Choosing Athletic Skill Drills

Selecting skill drills is a very important decision that might make the difference between your success and failure.

You see, practicing the wrong motor patterns can spell doom when it comes down to game time. Everybody that’s been in a big game will tell you that the intensity is at a high level and it’s all about reactionary movement.

Your reactions can also be enhanced by that of natural instincts but that in itself is a completely individual thing. Natural instincts detecting
movement and intent for movement are paramount in any game where the strategies of invasion is present. For example, the actual basket is the invasion point in a basketball game.

This is why its crucial to select the right drills that prepare you for the movements that occur within the game. For example, a shooting drill you select must contain movement. Standing and shooting only
improves standing and shooting.

When you have to move to advance and effectively handle momentum shifts with your balance to get a shot off it will be a slightly different story. I would estimate a person that stands and shoots will make 20% of their shots during competition.

Now, think about the actual position you play during games and the lanes you run in…Think about how available you are to the basketball and your teammates at all times…Could you be more available?…

These questions and answers will allow to to get to the grass root of things. Now, with that, lets move onto another pivotal factor; confidence during
competition. When you do the right drills with game like intensity and focus, competition flows.

This is when everything seems effortless and all the shots go in. If youve never experienced this its due to a lack of the right drills that build confidence to produce in the clutch.

Its common to know that a good shooter makes half his shots. Whats often overlooked is shooting drills and game time shots are two completely different things. When someone is in your face and theres crowd in the house its different than a drill during an empty practice gym.

Two completely different environmental factors that give way to tremendous adrenaline and energy potential. When you have confidence in yourself, you can draw energy from that environment like a continuous force of controlled adrenaline. Trust me, when you dunk on someone with thousands of fans cheering, you dont get tired.

When you select your skill drills look to break down exactly what you really doing. Break it down like this, hand/eye accuracy, foot/eye accuracy, periphery, etc…Otherwise training for basketball or any other sport seems like it has to be ten thousand drills a day.