Limiting Factors 

Various limiting factors are critical components. Some of these factors are strength, flexibility, mechanics, and conditioning. Much of the information in my blogs pertain to mechanics, but I hope to make it clear how technical aspects are supported by various physical abilities. I believe it is important for coaches to attempt to assess their athletes early on to try to identify what mechanics are already being executed skillfully, as well as which are not, and what physical abilities are strengths, and which are weaknesses. This should allow the coach(es) to individualize instruction to some degree. When dealing with youths, age-appropriateness is an important consideration in this regard. Coaches need to be able to recognize various limitations athletes may have at the varying levels of maturity and developmental stages as they are trying to accomplish various tasks. Read my blogs for my take on these matters. This very importantly includes recognizing and understanding elite level performances, and identifying areas that even the elite athletes may need to improve upon as well!

Flexibility

It is important not to underestimate the importance of flexibility. For child athletes, their flexibility is most often very impressive, but with maturity, as the muscles and tendons strengthen, flexibility inevitably lessens. According to Ralph Mann," The biggest non-genetic factor affecting flexibility, however, is neglect." He explained the critical role flexibility plays, stating, "If a sprinter is not flexible enough in their pelvic area to shift their hips forward at Touchdown, then they are forced to "sit back" at foot strike. This position not only shifts the body center back (insuring more braking forces) but also presents a "soft" (less rigid) body position which leads to time consuming hip flexion, as well as requiring the hips to move through a longer range of motion (both time and energy wasteful).

In my mind, gaining an understanding of the movements described in the previous Mann quote, and recognizing their part in the athlete's movement up the track from the start of the race, through initial acceleration and top speed is foundational. There are varying degrees of flexibility and ranges of motion demonstrated by successful sprinters. Understanding what Mann explained can help coaches identify various methods of compensation athletes may use, as well as help coaches consider strategies to address root causes of various movement issues. Left unaddressed, some issues not only can hamper performance, but also can lead to injury. It is important to realize that athletes at all levels exhibit compensatory actions related to body structure/development, previous injuries, etc... Although I certainly am not an expert in this area, I hope to provide helpful information in some of my blogs. I participated in the Altis Apprentice Coach Program this past summer in Atlanta, and it made a huge impression upon me when I saw the attention the athletes got on the therapy tables, getting massages and other forms of body work meant to address various issues that if untreated, could have been problematic. 

Strength/Conditioning

There is obviously a significant genetic component to strength, but a major challenge for the coach is to adequately address the static, dynamic, and elastic strength needs, as well as getting the athlete to apply these abilities effectively when sprinting. As with flexibility, being able to identify various functional strength needs can be very valuable, and as with flexibility, various functional strength aspects support good technique, ie; joint stability. My "Physical Development" blog covers this as well as conditioning

Important Aspects of Starting Positions Are Shared to Some Degree 

 

Learning to position, balance, and coordinate movements to react quickly and get out and up the track effectively includes recruiting key muscle groups and utilizing reflexes to start explosively while utilizing good ranges of motion. Learning to do this from the "standing start" position not only can carry over to other sports where movements are initiated from a standing position but can also provide valuable carryover abilities to the 4-point and 3-point starting stances used during sprints. A key issue in my mind, is that many athletes don't feel they are able to react well and move explosively and effectively up the track from the standing position unless allowed to cheat, ie, roll or otherwise move into the start. This leads many to feel that putting one or two hands on the ground is a basic necessity for getting a good start when not allowed to cheat, as well as feeling that having starting blocks to push off from is a necessity in order to get a good start. This belief can lead to a failure to develop positioning and balancing methods that can lead to maximizing performances from the other starting positions, not to mention that many sprinters cheat during block starts also, and as I've said, an effective start and initial acceleration, makes it easier to flow into an effective max velocity. 

