Drills play
Drill: Zig-Zag Slides (Z-Drill)
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 5 steps
About this play
Pure footwork for staying in front of the ball, which is why Jim Boone's pack-line course lists it as a core drill. Setup: five cones in a zig-zag up one third of the floor, baseline corner to the half-court sideline, with a second course on the other side so two lines run at once. Slides only first: face the baseline in stance at the first cone, slide diagonally to the second, drop-step the trail foot and push off the lead foot, slide to the third, and so on; sprint back along the baseline and go again. Then the partner version drawn here: a dribbler zig-zags cone to cone at controlled speed, crossing over at each cone, and the defender slides to stay in front with his nose on the ball; if he is beaten he turns and sprints past the dribbler and re-establishes. Two full trips each, or Scott Drew's competitive version where the dribbler has eight seconds to get end to end. Common mistakes: standing up when tired, crossing the feet, reaching instead of moving the feet. Every level. I got the course from Coach's Clipboard's Z-drills and lane slides page and the competitive version from Scott Drew's clinic on Championship Productions; look them up for the timed rules.
