Traditional Zig Zag Drill. Outdated?

Walk into 100 gyms of youth and High School teams practicing, I guarantee 99/100 utilize the traditional Zig Zag Drill at some point or another. The Zig Zag Drill has been around since the game was played with leather balls and fruit baskets on a pole. So many coaches teach the game of basketball with this drill and when you dive into it, this drill represents close to nothing about how the game of basketball is played.

The traditional Zig Zag encompasses one defender, and one offensive player moving down the court in a zig zag pattern. Typically, the defender is not allowed an attempt to steal the ball, working on sliding down court staying in front of your man, which leads me to my first point.

The old adage of “step-slide” is dated. Many elite level coaches, and S&C coaches will tell you that the “step-slide” is too slow, and hinders your athletic ability to move. The best way to move on defense is by pushing off the back foot as opposed to sliding with that foot. You gain more power and move quicker, which in turn equates to being in better on the ball position. Furthermore, if you watch any random game, especially one in which teams press full court, there is an awful lot of run recoveries. A run recovery is when you as the defender get beat and have to sprint to a spot to recover. The technique begins with a crossover step followed by a sprint to get ahead of the ball handler. If there is sufficient space between you and the ball handler, you jump turn to get back to a chest-to-chest position.

Perhaps the leading flaw of the traditional Zig Zag Drill is with the offensive player. As the ball handler, you do not ever want to dribble in a zig zag pattern, which is feeding into the defensive players hands where traps and turnovers occur. As the ball handler, you should attack the defender in a straight line, utilizing change of pace to create separation from the defender.

There are many other ways to teach concepts such as on ball defense, recovering, ability to handle defensive pressure, beating a defender in a straight line, and change of pace. You can even adjust the way you do the Zig Zag Drill. For example, Laker Zig Zag; 1 defender plays defense within a 1/3 of the court for a desired length of time, and then rotates. Put players in a confined space, preferably cut the court into 1/3’s and let the offensive player try to beat the defender down court. 1v2 full court; one offensive player vs. two defensive players who try to contain the ball handler down the court without getting beat.

There are many other drills that teach the fundamentals of basketball that do not have to be “traditional.” Find a few that you like and that fit your team.