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How To Do A Crossover: Exercises To Develop Your Physique And Abilities

Here is the next article in my how to do a crossover series. I hope you enjoy. Practice is the key to becoming adept at any sport. Whether or not a player has natural abilities for their chosen sport, regular and varied physical practice is a necessary element of every athletic training regimen. Sport-specific drills and exercises help develop the physique, and train players for the signature movements and actions of any given sport.

The game of basketball requires speed and agility in a variety of areas, including running, jumping, directional change and ball handling. Learning how to do a crossover dribble to evade an opponent is a skill that every basketball player desires to master. The crossover is one of the best known and most exploited maneuvers on the court for good reason. Proficient performance of the crossover can bring adoration and recognition to the individual player, as well as his team.

As with other moves, learning how to do a crossover, and preparing for it’s unveiling during competitive play requires analysis of its elements and regular practice to develop competence. Here are five exercises that can help any player realize his full crossover potential.

1.) Ball Handling Proficiency Exercises

Adroit ball handling is an essential skill for learning how to do a crossover that will be the envy of other players. The more adroit a player becomes at handling the ball, the more spectacular and effective his crossover will become. This simple exercise is one that most players do in their daily practice routines. To learn the ball-handling techniques that make a crossover great, all that needs to be done is constant practice. The same old routine can be made more interesting by:

a.) Dribbling and passing at different heights
b.) Involving different body areas in passing and dribbling movements.
c.) Varying the size or weight of the ball
d.) Practicing passes and defensive moves with other players
e.) Setting up stations at various court locations for players to complete circuits while performing various crossover variations

2.) Strength and Endurance Exercises

Both upper and lower body strength and agility can be enhanced with endurance and strength training. Resistance can be added using standard weights or kettlebells can be used to incorporate motion. The fingers and hands can benefit from resistance exercise, as well.

Lunges and squats are particularly effective for developing the strength for the explosive directional change required in learning how to do a crossover. Variations of both these moves should be performed to utilize the muscle groups needed for side-to-side motion.

3.) Suicide Drills

The suicide drill is likely the best exercise to develop basketball-specific endurance. Also among the most hated drills in high school athletics, suicide drills get the job done by simulating the high-powered directional changes required for learning how to do a crossover. Most players still hate them, but they work.

Perform a suicide drill by starting from the baseline and facing the far end of the court. Sprint to each of the free throw lines, the base lines, and the half-court line in rapid succession. Sprint back to your original position after touching each line in order of distance.

4.) Interval Training Exercises

Interval training exercises are good for the times when a basketball court is not available for drills. Interval training can be done with or without equipment. Good interval training requires performance of different types of exercises in succession, with intervals between them. An example would be doing an interval of sprinting, followed by an interval of jogging. Any type of exercise can be performed at intervals, which can be measured by either time or distance.

5.) Defensive Basketball Exercises

Defensive exercises train the body to move in all directions. The Figure 8, outlined below, is a good example of this type of exercise.

a.) Sprint to half court.
b.) Slide left, in a lateral motion, along the center line.
c.) Sprint along the sideline to the far baseline.
d.) Slide right, in a lateral motion, along the baseline.
e.) Run backwards to half court.
f.) Slide left laterally, across the half court line to the sideline.
g.) Run backwards to your starting baseline and slide right to your starting point. This will complete a figure 8.

The Conclusion of My Second How To Do A Crossover Article

I hope you found tip 2 in my how to do a crossover series useful. In a few days I’ll be posting a step by step article on performing a crossover. As I mentioned earlier I hope this article helps you to take your basketball game to new heights. I’ll be posting more videos too as many of you said the videos were pretty awesome. Well I got to run, but stay tuned for more crossover tips and techniques.

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