Speed and power Plan

Speed and agility training for basketball, built by AI

15 m sprints, three-step braking, the 505, cuts and jumps, placed between your club sessions and the game. Done on the court with two cones and a friend to time you, with the gym adding strength the day after sprinting.

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TOP SPEED31,4km/h15 m run-in5 m180° turnTIMED

What is speed and agility training for basketball?

Speed and agility training for basketball is what EntrenAI's Speed and power plan generates when you pick basketball as your sport: the same engine as for football or rugby, but with the numbers of a court. In 28 metres there is no room for flying sprints and almost no sprint is a straight line, so what decides a play is starting, braking, changing direction and jumping.

That is why, when you choose basketball, the app shortens sprints and tests to 15 metres (the typical distance of the sport), gives change of direction the maximum weight the engine allows, and leaves repeated-sprint ability and upper-body work at a middle setting: below rugby and handball, above football.

What it trains is the same as the general plan, with a different split:

  1. Acceleration from 0 to 15 metres from varied starts (falling, three-point, lying, reactive to a signal), with one minute of rest per 10 metres and never less than 90 seconds.
  2. Braking and changing direction: three-step deceleration as the technique that protects the knee, then the 505, the 45° cut, the cone zigzag and, for advanced players, the 5-10-5 and the reactive drill on a partner's signal.
  3. Jumping: plyometrics counted in contacts per session, with lateral and zigzag hops if your priority is change of direction, or broad jump, tuck jump and jump step-up if it is vertical jump.
  4. Gym strength the day after sprinting: squat, hip thrust, Bulgarian split squat, Romanian deadlift, the Nordic ladder and calves; in the strength-and-power phase the barbell jump squat comes in.

And it is measured like the rest, every five weeks. On the court the battery is broad jump with a tape measure, 10 metres and 505 (from intermediate level: a beginner first learns to brake). The vertical jump (CMJ) is logged as optional, measured with My Jump or video; the 30 m and flying sprints only come in if you have 40 straight metres. With jumping as your priority, broad jump and CMJ each weigh 30% in your 0-100 index; with change of direction, the 505 weighs 35% and the 10 m 25%.

Basketball

Typical sprint: 15 m
  • Change of direction100
  • Repeated sprints70
  • Upper body40

Change of direction at the top, 15 m sprints and vertical jump.

A sprint is three qualities, not one

90% of the sprints in a match last under 5 seconds and cover 10-30 metres. That is why the plan does not train "running fast" in general: it trains each phase with its own session, and measures it with its own test.

Acceleration0-10 mTransition10-30 mMax velocity30-50 m01020304050metresspeedtop speedhow long a match sprint lasts
  • Acceleration

    0-10 m

    Varied starts, hills, sled. Leg strength in the gym.

    Test: 10 m

  • Transition

    10-30 m

    20-30 m sprints from a standing start, running technique, plyometrics.

    Test: 30 m

  • Max velocity

    30-50 m

    10-20 m flying sprints, wickets, ins and outs. 3-6 min rests.

    Test: 20 m fly

How the plan works

Your AI-generated plan

When you choose basketball, the engine changes five things compared with the generic plan.

Sprints are 15 metres long. The acceleration session is built from 10 m three-point starts and 15 m sprints with 90 seconds between reps: 160 metres all-out in a pre-season load week for an intermediate player. In season the volume drops to 65%, and weekly metres rise by at most 10% with a cap of 300, 500 or 800 depending on level.

Change of direction takes the sprint slot. In season, a beginner or intermediate has a single intense sprint session on top of the game; if you ask for change of direction as your priority, that session comes first in the split and goes three or four days before the game. It always starts with mechanics: three-step braking after a 10 m sprint, hips back and chest up, 2 sets of 4. Then the 505 alternating the turning leg, the 45° cut and the cone zigzag, in 3 sets (4 in out-of-season load weeks), with 2 minutes of rest on the 505 and 90 seconds on the cuts; and the lateral bound 3×6 holding the landing for a second. There is one rule: the knee always over the foot, and if it caves in, you slow down until it stops. If you declare a knee injury, the cuts, the 505 and the jumps that load it are removed from the plan.

The max-velocity dose is not lost. Flying sprints need 40 straight metres and the app does not fake them on a court: when the max-velocity session does not fit, it adds a microdose after club training, four or three days before the game: two 40 m build-ups and 4 all-out 20 m sprints with 2 minutes of rest, twenty minutes in total. That is the weekly exposure that protects your hamstrings (Malone, 2017), and if 7 days pass without it the app warns you.

