Landing and injury-prevention warm-up

Setup

1. Four lanes across the court; players in pairs at the backline of each lane.
2. Cones mark the two transverse lines in each lane as checkpoints.

How it runs

1. Running drills: jog, side-step and skip to the far line and back (4 minutes).
2. Landing: run to the first cone, jump and land on two feet, soft knees over toes, hold 2 seconds; then single-leg hop and hold (4 minutes).
3. Change of direction: run, plant on the outside foot and cut at 45 degrees at each cone (4 minutes).
4. Short jumps and faster runs: three bounds then a fast run, stopping on two feet at the far line (3 minutes).

Coaching points

• Land softly on the balls of the feet, knees bent and in line with the toes.
• Knees never cave inwards on landing or cutting.
• Hold every landing still for 2 seconds before moving on.
• Build the speed gradually; the last runs are the fastest.

Common mistakes

• Stiff-legged, noisy landings.
• Knees collapsing inwards on a single-leg landing.
• Rushing to the fast runs before the body is warm.