College & Professional

Acceleration

Acceleration is how fast you can get from point A to point B. We measure the increase in the rate or speed of the athlete while competing in this event. An important element of acceleration is the start. When you are able to get in a good starting position, from there you can take off into a dead sprint, beating your opponent. Acceleration is a key skill in many and activities. Acceleration is an important skill because it allows the athlete to run effectively and efficiently, leaving room for fewer injuries. This drill builds strength and reaction time better and helps an athlete become the fastest version of themselves.

Approach Vertical

Approach vertical is a drill that turns a series of footwork and explosiveness into height within a jump. Using an approach to lead into a vertical jump is important because it reinforces discipline and precision to gain the best outcome possible. This drill is very helpful in but not limited to basketball and volleyball players because they require approach vertical jumps within the sport. This exercise takes quick and explosive movements and turns them into a powerful jump. Having an effective approach vertical helps in many aspects of a sport, including an overall increase in your vertical, reinforcing powerful and precise movements, and preventing injuries by learning how to land correctly.

Bench Press

The bench press is an exercise that builds arm and upper body strength. This exercise can be used to correlate and test the upper body strength of an athlete. Bench pressing is important to athletes because when building the specific muscles targeted by the bench press, you are also supporting the rest of your shoulder. A strong upper body is helpful to all athletes, regardless of the sport or activity. This exercise can be incorporated into daily activities that require pushing, pulling, or carrying. This exercise can be beneficial for athletes looking to gain muscle and strength in their upper body.

Broad Jump

The broad jump is used to measure an athlete’s short-area quickness and burst. When combining strength and explosiveness, the athlete is able to increase their broad jump. Broad jumps build fast-twitch muscle fibers, helping with balance, lower body strength, and explosiveness. Through this exercise, the athlete also practices landing the jump correctly. When landing the jump, the athletes are taught how to keep their legs aligned with the rest of their body for a softer landing. This encourages a safer way of jumping, which helps prevent injuries. Broad jumps are beneficial to many sports and activities, including football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, etc. This event is used widely as a test of lower body strength.

Lane Drill

Lane drill is a basketball-specific exercise used to practice and measure reaction, speed, and changing directions. This exercise is helpful to many people because the athletes are encouraged to learn how to run safely, which in turn prevents injuries. Because the athlete practices changing directions, they are able to react to many situations without wasting time and energy. This drill utilizes NBA measurements of a basketball court to create a lifelike scenario to train the athletes. The lane drill is important because it increases speed and reaction time, which are vital qualities that are necessary to all types of athletes.

Powerball

Powerball is a measurement of strength, explosiveness, and accuracy within an athlete. In this event, the athlete can throw a medicine ball with their arms as far as possible while sitting on their knees. By sitting on your knees, your upper body muscles are isolated, causing them to do all the work. This event measures upper body strength because of the muscles it targets within the arm. Powerball measures arm and upper body strength and can also help strengthen the core. This exercise strengthens coordination and balance while being a great test of power within the upper body.

React 5-10-5

React 5-10-5 is a specific speed drill. This exercise combines speed and reaction in order to increase the athlete’s overall sprinting time within a certain area. In measuring the amount of time between each direction, the athletes are able to practice changing direction and keeping up their speed. This drill simulates a sport like situation by encouraging the athlete to exert full effort for a specific amount of time. Speed is important within sports and other activities because it can promote mental strength and confidence in an athlete’s performance. Reaction time is useful in many situations and overall increases athleticism and mental sharpness.

React Shuttle

React shuttle is an event that incorporates basketball court measurements into the exercise. In this drill, the athlete uses quick movements and reaction time to measure speed. This exercise is beneficial to basketball players because of the way it utilizes specific measurements to create the drill. The players get to experience accurate measurements while training their speed and reaction time to the court specifically. When building speed and reaction time by using this court-like situation, they gain insight and experience to becoming the best basketball player possible. This drill helps build the confidence of a player because they are familiar with space and trust their training to help them succeed.

Standing Vert

Standing vert is a drill that encompasses jumping from a still position. This drill requires explosiveness from the ground, using lower body strength. The athlete uses their leg muscles to jump as high as possible, which helps build power and endurance. This is a standard test used to measure lower body strength and power. This exercise is helpful in all types of sports and activities because the ability to use strength from your legs is universally important in all athletics. Athletes are able to track their growth in their jump, using it as a measurement of the effectiveness throughout their training.

Star Drill

Star drill is a reaction time and changing of direction-based exercise. In this drill the athlete practices reacting to different situations by shuffling and sprinting based on the course of the exercise. This drill is important because the athlete learns how to control their movements. When the players practice responding to quick situations, they are able to take this skill and apply it to their game strategies. Using footwork and speed to complete a specified course helps the athlete control their bodies and can help prevent injuries. This drill encourages an athlete in a game like situation because they are able to use their skills from this drill and make quick and effective movements based on a quick decision.

Velocity

Velocity is an event that is used to measure the speed of an athlete’s serve or kick. In volleyball, this drill is important because the strength of a serve can make the difference between a hard, game-winning serve, or a loss of a point. In soccer, this drill is important because the faster the ball means less time for the opposing team to react. When knowing the speed behind the ball, the athlete feels more confident in their abilities. The speed of your kick or serve can also be an indicator of the effectiveness of your training. If your velocity in your service increases, it indicates that your upper body muscles are growing. If your velocity in your kick increases, it indicates that your lower-body muscles are growing.