I have been coaching the post players here at Paintsville High School since 2003.  In that time I have come across many different drills that I have incorporated into a “post workout” for my players.  I try to improve on it each season and add or take things away as the personnel changes.  High school post players are much different from any other level, especially at a small school like Paintsville.  Our post players are in the 6’3” – 6’4” range, and I have yet to coach what I would define a true “post player.”  This is a problem in schools that only have 250-300 total students.  However, this has also given me another perspective on how to coach the post.  I have been able to give my players the ability to use their skills as jump shooters and passers and incorporate them into our post game.  I feel that this has made them better overall basketball players and it allows them to be more of a part of our system.

The following is a sample post workout during a regular practice at Paintsville High School.  Please note that all of these drills usually include 4-6 post players and help from another coach or manager.  I try to alternate the drills as much as I can to get the players away from the same thing every day.  What follows is just a sample workout, it does not include all of the drills that we do, but it consists of a good portion of what we do in our guard/post breakdown sessions during one of our practices.

FOOTWORK (5-7 minutes)

I try to begin all of my post workouts with a footwork drill.  This gets the players moving and “loose” before work in the post begins, and gets some conditioning work done as well.

Bunny Hops

We have bleachers that include 30-35 steps.  We like to have our post players do a round of four bunny hops to begin the footwork drill up the steps to the top, then jog across to the opposite end and jog down to where they began and start all over again.  This is used for conditioning purposes as well as explosive strength techniques.

Ladder Drill

It would be nice to have a plastic ladder to lie on the floor to do this drill, but here at Paintsville we don’t, so we use the entire court baseline (it works just as well!).  This drill is broken down into different parts and names and the players are to go “down-and-back” along the baseline.

We begin with what we call the side-to-side drill.  Begin on one side of the baseline (right or left side is up to you) and face your players down the line.  Have them begin by hoping (short/quick hops) over the baseline, with both feet together, all the way down to the end.

Once this drill is completed we will go to the outside-in drill.  Begin with the player straddling the baseline.  They will hop, bringing their feet together on the baseline, and then hop spreading their feet to where they began, then repeat all they way down the baseline.

The last drill we do is the front-to-back drill.  We begin the players facing the court, or out of bounds, with both feet on the baseline.  They are to hop with both feet over and back across the baseline for 30 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.  We usually do this drill twice, possibly three times if time allows.

BAD PASS DRILL (5 minutes)

This drill allows for players to work on their - hand-eye coordination; catching bad passes in the post; squaring up after receiving a pass; and conditioning.

Have two groups, evenly spaced apart for ample movement.  Start a player in front of a wall (if preferable – to keep from chasing the ball) and have a coach/manager spaced about 5-10 feet away with a basketball.  The coach/manager will then proceed to throw bad passes at the player (around the ankle/lower leg; to the high/low sides; above the head.)  Once a player catches a “bad pass” they are to “chin the ball.”  This means placing the ball under their chin with their elbows out and ready to make a post move.  Have them catch 15 bad passes before moving on to the next player.

OTHER DRILLS

Some other drills that are useful in the post and that will help you mix it up a little and get away from the same thing every day include the:

Mikan/Reverse Mikan Drill

2 Ball Pick-up (from each block)

This drill begins with a ball on each block, the player who will be participating, a player behind each block as the “receiver,” and a player under the basket as the “passer.”  The player who is participating in the drill begins on one block (whichever one they want to start it is fine).  He grabs the ball of the floor, with the proper technique – knees bent, body balanced, etc.  He will then “chin” the ball, take a drop step to the basket, and go up strong and make a lay-up or dunk the ball.  As soon as the ball goes through the goal the “passer” under the basket throws the ball to the “receiver” where the ball came from and it is then placed on the block.  The player moves to the next block and repeats the process again, then back to where he started and so on.  This drill is repeated for 30 or 45 seconds (coach’s discretion).

This is another good conditioning drill, and one that can have players concentrate on finishing around the rim with contact.  Once the player gets the basics of the drill, the coach can step in with a soft pad and hit the players as they go up for the basket.  If they miss, some type of penalty can be given out (sprints, push-ups, etc.).  This drill can also be used to work on jump hooks/jump shots toward the basket, or to the middle of the lane.  To accomplish moves to the middle, have the players pivot and turn into the middle of the lane repeating the moves going to the basket.

High-post jump shots

Wing jump shots

Short-corner jump shots

War (scoring/rebounding game)

This is a drill that I have used to get the post players to play “physical.”  Take three players and keep them in the paint.  They are going to play 1-on-1-on-1, with no fouls (coaches must moderate the action – rough play is allowed, just no unnecessary/harmful fouls).  The first player to score four baskets wins and is allowed out of the game.  The other two must remain and a new player is added, the game is re-started, and repeated.  If the ball happens to leave the paint, the ball is thrown back to the coach who will then put the ball back in play.

This drill is also a very good drill to use for post players, not just every day.  It allows them to play physically and teaches them to concentrate on scoring the basket while getting fouled.  It is also a very good conditioning drill for the players.  After getting fouled and bumped, in close quarters while trying to score, the players are going to get tired and maybe a little frustrated.  The coach must maintain the rules of the game, keep it in hand, and this drill will be very beneficial to the players in physical games.

3-on-3 Rebounding

Backboard/Rim Touch Drill (Conditioning)

“Baseball Roll” Drill (Footwork/Speed)

This is a drill that I began using this past season with my post players to work on getting them faster in their footwork and lateral movement.  This can be done as a conditioning or footwork drill for post players or for all of your players.  The coach is in the middle of the free throw line facing out of bounds.  The player who is participating in the drill is on the baseline in the middle of the lane, facing the coach.  Before the drill begins the player gets down in a proper defensive stance with their knees bent, hands out, and on the balls of their feet.  The coach will have two balls for this drill and the player will move no farther than two steps outside of the lane.  The coach begins the drill by rolling a ball to the right (or left – coach’s decision) with the player sliding in a defensive stance to “tap” it back to the coach.  As soon as the ball is “tapped” back to the coach from the right side the coach rolls the other ball to the left with the player sliding to tap that ball back to the coach.  This drill is a continuous sliding drill with the player moving to “tap” the ball to the coach from the right and left sides.  I use the drill for 30 seconds per player, with each player going three times.

This drill did improve the overall conditioning of the post players that I tried this with, as well as their lateral movement, especially on defense.  I had the players do this drill either during our post/guard breakdowns in practice, or if we were not going to break down positions on a certain day, I tried to do this with them in the 15 minutes before practice started.  This drill is great because it can be done quickly, effectively, and it gets some conditioning done.

In my follow up article, I will leave the warm ups and drills to concentrate on the specific moves I emphasize with my players.