How to Improve Basketball Dribbling Speed and Agility

Having good ball handling skills is key to being a strong basketball player. This article focuses on increasing your skills in controlling the basketball at high speed while improving your agility and endurance. The drill is called Lane Blast.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Basketball
• Free Throw Lane (if not on a court, place lines 12 feet apart to simulate the width of the lane)
• Stopwatch

1. Position yourself at one side of the lane with basketball in hand.

2. Set the stopwatch (or any time piece with a second hand) to 30 seconds.

3. Start by dribbling across the lane as quickly as possible. This counts as one repitition.

4. Once you get both feet outside the lane line, do a crossover dribble to switch hands and dribble back across the lane to your starting point.

5. Continue dribbling across the lane for 30 seconds. Be sure to get both feet outside the lane before doing a crossover dribble and coming back to the other side.

6. Count how many repititions you can do in 30 seconds and try to improve each time.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to keep your head up at all times when dribbling--this is a good fundamental.
• Perform different crossover dribbles--front, behind-the-back, between legs.
• Set a goal to improve each week.
• Compete with friends/teammates to drive everyone to improve.