Gardow Drill – Reduce Turnovers and Make More Shots

By Joe Haefner

Gardow Drill – Reduce Turnovers and Make More Shots

This combo drill is for experienced players to learn how…

7 Youth Drill Progressions For Footwork and Passing

By Joe Haefner

7 Youth Drill Progressions For Footwork and Passing

This is one of my favorite drills to teach youth players…

6 Footwork Progressions For Elite Defenders

By Joe Haefner

6 Footwork Progressions For Elite Defenders

As we all know, the ability to play defense is what often separates…

Teaching Footwork to Beginners – The Pivot Foot Drill

By Joe Haefner

Teaching Footwork to Beginners – The Pivot Foot Drill

As a Basketball Coach, I have encountered a couple of basketball leagues that teach differently and have different rules. One particular drill that fascinated me and…

Sold Out Boston And Chicago “Attack and Counter” Basketball Skills Camps Are Huge Successes

By Joe Haefner

The first two “Attack and Counter” Basketball Clinics of the season were huge successes.

In the suburban city of Winchester, Mass., Don Kelbick welcomed players who traveled as much as 10 hours to learn footwork and skills. Players came from as far away as Winnipeg, Canada. In all, 6 states and 3 countries were represented in the sold out, 3 day clinic. Many thanks to Bob Bigelow, Ido Singer and Matt Azzaro for their help in making the camp a success.

Outside Chicago, the Libertyville Sports Complex hosted the clinic for the second straight year. The effectiveness of the instruction was demonstrated by the fact that the clinic sold out in just 4 days. Over 60 players received unique individual instruction offered by Don Kelbick. Players hailed from Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Toronto, among others. Thanks to Will Broner and Tonya Krause for their help.

For more information on the Breakthrough Basketball Camps, visit http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/camps/

Ndamukong Suh, Footwork, & Youth Athletic Development

By Joe Haefner

If you have followed college football this season, you have probably heard the name Ndamukong Suh. He was a consensus First-team All-American and earned consensus First-team All-Big 12 honors and was the Associated Press National Player of the Year, Big-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the Defensive Lineman of the Year, and a Heisman Trophy finalist.

According to “experts”, what separates Suh from other players isn’t necessarily his strength, even though he is quite strong, it’s his superior footwork. As we know, footwork is probably one of the most important, yet undertaught skills in basketball.

A recent article on ESPN states “He (Suh) really credits his soccer background for his uncanny footwork.” Suh played soccer at a young age all the way through his 8th grade year.

If arguably the best d-lineman in the country, played multiple sports as a child and credits that for his superior athleticism, don’t you think that it would be a good idea for other youth athletes as well?

If you’ve read any of our past articles about athletic development, you’ll know that we preach for youth athletes to play multiple sports and avoid specialization at least before age 15. Some say 18.

Soccer, flag (or touch) football, & tag are a few great games you can play to improve footwork & athleticism.

Dribble tag and the jump stop drill are a few great ways to incorporate a basketball while working on footwork.

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