Five-Day Basketball Training

Basketball requires particular ball-handling skills, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning and lower and upper body strength. A well-developed basketball training schedule will take into account all facets of the game such as offense and defense, skills and conditioning. Following a consistent, five-day training routine will improve your or your team's basketball skills. Depending on players' age and training session time, sessions can be adjusted.

  1. Holistic Approach

    • There are several categories of what needs to be addressed in a holistic approach to basketball training. You must train players in defensive skills including guarding, rebounding, blocking and stealing. Offensive skills including dribbling, passing, screening (for a teammate with the ball), and shooting must be taught. Conditioning must be improved via strength, aerobic conditioning (70-90% maximum heart rate for 20 to 30 minutes) and anaerobic conditioning (85-95% maximum heart rate for short periods followed by about a minute of lower intensity work).

    Warm Up

    • Training sessions ought to begin with warm ups and stretching, which help to avoid injury. Warm-up routines can be found at sites such as www.basketball-plays-and-tips.com or the many coaching books available at libraries and bookstores. Be sure to customize your training according to the age of the players. Your training should be focused on raising the team from the level they are at to an improvement, not perfection.

    Weight Lifting

    • If your team members are over 18 years old, weight lifting can be integrated into the training schedule. Each team member ought to have detailed records of their accomplishments and goals. Weight lifting can be used on alternate days from scrimmages and on-court time.

    Defensive Drills

    • Defensive drills can be found on sites such as www.sport-fitness-advisor.com or online videos about basketball training. After warm-ups, explain the concept you want to teach, such as not giving the center of the court to the offensive player. Line the team up (for example two teams of five each). Have one team dribble the ball and the other team work at the skill of denying the center. After 30 seconds, blow your whistle and have the students switch roles as defender and dribbler.

    Schedule Suggestions

    • If your sessions are only an hour long, you may schedule warm ups for 15 minutes, specific drills for 20 minutes, scrimmage for 10 minutes then 15 minutes of reviewing what you learned, warm-downs or a lesson such as watching a video of a professional game where students can see top athletes performing what they just learned.

    Offensive Drills

    • On the second day, you may keep the same basic schedule, but this time work on offensive drills. You may include a brief review session from the previous day's class. Teach concepts such as dribbling, shooting and passing techniques. You can end with shooting games such as "Horse" or again with a scrimmage.

    Review and Fine Tuning

    • On the third day, you may want to leave the court and focus only on strength and conditioning. Have the team run, lift weights, swim and get themselves in better shape. On the fourth day, you may want to return to the court and learn a new offensive or defensive skill. Based on your observations during scrimmages or actual games, you should be able to spot weaknesses. The fourth day is a great time to work on those weak spots. On the fifth day, review everything learned during the past week. Have the team perform the drills. Have the team rest one or two days, and repeat the five-day training schedule.