Last week, we discussed the unique and empowering mentality behind Don Kelbick's Attack & Counter System.

To review, Coach Kelbick does not believe in reading the defense. He believes in attacking the defense.

One great way to build those strengths is with the Attack & Counter Workout App.

The "Pareto Principle" Of Training

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your actions. Former Princeton coach Pete Carill captured it this way - "As a player, you want to be good at those things that happen a lot."

Coach Kelbick agrees. Unlike trainers who have players work on moves they'll never use in games, his training philosophy is based on 3 pivots and 3 counters. If you can master that footwork, you'll have an answer for virtually anything the defense throws at you.

Coach Kelbick explain the footwork here, as well as demonstrating two of the pivots and a counter.

By mastering this footwork, you become a master of an unlimited amount of basketball moves, no matter where you are on the court.

The 3 pivots are:

• Front pivot
• Inside pivot
• Drop step

The 3 counters are:

• Step through
• Inside pivot
• Sweep

As you go through the workout below, which comes directly from the Attack & Counter Workout App, you'll be getting rep after rep of this footwork. Before long, it will become second nature. At that point, you'll be unguardable.

How The App Works

Before we get to the workout, let's look at the app itself. When you login, you select your workout. Once you've picked a workout, you'll see a screen like this:

Every drill is a link. When you click on a drill, you'll end up on a screen like this:

On this screen, you can click on the video as well as read the description. The green bar tells you how many reps to perform, or, if it's a timed drill, keeps the time for you.

That's how easy it is! Now, let's get to work.

Shoot, Dribble, Finish: A High-Level Workout for Serious Players

This is a high-level ball handling & shooting workout for serious players. It's from the Attack & Counter Workout App.

It was developed by NBA skills trainer Don Kelbick.

While there is plenty of dribbling and finishing, this workout puts an emphasis on shooting off the catch, the pull up jump shot, and footwork.

I also recommend reading the intro to each section, so you understand the purpose of the drills.

Workout Tips

You can do this workout by yourself.

If you have a partner, the shooter rebounds his own shot and passes back to the passer. Then you switch after one set of repetitions.

If you have 3 players, you simply have a rebounder, a passer, and a shooter. Then you switch after each set. I would also recommend using two balls.

If you don't have the time or you lack the conditioning to complete the workout, you can segment this into different workouts.

You can also remove some of the advanced progressions to make it suitable for youth players.

Part 1 - Ball Handling Warm Up

In the first part of the workout, we do a ball handling warm up for a couple of minutes. These drills are done for a combination of reasons including...

• Warm up the body.
  
• Wake up the nerves in your hands and arms to dribble, shoot, and pass better.
  
• Motivate the athlete with variety.
  
• Overload the athlete so game-like ball handling feels easy and you can dribble without thinking.

Corner Dribble - Left

Description
Bend your knees and dribble to basketball from front to back, on the left side of your body. Next, dribble the ball once in front of your body before returning to the front to back dribble. Dribble exclusively with your left hand.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your eyes up.
- Snap the ball as quickly as you can.
- Keep the ball low (at your waist or lower).

Run drill for 30 seconds

Corner Dribble - Right

Description
Bend your knees and dribble to basketball from front to back, on the right side of your body. Next, dribble the ball once in front of your body before returning to the front to back dribble. Dribble exclusively with your right hand.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your eyes up.
- Snap the ball as quickly as you can.
- Keep the ball low (at your waist or lower).

Run drill for 30 seconds

2 Ball Cone Circles - Opposite Way (Inside)

Description
Set up two cones. Dribble both basketballs around the inside of each cone.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep eyes up (look forward) while dribbling.
- Ball should touch finger pads on each dribble.

Run drill for 30 seconds

2 Ball Cone Circles - Opposite Way (Outside)

Description
Set up two cones. Dribble both basketballs around the outside of each cone.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep eyes up (look forward) while dribbling.
- Ball should touch finger pads on each dribble.

Run drill for 30 seconds

2 Ball Dribble - Double Between Legs - Left Hand

Description
Bend your knees and dribble two basketballs at once. Dribble the ball in your right hand high enough to be able to quickly dribble the other ball through your legs from your left hand to your right hand back to your left hand.

Run drill for 30 seconds

2 Ball Dribble - Double Between Legs - Right Hand

Description
Bend your knees and dribble two basketballs at once. Dribble the ball in your left hand high enough to be able to quickly dribble the other ball through your legs from your right hand to your left hand back to your right hand.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your eyes up.
- Snap the ball as quickly as you can.
- Keep the ball low (at your waist or lower).

