FOOTWORK DRILLS

In all offensive systems footwork or pivots, stops and turns
are the medium offensive players use to elude the defensive men.
Players must be able to stop and start rapidly; they must be
able to change their direction and pace suddenly to throw their
defensive men off guard; they must be equipped with some of
the standard footwork or pivots, such as the forward pivot,
the reverse pivot, and the stride stop; and they must have the
knowledge of when to use this footwork and the habit drill or
practice that makes the execution automatic. Players will prac-
tice shooting and passing for long periods of their own volition,
but the practice of footwork occupies a similar position to the
practice of bodily contact work in football. There is a lot of
drudgery connected with the practice of footwork, but interest
may be injected by using different drills from time to time and
in mixing the drills on footwork with drills on other funda-
mentals.

CH THE CHAIR DRILL
\ Place a chair or other obstacle on the floor. Have the men
\ dribble to this obstacle and execute the various footwork of
@ stops and turns.
‘ The drill is recommended in early season work where the
e various steps in the fundamentals are being stressed. The value
®@ of the drill decreases as the routine of the fundamental is less
& stressed and more importance is placed on speed and utility of
the footwork.
)
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A

SINGLE LINE PIVOT AND RETURN PASS

The player dribbles straight down the floor, executes the
pivot to be used and passes back to the next man in line who
continues the drill.

The coach should insist on the players keeping far enough
away from the sidelines that the footwork involved will not
carry them out of bounds.

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