COACHING POINTS
Its all about keeping the game simple here. Often times, players are overly focused on dribble moves. What it really comes down to is changing speeds, keeping your eyes up and having an explosive first step.
As coaches, it is advantageous to teach players the bio-mechanics of an optimal first step. From there, they should be encouraged to simplify the game by simply changing speeds before executing their attack. This will not only simplify things, it will help players keep their eyes up, seeing the floor beyond their individual defender.
If players already have quality dribble moves, an explosive first step will help them improve. If players learn how to change speeds first, and than are able to build on it, that is great too.
Here are the bio-mechanical keys to an explosive first step..
1. "DROP" YOUR HIPS FROM LOW TO LOWER
The player should "drop" his hips from low to lower. The wider the stance, the better. Feet staggered, with a back foot and a front foot. Players can stick both feet in the ground at the same time, or they can plant the back foot (the negative step) first, for higher velocity. In either event, the hips have to "drop" in order to create elastic energy.
2. TOTAL RELAXATION
"A relaxed muscle is an explosive muscle." Visualize a rubber band. When it is pulled tight, it cant go much tighter. When it is relaxed, it can stretch much further.
Put more scientifically, to optimize the stretch-shortening cycle, a player needs to maintain relaxation. As the hips drop to the floor, eccentric contraction is creating elastic energy within the body. This elastic energy, upon release, creates explosive movement. (Plyometrics.) The more relaxed the muscles are, the greater the eccentric contraction. The greater the eccentric contraction the greater the elastic energy.
3. FALL INTO THE FIRST STEP
"Falling" is an important que, as it triggers a lot of bio-mechanically friendly positions. First, it gets your body into a "track start" position, which is the most explosive position for creating power in a straight line. This position not only creates power, it naturally protects the ball by placing your shoulder between the ball and the defender. Sometimes players will lunge to far into their first step. Now they are pulling with their hamstring instead of pushing with their glutes. The motor should be in the rear.
Second, falling into the first step creates a better shin angle. On the back foot (the negative step) the shin should be able to get somewhere between a 45-60 degree angle, depending on athletic ability. An optimal shin angle will activate the posterior chain and lead to optimal power into the first step. Sometimes a player will misunderstand this que and their shoulders will actually collapse forward. The shin angle and the torso angle should be the same.
VIDEO EXAMPLES
1. Micah Lancaster Drop Step
2. Jared Harper Iso's
3. Trevor Hudgins Iso's