Run drill for 30 seconds

Part 2 - Finishing (Lay Ups) & Dribble Moves

In the second part of the workout, we work on some speed lay ups and dribble moves.

This is a great way to work on basic lay ups or different finishing moves and improve your dribble moves at the same time. It is also a great conditioner.

It's also a good progression to warm up with change of direction, jumping, and running.

If you walk in the gym and start going game speed immediately, your risk of injury increases.

Speed Lay Ups Elbow

Description
Begin under the basket dribble to the right elbow, plant your foot and pivot back toward the basket. Finish with a lay-up.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep eyes up (look forward) while dribbling.
- Change speeds when changing direction.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Speed Lay Ups to Elbow - Behind Back

Description
Begin under the basket dribble to the right elbow, plant your foot and pivot back toward the basket. Cross Over behind your back and finish with a lay-up.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep eyes up (look forward) while dribbling.
- Change speeds when changing direction.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Speed Lay Ups to Elbow - Between Legs

Description
Begin under the basket dribble to the right elbow, plant your foot and pivot back toward the basket. Cross over between your legs and finish with a lay-up.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep eyes up (look forward) while dribbling.
- Change speeds when changing direction.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Part 3 - Pivots and Counters (Footwork Emphasis) - Shooting, Footwork, Counter Moves, & Pull Up Jump Shots

This section focuses on pivots and counter moves.

However, you also improve your shooting off the catch and off the dribble.

With these drills, you will improve...

• Your ability to move without the ball.
  
  
• Your ability to quickly pivot, face the basket, and shoot.
  
  
• Your ability to get more open shots and shoot a higher percentage.
  
  If you improve your ability to quickly pivot and face the basket, this will create more distance between you and the defender. This will lead to more open shots.
  
  Also, if you have more distance between you and the defender, you tend to shoot a higher percentage.
  
  Also, for a coach, this will pull your defender off a help defense increasing your offensive efficiency. In other words, you're more valuable to your coach because you don't even have to touch the ball and your team's offense is better.
  
  
• Your counter moves and your pull up jump shot.
  
  If you get really good and quickly facing the basket and shooting, defenders will start to rush at you. The counter moves will take you away from the defense and give you open pull up jump shots.

You will work on front pivots and inside (back) pivots from both the right and left wings. You also practice the counter moves of the step through and sweep.

You may also notice that the shooters are very deliberate with some of their motions, like getting the ball to shooting position, pausing for a fraction of the second to look at the hoop, then executing their footwork counters. This is done to ingrain good habits and skills as it is easy to speed up and get sloppy.

We also wanted you to visually be able to see the emphasis points, so you didn't lose them in the motion of the drill.

As you continue to do the workouts, these motions will become quicker and more fluid.

Spin Outs - Left Foot Front Pivot - Shot

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) on the wing. Jump stop, catch the ball, front pivot, and shoot. Your left foot is the pivot foot and should stay in contact with the ground.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs - Left Foot Front Pivot - Step Through - Shot

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) on the wing. Jump stop, catch the ball, front pivot, step through and shoot. Your left foot is the pivot foot and should stay in contact with the ground.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs- Right Foot Front Pivot - Shot

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) on the wing. Jump stop, catch the ball, front pivot, and shoot. Your RIGHT foot is the pivot foot and should stay in contact with the ground.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs - Right Foot Front Pivot- Step Through Shot

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) on the wing. Jump stop, catch the ball, front pivot and look for your shot. Pretend your shot is defended and counter with an explosive step through pivot. Take 1 dribble going to the basket and shoot.

Points of Emphasis
- Make sure you look for your shot before making your move.
- Explode in a straight line to the basket.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs - Left Foot Inside Pivot - Jump Shot

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) on the wing. Jump stop, catch the ball, inside pivot, and shoot. Your left foot is the pivot foot and should stay in contact with the ground.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs - Right Foot Inside Pivot - Jump Shot

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) on the wing. Jump stop, catch the ball, inside pivot, and shoot. Your RIGHT foot is the pivot foot and should stay in contact with the ground.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs - Right Foot Inside Pivot - 1 Dribble Shot

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) on the wing. Jump stop, catch the ball, inside pivot, dribble and shoot. Your right foot is the pivot foot and should stay in contact with the ground.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs - Left Foot Inside Pivot - 1 Dribble Shot

Description

Points of Emphasis

Complete 10 Repetitions

Part 4 - More Game-Like Shots

Some of these drills are similar to the previous progressions, except you stay on one side of the floor.

