Scouts love to look for lateral quickness in players because they use it to determine that players ability to play solid defense.  Players that are slow laterally have a harder time staying in front of their man on a consistent basis.  Can you work on lateral quickness?  Of course you can.

When you are working on something you have to have what I call measurables or something you are working against.  If I want to get faster I first time myself to see how fast I run and then work to improve it.  Same with anything really that is worth anything.

The Slide and React drill is a great way to test your lateral quickness and improve it by working on it.  Here’s how the drill works:

Start in the middle of the lane, key or paint (whatever you call it).  Get in a good defensive position and be facing the foul line area.  If you are a coach using this drill then point to a corner of the key and have the player slide to the corner and return to the starting point.  This should be timed with a stop watch to truly judge improvement by the players.  If you are doing this drill yourself start in the middle and do every corner while using a stopwatch.  When you have completed the circle record your time and try to beat it. 

For coaches running this drill remember that you don’t have to force them to go in a circle of spots and that you can mix it up.  Typically run the drill for 30 seconds before making them complete the drill by sprinting to the other end of the court and back. 

Don’t forget to truly measure how quickly you are doing this drill so you can determine if your lateral quickness is improving.

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I wanted to devote a blog to one of my favorite products that is being sold on the market right now.  I love the strength shoe.  If you have read any of my articles on www.hoopskills.com you would find that I reference them a lot throughout as they played a huge role in the development of my speed and quickness. 

I had one of the original sets and in fact I still have them today.  They are old and worn down and the tread is absolutely useless at this stage in the game, but I can’t give them up.  Part of it is sentimentality and the other part is loyalty.  How could I throw away something that played such a large role in getting my schooling paid for?

When I was younger and they had just come out people would make fun of my shoes as I played regular games with them.  But when I could compete with players with those shoes on then they knew I’d do better when I took them off.  The most obvious effect for me was in my first step and in my ability to accelerate quickly.  People ask if it helped my jumping and I can’t say that it did, but for many others it has for sure helped their jumping ability. 

I would love to get some comments from other people who have tried them but let me leave with a story of mine.  They didn’t stay in the closet and they weren’t put away when other people were around.  I wore them.  I wore them when I was doing conditioning and I wore them while i practiced each day.  I did all my drills in them and I didn’t allow my results to decrease as a result.  I didn’t let the shoes become an excuse.  Was I a better ballplayer because I wore those shoes?  Yes, I believe I was.  But I can say that I was a better ballplayer because no matter what kind of shoes I was wearing I was playing and working to get better.  That’s what matters and if you get the shoes and work at it you’ll see the results like I did.  Again, i’d love to get some stories on how people have used the shoes or I’ll field questions on them as I get some questions that come in occasionally through the site.

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