Jumping is very important in girls basketball.
Jumping is required to shoot a jump shot, to preform a lay up and to also block shots.
Here are some advanced exercises that involve jumping and hopping horizontally.
Standing Long Jump This exercise is good for increasing basic leg power.
Begin by standing with your feet shoulder width apart.
Your toes should be behind a starting line.
Now bend your knees and bring your hands below your waist, then jump as far as you can.
Try extending fully with your ankles, knees, hips and arms to jump as far as possible.
Multiple Standing Long Jumps This is like the standing long jumps except you jump 3 times continuously.
Begin by standing with your feet shoulder width apart.
Your toes should be behind a starting line.
Now bend your knees and bring your hands below your waist, then jump as far as you can.
Try extending fully with your ankles, knees, hips and arms to jump as far as possible.
As soon as you land, try to jump again immediately.
Repeat 3 times.
Four Squares This exercise is great for building lateral movements.
Stand with your feet together on the inside of four markers.
The markers can be cones or dots.
Place the markers about 5 feet apart.
Keep your feet together, jump in various patterns in the direction of the markers.
For example, if the markers are number 1,2,3,4; a jumping sequence could be: center, 1, center,2 center, 3, center, 4, center.
Another combination could be center, 1, 2, 3, 4, center.
There are many combination possibilities.