Ball-handling drill

The zig zag dribbling drill

The zig zag drill sends you down the floor on a diagonal, changing direction at every turn. It trains the most important ball-handling skill in the game: going hard one way, then hard the other way without losing the ball or your speed.

What is the zig zag dribbling drill?

In the zig zag dribbling drill, you start in one corner of the court and dribble diagonally toward the opposite sideline. When you reach a turn point, you change direction with a move and dribble diagonally back the other way. The path looks like a Z or a series of zigzags from one end of the floor to the other.

On a regular court, the turn points are usually the sideline, the lane line or cones placed in a staggered pattern. Coaches often run it as a defensive slide drill too, with a defender shadowing the ball handler, but this page covers the offensive dribbling version.

What makes it different from a straight cone drill is the angle. Each turn is a sharp cut, close to 90 degrees, so you have to plant, change hands and push off in a new direction. The footwork matters as much as the dribble.

When to use it in a game

The zig zag drill builds the change of direction you use to break a press, beat a defender who is overplaying one side, or get from one wing to the other in transition. Any time a defender is forcing you toward a sideline, you need to change direction without stopping, and the zig zag rehearses that over and over.

Run it early in practice after a stationary warm-up, or as a conditioning finisher. Done at full speed down and back, it is tiring. Keep the first trips controlled, then build up.

How to do it, step by step

1. Set up four to six cones in a staggered pattern down the court, alternating between the left and right side, about 12 to 15 feet apart.
2. Start at the baseline on the side of the first cone with the ball in your outside hand.
3. Dribble diagonally toward the first cone with your body low and the ball on the side away from where a defender would be.
4. As you reach the cone, plant your outside foot and make a crossover so the ball switches to your other hand.
5. Push off the planted foot and dribble diagonally to the next cone.
6. At each cone, change direction with your move and keep the ball in the hand farther from the cone.
7. At the far end, turn and come back using a different move, such as between the legs or behind the back.

Common mistakes

• Rounding the turns. A big looping curve is easy to cut off. Plant and cut sharply at each cone.
• Dribbling with the wrong hand. The ball should be in the hand farther from the cone, which stands in for the defender. Switch hands at every turn.
• Crossing high on the turn. A high crossover at the cut is a steal in a game. Keep the change of hands below the knee.
• Standing up after the cut. Push out low and keep your first dribble after the turn hard and forward.
• Turning at full sprint too early. If you lose the ball at every turn, slow down. Clean turns at medium speed beat sloppy turns at full speed.

Three progressions

1. Move at every cone. Run the zig zag using a different move at each cone in a fixed order: crossover, between the legs, behind the back, spin or in-and-out.
2. Hesitation zig zag. Add a hesitation on the diagonal before each cone, then explode through the change of direction.
3. Shadow defender. A partner slides in front of you without trying to steal. You make your move when they get close, not at a set spot. This turns the drill into decision-making.

5-minute zig zag dribbling drill workout

Set up five staggered cones from baseline to half court, or across a driveway. Walk back to the start between trips, which gives you short rest. Keep the ball under control at every turn.

How Handles AI coaches it

Handles AI does its tracking with your iPhone propped up and you about 8 feet away, so it covers the stationary side of change of direction rather than the full court run. Coach Ace calls moves like crossover, between the legs, behind the back and change of pace out loud, and grades each rep Clean, Nice work, or Next rep.

Use a Speed Burn session to sharpen hand speed, then take it to the zig zag to practice the footwork at speed. The app’s Speed rating is a useful check on whether your hands are keeping up with your feet.

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