If you look at any of the great basketball post players in the game today, you will quickly realize that they all have good footwork and soft hands. On the contrary, you can see plenty of post players with great size, athleticism, etc. But they cannot catch the ball to finish or are constantly shuffling their feet for a travel once they do get the ball.
This basketball drill is going to really help to develop a player’s footwork and hand-eye coordination. That way, they will first catch the ball and then secondly finish with quick, efficient footwork around the basket.
Basketball Drill Overview
Drill Name: Alternating Forwards and Backwards Foot Ups Tennis Ball Basketball Drill
Equipment Needed: 1 Basketball, 1-2 tennis balls, and 1 partner.
Similar Basketball Drills and Resources
- Foot Ups Footwork Basketball Drill
- Foot Ups Side to Side Footwork Basketball Drill
- Figure 8 Footwork Basketball Drill
Goals of the Drill
- Work on developing footwork and hand-eye coordination.
Coaching Points
- Do your best not to let your heels touch the ground when doing the drill; stay light on your feet.
- Tosser should make challenging tosses so that the player must extend their arms out to catch the tennis ball.
Basketball Drill Instructions
- The player will start with their right foot up on the ball and their left foot on the ground, and the partner will face the player with a tennis ball in each hand.
- To start this basketball footwork drill, the partner will call out forward or backward, and the player must start moving the basketball in the direction called out, alternating which foot touches the ball each time.
- While this is happening, the partner will toss tennis balls to the player, which they must catch and toss back.
- At any time, the partner can change the movement to forward or backward.
- Continue the drill for 60 seconds.