Jumps go up by contacts, not by enthusiasm. Extensive plyometrics (pogos, short lateral hops, zigzag, broad jump, jump step-up) at 40-60 contacts per session if you are starting, 60-90 as an intermediate and 80-120 as an advanced player, with 60 seconds between sets; intensive work (box, 50-70 cm hurdles, bounds, and the 30-40 cm drop jump only for advanced players) comes in after 15 accumulated extensive sessions, with 2 minutes between sets. That is what Sáez de Villarreal (2012) asks for: more than 80 jumps per session at high intensity improve the sprint, but with at least 15 sessions; before that, the tendon is not ready.

The week around the game is the same as in football (you have it drawn further down): gym two days after the previous game or four before the next, sprinting three or four days out, nothing hard the day before, rest or prevention the day after. The minutes you play set the recovery: from 20, one day without high load; from 60, two. In the gym the upper body is moderate: a 2×8 row if the session has time; the bench press is left for rugby and handball.

The week is built around your match

You tell the app which days you train with your team and when you play; it places its sessions by distance to the match. Example week: club on Tuesday and Thursday, match on Saturday, three sessions of your own.

  1. Mon
    MD+2
    Base strength
    54’
  2. Tue
    MD-4
    Club + speed microdose
    28’
  3. Wed
    MD-3
    Acceleration
    39’
  4. Thu
    MD-2
    Team training
  5. Fri
    MD-1
    Rest or activation
    15’
  6. Sat
    MD
    Match
    90’
  7. Sun
    MD+1
    Rest or prevention
EntrenAI sessionClub or match
  • The speed session goes on MD-3 or MD-4: far from the match, when you perform best and risk least. If max velocity does not fit, a microdose of flying runs after club training.
  • Nothing hard the day before. The day after, only prevention or rest.
  • 48 hours between two intense sessions, counting the match as one of them.
  • The minutes you played set the recovery: 60 or more means two days without high load.
  • If your coach already includes all-out sprints, the app does not duplicate them.

Who is this plan for?

  • You play for a club and train on court two or three days. That leaves you one or two sessions of your own and a single intense sprint session on top of the game (two if you are advanced). The plan places them between one game and the next, and the court is enough: the 40 straight metres are only needed for flying sprints and the 30 m test.

  • You want to be faster one-on-one. Ask for change of direction as your priority: that session goes first in the week, the hops are lateral and zigzag, and the 505 weighs 35% in your index.

  • You want to jump higher. Jumping has no session of its own: it is trained in the gym and in the plyometrics. When you ask for it as your priority, the jump blocks start with the broad jump, the tuck jump and the jump step-up, and the index weighs broad jump 30% and CMJ another 30%.

  • Pre-season, no games in fourteen days. Four or five sessions, two of them sprinting and never back to back (three if you are advanced), gym the day after running. With 40 metres the 20 m flying sprints come in with 4 minutes of rest, and an intermediate player's load week reaches 360 metres of sprinting.

  • Coming back from a knee or hamstring injury. With a declared knee injury the cuts, the 505 and the jumps that load it are removed; with a hamstring strain less than three months old, the first cycle has no flying sprints or sprint test and enters through short acceleration, the Nordic ladder and tempo.

With the court, two cones (two shoes will do) and a friend with a stopwatch you can do almost all of it. The gym adds the strength; without a barbell, the app substitutes exercises for what you have.

The courses this plan uses most

In speed work the measurement is the instruction: where the cones go, how long each segment is and which part is timed. The app shows you this sketch before every course-based drill, with the distance adjusted to your sport and level.

  • 1. 5 m2. 10 m3. 5 mstart
    Change of direction

    5-10-5 (pro agility)

    Start at the middle cone: 5 m one way, 10 m the other and 5 m back. Touch the line with your hand at every turn.

  • 10 m out5 m shuffle10 m shufflestart
    Change of direction

    T-test

    Forward on the way out, sideways without crossing your feet, backwards on the return. It measures braking, shuffling and re-accelerating.

  • 10 m sprint1233 steps to stop
    Change of direction

    3-step deceleration

    Sprint 10 m and stop in three steps, hips back and chest up. Braking well is what protects the knee.

  • 3 m
    Change of direction

    Cone zigzag

    Five cones in a line 3 m apart; you are the one zigzagging. Short steps into each cone and push off the outside leg.

  • run-inleftrightpartner points here
    Change of direction

    Reactive change of direction

    You do not know which side until you reach the cone: your partner points. That is what happens in a match.

  • 15 m out15 m backtouch the line
    Repeated sprints

    Shuttle repeated sprints

    15 m out, touch the line, 15 m back. The next one starts every 25 s. For when you do not have 40 m of straight ground.

Measured with what you have: a friend, a tape measure and a phone

Every five weeks, in the deload week, the app walks you through a short test battery. No €300 GPS pods, no lab: three attempts, the best one counts, and the result is compared against yourself.

  • 10 m

    Acceleration: the start.

    A friend with the phone stopwatch, or normal-speed video.

