Footwork Pivot Basketball Drill Pt. 2

In our first basketball Drill of the Month, I explained how to do the “footwork-pivot-line” drill but mainly focused on the simple forward pivot.

In part 2, we’ll focus on the more complicated reverse pivot, which surprisingly many players struggle to do … even in high school!

To recap, the drill is set up in the below steps:

#1 Players line up on the baseline and free throw lane line facing the elbow.

#2 Players dribble up the elbow with their outside hand and jump stop to triple threat at the elbow.

#3 Before the drill, the coach tells the players which kind of pivot they should do – left foot forward, left foot reverse, right foot forward, or right foot reverse – and players do that pivot at the elbow.

#4 Again before the drill, the coach tells the players which kind of pass they should do – 2-hand bounce, 2-hand chest, 1-hand side chest, or 1-hand side bounce – and players make that pass after the pivot.

In the video in part 1, you can see that the players were instructed to do a forward pivot, which is how I think this drill should always start.

Then, in the above part 2, you can see the players moved to the reverse pivot, which is much harder for players to do, especially when you layer in different passing instructions.

If you watch the video, you will see some common mistakes made by players, including:

#1 Not dribbling with their outside hand.

#2 Going too quickly with their jump stop and pivot, which sometimes causes a travel.

#3 Pivoting with the wrong foot.

#4 Throwing a bad pass or the incorrect pass.

Overall, most of these mistakes are caused by players trying to go too fast, so instructing them to slow down and THINK as they do the drill is recommended.

In our next Drill of the Month, I’ll focus on how to make this drill into a competition, which really keeps the players engaged and having fun!