In Addition

Check out this reflexes link also (other link in previous paragraph). Forming an understanding of the roles that reflexes play, as much as anything, can help coaches better understand the high-level performances that they are looking at, and help them to better build upon and enhance these athletes' successes. At an elite or close to elite level, most of the sprinters exhibit impressive reflexes and powerful movements that occur at 4.5 - 5 strides per second, yet some sprinters are obviously consistently better than the others. I hope to be able to describe in my blogs a learning progression that can help identify areas that even elite athletes can improve upon and lead to an improvement in their sprint performances. Read on!

How Speed Development Impacts Other Sports

In a perfect world, I believe that speed training should occur in the off-season where the athlete doesn't have to be overly concerned with quickly seeing results on the field, court, pitch, etc... Having said that, I do believe that the balls, implements, sport specific movements, etc..., need to be adequately incorporated in the speed training, ie; dribbling a basketball, soccer ball, defensive movements, etc... My blogs on incorporating speed into specific sports include videos of how some of the fastest athletes in those sports looked during game play. Once again, athletes should not lose sight of the primary objective still being to effectively execute the fundamentals of the sport. An example is how basketball players are to jump off of one foot under control to shoot a layup after dribbling down the court very fast. A fundamental of jumping events in track applies here. The speed needs to be under control enough to execute the jump effectively, and the last few steps are important for executing this. In my " Speed Training for Basketball" blog I go into the details. There is also the aspect of preparing the joints, tendons, and musculature for the stresses that an improvement of speed may have when starting, stopping, changing direction, jumping/landing, and achieving top speed during play. My blogs address this as well.  

My Blogs

Below are the titles of a series of blogs where I go in depth into particular topics. Most of the blogs, however; are less than a 5-minute read. The exception is my The Start is Actually the first Three Steps blog, which is a 9-minute read and pretty much lays the foundation for the rest of the blogs. In regard to sports that feature jumping, pivoting, and changes of direction, I suggest first reading my Care for the Knees blog, as it includes valuable information about the possible susceptibility to non-contact ACL Tears and how possibly to help prevent them. Even if you first read my Preparing Athletes for Sports That Feature Starting, Stopping, and Changes of Direction blog, you will see how it is necessary to get the information from the other blogs.

That aside, my suggestion is to read the blogs in the order you see below.  You'll notice that I have numerous blogs listed before the blogs that describe the particular starting positions. This is intentional, in order to give you a good overall view before considering the starting positions. You can easily access the blogs using the "Blog" button at the top of this page, then click on each blog that you want to read. You will probably have to scroll down to the "Start is Three Steps" blog. If viewing this on your phone, click on the three lines in the search box at the top of the page, then click on "Blog". I welcome your comments, but I admit, this being a new site, I'm not sure how easy it is to post a comment. I plan to check and respond periodically. 

My Availability

I am located in Lexington, South Carolina. The school where I teach Physical Education and coach Track is in session, so, of course, I am occupied with that. You may contact me at youthspeedcoach@gmail.com to see when I am able to consult with groups, ie; track teams/clubs, football teams, soccer teams, basketball teams, etc..., as well as with individuals and small groups for training.

Now Posted

The Start is Actually the First Three Steps!

The Initial Acceleration Beyond the Start

Rotational and Linear Aspects of Sprinting

Effective Recruitment and Coordination of Key Muscle Groups

Developing a Good Standing Start

The Three-Point and Four-Point Starts 

 

Max Velocity (Top Speed) in a Short Sprint

Physical Development and Resistance Training for Sprinters

Sample Early Season Training for Your Sprint - Jump - Hurdle Groups

Running the 40-Yard Dash

Care for the Knees During Sports That Involve Jumping, Pivoting, and Cutting

Preparing athletes for Sports That Feature Starting, Stopping, and Changes of Direction

Applying Sprinting Skills and Speed to the Football Field

Speed Training and Basketball

Speed Training and Soccer

Contact me at youthspeedcoach@gmail.com for other topics you would like me to address

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