This is my review of the best agility ladders for basketball training in 2022.
Agility, either you got it or you don’t. To have agility, you must understand agility. And to master agility, you must agility the ladder.
Agility should not be confused with speed. While speed is a building block of agility, the role of agility lies deeper, within body control, quickness, and lateral prowess.
If speed kills, agility murders defenders at the top of the key. And just like every weapon used in the art of ball, it must be sharpened in practice. Whetted by an agility ladder.
What is agility used for in basketball? Specifically: defending in space, cutting and juking, ball handling and driving to the basket.
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Who Should Get This
Every hooper would value from training on an agility ladder. For personal use or for an entire team, the kind of precision footwork that is developed will boost pressure on offense and defense at every position.
Players and coaches who are serious enough to invest in conditioning training should start with an agility ladder.
I’m telling you, the footwork developed from agility will have you flying and floating on the hardtop.
So if you want to be a basketball ninja. (1) Agility ladder, (2) train 30mins to an hour a day, (3) go out and start shaolin steppin’ on fools, (4) easy buckets.
Best Agility Ladder for Basketball: Top Picks 2022
Below is a list of my recommendations along with detailed review of each agility ladder.
I like the agility ladder from Yes For All, it’s not trying to do too much, it’s the classic ladder build everyone knows and loves, and it comes in multiple lengths.
Although a sneaky great feature with this ladder is that it is expandable.
By that I mean you can attach another ladder, of the same model, to the end of another one and make a super agility ladder.
What We Like:
Simple straight forward design and functionality.
Comes in 3 sizes and 2 colors.
Extendable with multiple ladders.
Adjustable rungs.
What We Don’t Like:
Lightweight rungs make the ladder easily displaced.
Prone to Tangling.
Ladders and cones go together like peanut butter and jelly. With the additional cones, you can expand the amount of work-out drills possible. I really like this kit for coaches and small league teams.
The ladder can handle multiple athletes, and the cones can be used in tandem with the ladder or be utilized for other athletes apart from the ladder.
What We Like:
Room for multiple athletes on ladder.
Added cones make for more possible drills.
What We Don’t Like:
Prone to tangling.
This is the only ladder I’ve seen that is a specialty to basketball. SPRI was founded on producing specialty rubber materials, utilized here to make a basketball agility ladder that sticks to the court.
Even though you can’t use this ladder outdoors, what you get in exchange is well worth the trade.
You won’t have to worry about the ladder getting misshapen, and if you want to make ladder longer, just roll out another sheet.
What We Like:
Keeps shape.
Rubber feels high-quality.
Easy storage.
Ideal of indoor personal gyms.
What We Don’t Like:
Can only be used indoors, on a flat surface.
This is everything and a bag of chips package. RYG, or Raise Your Game, stay true to their namesake and gives you everything you need to raise your agility game. Along with an agility ladder, you get cones, a jump rope, adjustable hurdles, and a set of exercise bands.
There is a lot of serious training that can be done with this set. All that is left is your determination and grind. Disclaimer: Does NOT come with chips.
What We Like:
Facilities a week’s worth of exercises.
Trains both agility and speed.
What We Don’t Like:
With all the pieces to the kit, it may be difficult to keep track of everything.
How to Choose The Best Agility Ladder for Basketball 2022
Here are a few factors that you should take into consideration while shopping for an agility ladder.
Length
Depending on if you are buying the ladder for personal training or for a team.
If you expect to have more than 3 people on a ladder at a time, you will want at least 12 rungs to accommodate multiple athletes at the same time.
Durability and Traction
A good agility ladder is one that can take a little bit of a beating. Even though you are not supposed to step on the ladder when you train with it, there will be times when you will.
Meaning a ladder that effectively keeps its shape is ideal when picking one out.
Versatility
It is important to choose a ladder with adjustable rungs since you will want to be able to adjust your ladders step space depending on the specific exercise you want to do.
As well as being able to change the ladder’s size for older or younger athletes.
Useful Tips and Resources
Once you get yourself your agility ladder, you’re going to need some drills to make use of it. You can find some handy resources on youtube that will demonstrate some drills.
We’ve listed a couple below, go ahead and watch them to get inspired.
You can also look through this article by USA Basketball. It has 20 drills with visual examples that are designed for the agility ladder.
The drills were created for their official youth development program, so you can trust they’re legit.
Final Words
If you want to take training seriously, you start with an agility ladder. The wide array of diverse training drills you can do on one makes it the perfect foundation for a conditioning training regimen.
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