  • 30 m

    Acceleration plus transition; top speed is estimated from here.

    Same. With a 10 m split if you have two watches or video.

  • 20 m fly

    Pure max velocity. Optional, for advanced players.

    30 m build-up and 20 m timed: you need 50 m of clear ground.

  • Broad jump

    Horizontal power, the one that drives acceleration.

    A tape measure. Best of three.

  • Vertical jump (CMJ)

    Vertical power and neuromuscular fatigue. Optional.

    With My Jump or height estimated from video.

  • 505

    Change of direction and left-right asymmetry. Optional.

    Two cones and a stopwatch, two attempts per leg.

The two numbers you see

  • Top speed (km/h)

    The number people quote in the changing room. From the 20 m fly, or estimated from the 10→30 m split.

  • Speed-power index (0-100)

    Percentile against players of your sex and level, weighted by what you said you wanted to improve. It places you; improvement is measured against yourself.

So that noise does not count as progress

  • Hand-held stopwatch: the app adds 0.24 s (Mann 2015) and notes it on the record.
  • With two or more tests, your own typical error sets the smallest change that matters: about 0.06 s over 30 m, about 6 cm on the jump. Below that, no improvement or loss is announced.
  • If you change timing method, the app warns that it is not comparable and starts a new series.
  • What already comes in from Strava or Garmin (top speed of each activity) counts as a trend, never as a test.
Sample plan

Your first weeks, in detail

Week 3

In season, cycle 1: court, club Tuesday and Thursday, match on Saturday
DaySession typeDetailDuration
MondayBase strength (MD+2)Back squat 4×6-8, Barbell hip thrust 4×6-8, Bulgarian split squat 3×6-8 per leg, Romanian deadlift 3×6-8, Isometric hamstring bridge hold 3×25 s, Standing calf raise 3×8-10, Pallof press 2×10 per side63 min
TuesdayClub + speed microdose (MD-4)Build-ups 40-60 m 2×40 m, 10-20 m sprint 4×20 m20 min
WednesdayChange of direction (MD-3)High knees 2×20 m, 3-step deceleration 2×4, 505 change of direction 3×1 (alternate legs), 45° cut 3×4, Cone zigzag 3×4, Lateral bound (skater jump) 3×6, Pogo hops 3×10, Alternating split jump 2×1052 min
ThursdayTeam training (MD-2)Your coach runs today. Eat well and sleep: it is load the plan accounts for.—
FridayRest (MD-1)Recovery—
SaturdayMatch (MD)Play. Afterwards log the minutes you played: the plan adjusts the next two days.90 min
SundayRest (MD+1)Recovery after the match—

Week 8

Pre-season, cycle 2 (strength and power): jumping priority
DaySession typeDetailDuration
MondayMax velocityWickets 3×20 m, Build-ups 40-60 m 2×50 m, Flying 20 m (30 m build-up) 6×20 m, Jump step-up 5×10, Pogo hops 5×1068 min
TuesdayMax strengthBarbell jump squat 3×5, Back squat 3×4-5, Barbell hip thrust 4×4-5, Bulgarian split squat 3×6-8 per leg, Romanian deadlift 3×6-8, Isometric hamstring bridge hold 3×25 s, Pallof press 2×10 per side62 min
WednesdayRestRecovery—
ThursdayChange of directionHigh knees 2×20 m, 3-step deceleration 2×4, 505 change of direction 4×1 (alternate legs), 45° cut 4×4, Cone zigzag 4×4, Lateral bound (skater jump) 3×6, Jump step-up 5×10, Pogo hops 3×1062 min
FridayRestRecovery—
SaturdayExtensive tempoHigh knees 2×20 m, Extensive tempo 100 m at 65-70% 8×100 m29 min
SundayRestRecovery—

These examples are real extracts from the EntrenAI planning engine. Your personal plan adjusts to your level, equipment and availability.

Equipment needed

EntrenAI automatically substitutes any exercise if you don’t have the gear.

  • An indoor court or any 20-40 m strip: a 28 m court fits every session except flying sprints
  • Two or three cones, or two shoes, to mark the 505, the cuts and the zigzag
  • A friend with the phone stopwatch, or the app's video timer if you train alone
  • A tape measure for the broad jump; My Jump or video if you also want the CMJ
  • A gym with a barbell, or dumbbells and bands: the plan substitutes exercises for what you have
  • Optional: a box and low hurdles for the plyometric blocks
  • Optional: 40 metres of grass or park once a week, for flying sprints and the 30 m test
Common mistakes

What most people get wrong (and how to avoid it)

  1. 1

    Cutting with the knee caving in

    This is what the change-of-direction session watches before the stopwatch: the knee always over the foot when braking and when planting the outside foot on a cut. If it caves in, you slow down until it stops. That is why the session starts with three-step braking, hips back and chest up: braking well is what protects the knee.

