Chitika

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Developing A Killer First Step

By Aaron Williams


Being able to move with the basketball is very important to your abilities to score when you're on the floor. We all know how important the triple threat position is in basketball, but what about getting past your defender in a quick way, that reduces their likelihood of recovering, and increases your odds of getting a quality shot when you're on the perimeter. Well in that case, you're talking about the basketball first step.

When you look at the highest levels of basketball in the world, you will notice that all of the best players have the ability to take advantage of the player that is guarding them, especially if they are being guarded closely by their defender. Getting to the basket helps not only you, but your teammates as well, and it's one of the things that makes the star players in fact stars.

Fundamentals Of A First Step

Keep in mind that the player that is your match up during a game has to see what you are doing, and then react to it. In other words, this takes time for his brain to process what you're doing, and then make a defensive reaction to it. This gives you a small advantage, and is why the first step in basketball is so powerful, especially if you're a lot quicker than the person that is guarding you.

The whole goal of the first step is to get your body past your defender. When this happens, and especially in a half court situation, the only thing they can do is foul you or hope that their teammates will be there to help them out.

Attacking The Closest Foot- When you have the ball and you're in your triple threat position, this is what you should be looking for in a player that's guarding you. You want to if possible use your first step on the defenders foot that is closest to you. When you do this, your defender will have to drop back his foot to attempt to get back into a proper defensive position on you to keep you from scoring the basketball, this takes more time for the defender, which gives you an advantage of getting completely past him.

You can increase the effectiveness of the first step by adding in foot jabs, and shakes with the ball before you make your aggressive first step on the defender.

The Misdirection Move- A good way to mix up your plan of first step attacks is to use a misdirection before you make the first step. This is making a jab to a defender while keeping your body low, and looking in the direction you're jabbing, then simply going the other way.

Something else that you can use is a shot fake that will help you get to the basket easier, especially if you are a great jump shooter. This will help to make your first step more effective.

You should be working on improving your first step, as well as your quickness and foot speed. This will help to make you much more harder to defend on the court, and give you better looks at the basket.




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