Warm-Up Week: Five Drills To Get You Game Ready

Welcome back to Warm-Up Week!  If you missed yesterday’s addition on how we warm up here at TTA and what warming up actually does for your game, be sure to check it out.  Today we’ll focus on five great drills to do whether warming up for a practice, game, or just to shoot around.  Be sure to check in as the week continues for more Warm-Up Week fun.

1. The Three Man Weave: This is a personal favorite because it works on passing, fast break offense, and team chemistry.  If you don’t know it, three people lineup at one side of the court and pass to each other in a weave all the way down court without dribbling.  Every time you pass, you follow the pass, replacing that person who is following their pass.  You’re in constant motion.  It’s a great way to develop timing with teammates.  As you gradually get faster as your body gets warmer start taking jump shots instead of finishing on layups.  If you need some video to get a better idea, check out Austin Toros coach Quinn Synder in this quick video:


2. Gradual Shooting: When you’re warming up it’s about getting your body ready to play.  You should always start shooting from the inside and move outward.  One way to do this is to get in a straight line with the basket, the easiest way to work on your form, and after every make take one step back until you’re shooting a three pointer. You’ll be getting your body slowly ready for the longer shots and get your form consistent.  This is especially good if you are just warming up alone to shoot around.

3. Layup Lines: A staple of warming up in basketball is layup lines.  Two lines across from each other are set up, one goes in for a shot, the other line rebounds and the players continuously switch lines.  Off of this you can work on layups, floaters, off the dribble shots, passes for layups, step-back jumpers, reverse layups and more as you move from one shot to the next.  Layup lines are used heavily for teams warming up for games at all levels.

4. Four Corner Passing: This involves at least eight players who are evenly set up in all four corners of the half court.  Two players who are diagonally across from each start off by passing the ball to the line to the right of them then cut towards the line diagonally from them and get a pass back.  They then pass that ball to the line in front of them and the new person who just caught it passes it back to the person who is now cutting through the middle.  This warm-up drill helps improve passing, timing, cutting, and communication.  It’s a good way for your team to get vocal and develop chemistry before a game or practice.  Check out a video of a team doing the drill here:

5. Figure Eight Dribbling: Our final drill is a dribbling drill you can do anytime.  Take a ball and do a figure eight through your legs with low quick dribbles.  Do a bunch of quick short dribbles through one leg and then pass the ball to you other had for the other leg.  This is a great drill to get your hands used to the ball and ready to control the ball before a game or practice.

If you like this post, here are some others you may enjoy (click title to read):

1. Warm-Up Week: How Does TTA Get Ready To Play?

2. Coach Tony’s 4 Tips to Stay Motivated

3. Five Tips To Get Open Off The Ball

4. A Guide To Rebounding Part One: Proper Positioning