  2. 2

    Jumping onto the box and jumping off it

    A box jump is jumping up and stepping down. Jumping off the box is the drop jump, a different exercise from a different phase: it comes in from 30-40 cm only for advanced players, and if the ground contact is long the height goes down. Mixing the two is the fastest way to load a tendon with no base.

  3. 3

    Doing intensive plyometrics in the first month

    High hurdles, bounds and drop jumps improve the sprint when the programme exceeds 80 jumps per session at high intensity, but with at least 15 sessions behind it (Sáez de Villarreal, 2012). The plan counts accumulated extensive sessions and does not move to intensive before 15, with contacts by level: 40-60 per session to start, 60-90 as an intermediate, 80-120 as an advanced player.

  4. 4

    Assuming a court means there is no top speed to look after

    Players who reach 95% of their max speed at least once a week get injured far less than those who stay at 85% (Malone, 2017), and in 28 metres no drill takes you there. That is why the plan adds the microdose after club training, 4 sprints of 20 metres with full rest, and warns you after 7 days without exposure.

  5. 5

    Always doing the 505 on the same leg

    In the session the turning leg alternates, and in the test there are two attempts per leg: the difference between right and left is a number the app keeps. Always turning on your good side gives a nice time and hides the asymmetry that shows up in the game.

  6. 6

    Measuring the jump every week and believing every centimetre

    Tests come every five weeks, in the deload, and only count as improvement when they exceed your typical error: about 6 cm on the broad jump, 2 cm on the CMJ and 0.06 s on the 505. With two or more tests, the app calculates that error from your own attempts. A good day is not progress, and a bad day is not a loss.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, almost all of it. When you set it up you choose the 20-40 metre option, which is where a 28 m court falls. That covers the 15 m acceleration, the change-of-direction session, the jumps and the on-court test battery: broad jump, 10 metres and 505. The only things that need 40 straight metres are flying sprints and the 30 m test, and the app does not fake them: when they do not fit, the weekly exposure to max velocity comes in as a microdose of 4 sprints of 20 metres after club training. An occasional outing to a park with 40 metres adds the flying sprints and the 30.

With a session of its own that starts with mechanics and ends with cuts at speed. First three-step braking after a 10 m sprint, 2 sets of 4; then the 505 (you run 15 metres, turn 180° at the 5 m line and come back) alternating the leg, the 45° cut planting the outside foot and the zigzag through five cones 3 metres apart, in 3 or 4 sets with 2 minutes of rest on the 505 and 90 seconds on the rest; and to finish, the lateral bound 3×6 and the jump block. In the sport-specific phase an advanced player moves on to the reactive drill: a partner points left or right as you reach the cone, and the timed 5-10-5 and 505 come in. You have the sketches with the measurements further down.

Jumping has no session of its own: it is trained in the gym and in the plyometrics, and when you ask for it as your priority the jump blocks start with the broad jump, the tuck jump and the jump step-up, with the box, the triple jump and the drop jump once intensive work is due. In the strength-and-power phase the barbell jump squat comes in at 30-40% of your 1RM. The CMJ is logged as an optional test every five weeks and weighs 30% in your index if your priority is jumping. In the app's reference tables an adult amateur male player sits between 28 and 46 cm (36 at the median) and a female player between 20 and 35 (27).

With My Jump on your phone, or from a video where height is estimated from flight time; you log the best of three in the test record. If you do not want to complicate things, the broad jump with a tape measure needs nothing and works just as well to track horizontal power, which is what matters in acceleration. Both have a typical error: 2 cm on the CMJ and 6 on the broad jump, and only above that does the app talk about improvement.

The same as in football. You say which days you train with the team and when you play, and the app places its own work by distance to the game: the gym two days after the previous game or four before the next, the sprint session (change of direction or acceleration) three or four days out, the microdose after club training if max velocity does not fit, two days out only technique or prevention, the day before nothing, and the day after rest or prevention. The minutes you played set the recovery: from 20, one day without high load; from 60, two. If your coach already includes all-out sprints, they are not duplicated.

If you declare a knee injury in your profile, the plan removes the cuts, the 505, the 5-10-5 and the jumps that load it (lateral bound, drop jump, high hurdles) and carries on with the rest. Without a declared knee injury, the rule inside the session is to slow down if the knee caves in. And the daily check-in overrides everything: with hamstring or groin pain, or low readiness, the speed session turns into prevention; biofeedback trims sets, never rests or intensity.

No. Basketball is an option inside the Speed and power sport, included in the EntrenAI subscription with the same 7-day free trial and the same price: €7.99 a month or €23.99 a year, cancel any time, on iOS and Android. The speed panel, with your index, your 10 m, jump and 505 marks and their trend, lives in the performance screen.

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