You also work on some different game-like cuts.

You also get to practice some advanced progressions including dribble move progressions.

Spin Outs Wing Shooting - Inside Pivot, Sweep Counter, 1 Dribble (Left Side)

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) to the left wing catch the ball, inside pivot, sweep counter, one dribble and shoot. Alternate your pivot foot on each shot.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs Wing Shooting - Inside Pivot, Sweep Counter, 1 Dribble (Right Side)

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) to the right wing catch the ball, inside pivot, sweep counter, one dribble and shoot. Alternate your pivot foot on each shot.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs Wing Shooting - Inside Pivot, Sweep Counter, 2nd Dribble Change (Right Side)

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) to the right wing catch the ball, inside pivot, sweep counter, 1 dribble and shoot.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs Wing Shooting - Inside Pivot, Sweep Counter, 2nd Dribble Change (Left Side)

Reference previous video but switch to the left side of the floor.

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) to the left wing catch the ball, inside pivot, sweep counter, 1 dribble and shoot.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs Wing Shooting - Front Pivot, Step Through, 2nd Dribble Change (Left Side)

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) to the left wing catch the ball, front pivot, step through, 2nd dribble change and shoot.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs Wing Shooting - Front Pivot, Step Through, 2nd Dribble Change (Right Side)

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) to the right wing catch the ball, front pivot, step through, 2nd dribble change and shoot.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs from Baseline (Right Side) - Front Pivot, Shot

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) from the right baseline catch the ball, front pivot, and shoot.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs from Baseline (Left Side) - Front Pivot, Shot

Description
Spin the ball (simulating a pass) from the left baseline catch the ball, front pivot, and shoot.

Points of Emphasis
- Keep your knees bent as you pivot.
- Make sure you quickly get your feet in shooting position. They should be in the same balance position each time you shoot. Reps will help with this.

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs from Baseline (Left Side) - Front Pivot, Step Through, 1 Dribble Shot

Description
Begin on the left baseline just outside the three point line. Spin the ball a few feet ahead of you to the wing. Retrieve the ball and front pivot. Then step through with your right foot, take one dribble and pull up into a jump shot.

Points of Emphasis
- Spin the ball to simulate receiving a pass
- Square shoulders for jump shot

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs from Baseline (Right Side) - Front Pivot, Step Through, 1 Dribble Shot

Description
Begin on the right baseline just outside the three point line. Spin the ball a few feet ahead of you to the wing. Retrieve the ball and front pivot. Then step through with your left foot, take one dribble and pull up into a jump shot.

Points of Emphasis
- Spin the ball to simulate receiving a pass
- Square shoulders for jump shot

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs from Baseline (Left Side) - Front Pivot, Step Through, 2nd Dribble Shot

Description
Begin on the left baseline just outside the three point line. Spin the ball a few feet ahead of you to the wing. Retrieve the ball and front pivot. Then step through with your right foot, take one dribble toward the baseline and then change direction with a second dribble toward the top of the key and pull up into a jump shot.

Points of Emphasis
- Spin the ball to simulate receiving a pass
- Square shoulders for jump shot

Complete 10 Repetitions

Spin Outs from Baseline (Right Side) - Front Pivot, Step Through, 2nd Dribble Shot

Description
Begin on the right baseline just outside the three point line. Spin the ball a few feet ahead of you to the wing. Retrieve the ball and front pivot. Then step through with your left foot, take one dribble toward the baseline and then change direction with a second dribble toward the top of the key and pull up into a jump shot.

Points of Emphasis
- Spin the ball to simulate receiving a pass
- Square shoulders for jump shot

Complete 10 Repetitions

Ready For More Workouts & More Skill?

If you completed this workout, good for you!

The great thing is, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are over 130 workouts that make up the Attack & Counter Workout App.

In addition to the skill workouts, there are shooting workouts and post workouts. And, as you improve and get to know your game better, you can build custom workouts tailored to you.

One of the best things about basketball is that you don't have to rely on other people to get better. If you're willing to work hard and smart, you will see results.

If you've read this far, I think you're willing to work hard. If you train Coach Kelbick's philosophy, you're working smart.

That's a great way to get ready for the season!

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First

Leave a Comment Name : Email (not published) : Eight minus one is equal to?  (Prevents Spam) Answer :  Load New Question Comments : Leave this Blank :