What is 17s in Basketball Conditioning?

Physical fitness is a fundamental quality that a basketball player must possess. That’s why players like you had to have physical fitness. No matter your standing in basketball, you may have heard of the 17s basketball conditioning. What are 17s in basketball conditioning?

Basketball 17s drill conditioning is a cardiovascular exercise that targets to increase your overall fitness and stamina. The name “17” is derived from the 17 times you must run to and from the sides of the court for a minute.

Lace-up your sneakers and be prepared to learn everything about the drill in this blog.

What is 17s in Basketball?

The 17s conditioning drill in basketball is a widely regarded physical training imposed by basketball coaches in their training programs to enhance your endurance and cardiovascular condition. The moniker “17s” stems from the 17 number of back-and-fourth you must run across the basketball court.

In case you are having a hard time visualizing the drill, check out the video below that demonstrates the proper way to do a 17s basketball conditioning drill.

The specifications of this basketball conditioning drill encompass running back and forth across the court 17 times for one minute. You may increase the difficulty by incorporating other fundamental basketball drills like dribbling, sideways running, etc.

The drill may be straightforward but physically demanding, which effectively upskill many competence areas. It can improve your endurance, speed, agility, and competence to thrive in a high-intensity basketball game.

Aside from its cardiovascular improvement, the 17s drill is a strategic training plan that enhances mental focus and toughness. The reason is that you must maintain a certain intensity and pace from start to finish.

To put it simply, the drill is the epitome of resiliency in the face of adversity. This kind of mentality is a vital mindset you should nurture because basketball is indeed a challenging sport—physically and mentally.

Overall, the 17s basketball conditioning drill is an effective one that improves your mental and physical prowess. You may make it more demanding if the program needs to keep up with your skills. Most of all, it can be tailored to fit any basketball level.

How Fast Should a Player Run for 17s?

The speed at which you must complete the 17s basketball conditioning drill is one minute, but it sometimes varies depending on your skill level. The most important thing is that you must run at a high intensity and be fast-paced to ensure you complete the task in or under a minute.

This drill is perfect if you want to challenge your cardiovascular, endurance, and speed limits. However, you can tweak this drill to par with your level. If you are a newbie, the average number of to-and-fros is 12 repetitions per minute.

That said, running in the shortest time possible is vital while keeping good form and technique in mind. With the correct technique, you will reap gains in stamina, overall fitness, and endurance in a high-intensity game.

If you are still new to the drill, you may begin from low to high intensity. It means you must complete this conditioning for basketball by running at a moderate pace and increasing the speed and difficulty over time. Another thing is that you can increase the break time between one repetition to another.

Yes, the drill should be highly demanding, but it is vital to note that it should be attainable. The goal here is not to find the most challenging way possible but to find the level and pace that effectively push you beyond your healthy limits.

What Skill Would a Player Gain in Doing 17s?

Any basketball drill will help help you reach your optimum ability if used and performed well. In this case, these are the skills that you can gain in doing the 17s conditioning drill. 

• Stamina and Endurance

When performing this drill, you are expected to increase your ability to tolerate discomfort and exhaustion as much as possible. It helps you perform rigid activities for more extended periods.

These skills stem from the fact that you will need to perform intensive running for a minute. Imagine running to and fro the court 17 times in just a minute. Over time, you will increase your tolerance.

• Speed

Since you want to perform the task in the shortest time possible to have more time to rest, your body gradually adapts to a higher pace. As a result, you will notice a gradual decrease in your completion time of this drill. Of course, you will enhance your speed in the long run if you regularly do the 17s conditioning.

• Mental Toughness

Doing this for the first time can be exhausting indeed. Since you have to do 17 rounds, you will train your mind to keep pushing through amidst exhaustion and adversity. In the long run, you will learn to master the “never say die” mantra.

• Concentration and Focus

When reaching the conditioning stations for basketball 17 times, you will have to acquire a sound mind. It means that you must focus on completing the task and doing the exercises simultaneously.

This drill is perfect for increasing your mental alertness and physical wellness simultaneously. In addition to the abovementioned gains, you will also need to count the times you made rounds so that you will reap mental focus after all.

• Agility

The last of all is agility. Agility means your ability to change direction quickly. By nature, you will have to change your direction in doing this drill because you must go back and forth to the court.

Therefore, performing this repetitive drill will enhance your agility. As time passes, you will notice that your time-changing directions gradually get shorter. 

Overall, you will reap these gains if you have discipline within yourself. You must regularly incorporate this drill into your training program while ensuring that you do the tasks correctly.

Why Do Coaches Make Players Go for 17s?

There are many reasons why coaches include the 17s in the training program. One of the reasons is that it targets many skills you must acquire. It is like hitting a flock of birds with one stone.

Players are expected to become mentally and physically fit in doing the task. Among the skills that you will gain are agility, focus, concentration, endurance, and speed. The more you tweak this drill, the more it fits your needs.

Speaking of that, the drill is straightforward to change to respond to different basketball skills. No matter your basketball level, you can change the drill to make it more challenging or less demanding, depending on your skills. Therefore, it is a win-win situation for coaches and players alike.

3 Other Drills to Try When Conditioning

Aside from the 17, 13, 9, and 6 basketball drills, there are many more that serve the same purpose—to improve the physical and mental alertness of basketball players. Check out the list we prepared for you.

1. Shuttle Run Drill

The Shuttle Run Drill is a vital training exercise focusing on developing speed and agility. The drill involves starting from one end of the court, running to the other side, touching a designated line, and quickly returning to the starting point. 

The goal is to perform this movement fastest while considering proper form and technique. The drill’s emphasis on quickness, agility, and form provides an excellent opportunity to improve your motor skills.

 

2. Suicide Drill

The Suicide Drill is an intensive conditioning exercise in the basketball scene. You will begin at one end, running to the other end and back, then running to the midline of the court and back, and finally, run to the opposite end of the court and return to the beginning point. 

The drill is coined “suicide” because of its rigid nature, which demands you to challenge yourself to perform at your optimum capacity. By tweaking the drill’s speed, intensity, or distance, you can effectively target specific areas of development and improvement.

3. Box Drill

The Box Drill is a drill that requires coordination and agility. You need to start from one corner, run to the opposite end with or without a ball, touch the opposite baseline, run to the next corner, and then repeat the process in the opposite direction. It is an effective way to improve your footwork, balance, and overall body control.

 

Wrapping Things Up: What is 17s in Basketball Conditioning?

Basketball requires both mental and physical prowess. This is why coaches incorporate highly demanding drills like the 17s basketball conditioning in the training program. What are 17s in basketball conditioning?

The 17s drill is a conditioning exercise involving running from one end to the other of the court 27 times a minute. It is an effective way to improve your physical strength and mental alertness.

You will be faster, more focused, agile, and enduring at the end of each training. Hence, it is crucial to perform this drill perfectly because the more accurate the drill is, the better the result.

Lace up your shoes and hit the court now! It is not too late to start your training program!

We hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, be sure to check out our other basketball FAQ articles here.