Speed, agility and quickness are a great asset in basketball. The ability to move fast, quick and efficiently while changing direction, shuffling or backpedaling is instrumental to the overall success of the player and team. To enhance the game speed of your players, first analyze their basic running mechanics. It is essential to master basic running techniques, just as it is important to master the basic skills of basketball such as dribbling and foul shooting.

To learn to run using proper technique, a player’s bodies should remain in proper alignment both in a game situation and when executing drills focused on speed enhancement. The player’s shoulders should stay squared and relaxed. The torso should not rotate and his/her elbows should be kept at approximately 90 degrees. The elbows should swing loosely from the shoulders and kept close to the body. The player’s hands should be loose and not in a tight fist. When players clench their fists when moving, they tighten their shoulders. This could cause fatigue earlier in the game and hinder both speed and shooting ability.

When attacking to get a loose ball, the player’s hands should go no higher then chin level and should drive the elbows forcefully backwards. This will help develop a quicker first step and acceleration to the ball. When the player is put in a situation in which he/she must accelerate to the ball at a rapid rate, he/she should focus on fully extended the push off leg, and driving the opposite knee. This will help create maximum power and drive for the player.

Often basketball players execute a barrage of suicide drills to “make them faster”. However, if you look at an actual basketball game you see moves much more complex than those incorporated in the “suicide drills”. During a game, players are constantly moving in a multitude of directions—forward, sideways, diagonal, backwards. They have many short repeated burst of explosive activity with an average lapse of about 20 seconds between each burst. In order for players to improve their game speed, they will have to be trained the way they are taxed in a game situation.

Here is a list of drills that will help you to improve game speed for basketball.