a youth basketball coaching and athletic resource PowerBasketball.com | Site Map | About Us | Contact Us | Advertise | ||||
![]() |
Coach's Clinic | Coaching Tips | Fundamentals | Books | Videos | Resources | |||
Speed and Quickness through a Medicine Ball
Lee Taft, MS, CSCS, SPC, USATF, Performance Director, Sports Speed, Etc., Inc. It is no secret that my philosophy in training revolves around natural reactive training. I give the body a chance to do what it does and then clean up the mistakes. Having this philosophy allows me to discover training techniques which enhance my belief. Medicine ball training, if used properly, is just the tool to drive certain reactions in the body to help athletes move better. For example, as soon an athlete picks up the medicine ball the core turns on and becomes much more active. This doesn't necessarily mean the core is functioning 100% correctly, however there is no doubt it turns on and attempts to stabilize the pelvis, ribs, spine and even shoulder girdle against the weight of the ball When an athlete cuts, accelerates or decelerates really aggressively the joints and primary anchor points of the body (pelvis, ribs, spine...) need to be held stable. The core musculature, with the help of the mass and momentum of the ball, will help anchor down these critical areas of the body. Over the past few years, I have made medicine ball training a staple of my training. I have used medicine ball training for decades, but the "Fake Throw" medicine ball training I have recently introduced is really what I'm talking about. "Fake Throw" training simple means the athletes will never release the ball. The athlete can hold the ball still or act like the ball is going to be thrown never releasing it. Having to maintain correct postures against the mass and momentum of the ball is a fantastic training tool. The premise behind "Fake Throws" is the athlete must use body control to maintain correct postures against the mass and momentum of the ball. Some of the positive reactions I have seen are:
I introduced "fake throw" training to my girl's basketball program and I am so impressed with how it has helped their change of direction during a lateral shuffle. My team also does a lot of jumping and landing with the ball which forces them to keep proper postures. Yours in Speed, Lee Taft
Please contact me at info@sportsspeedetc.com if you have any questions.
NOTICE:All material on this web site is copyrighted. No article may be reproduced or redistributed in any form or manner without the expressed written consent of the respective author. Commercial reproduction is not permitted without the written permission of the Coaching Staff at PowerBasketball.
|
PARTNERS | ||||||||
SmartHoops Learn to Think the Game (Grades 6-9) with Richard Ford |
Better Basketball Fundamentals and Training DVD's for the Player and Coach |
Championship Productions helping individuals and teams realize their fullest potential |
||||||
Open since October 21, 1998. Copyright © 1998- PowerBasketball. All rights reserved. No part of PowerBasketball, either text or image may be used for any purpose other than personal use. This includes framing of web content, modification, reproduction, storage in a retrieval system or retransmission, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise is strictly prohibited without prior written permission. You agree to abide by our Disclaimer, Updated Privacy Policy, and Terms of Use. |