Fitness Friday: Squats With Micah Kurtz

By Micah Kurtz

I have been blessed to serve as the strength and conditioning coach for multiple state champions and designed and consulted on the strength program for a national champion high school basketball team. Many people ask me what I believe are the best strength training exercises for developing young basketball athletes. My answer is that there is not an absolute “best” list. Coaches must first decide the principles of their program. From there, they can determine the methods to reach their goals.

That being said, I do have some exercises that I believe work best for my high school basketball players. In the next five weeks, I will describe the five I use most. These exercises are not in any particular order except for the first: the squat. I consider the squat the most important exercise for basketball players.

THE SQUAT:

The squat is the No. 1 movement in all of my strength programs, including my basketball program. I tell my players that athletes are built from the ground up. If they want to run fast and jump high, they must have a strong base, and that all starts with the squat exercise.

The squat exercise has gotten a bad reputation from some basketball strength coaches and physical therapists who believe that tall players shouldn’t squat because they cannot do it properly. When I say the squat exercise is the No. 1 movement in my strength program, I am not talking only about the back squat. Depending on their current level, my athletes may use a front squat, a goblet or dumbbell squat, or just an air squat. Additionally, I love the rear foot elevated split squat for my basketball players. We put all of our athletes through a squat progression and only advance them when they’ve demonstrated proficiency in each movement.

Basketball players are always asking me what they need to do increase their vertical jump. Vertical jumping is a measurement of power, so the more an athlete can enhance their power, the greater their jumping ability will be. Force is a component of the power equation. The squat exercise will enhance an athlete’s force production capabilities during the hip and knee flexion and extensions, which are vital for jumping. Additionally, the squat increases leg-strength-to-bodyweight ratio, an important component in an athlete’s ability to accelerate, decelerate, produce power, and elevate themselves into the air.

Simply put, if an athlete wants to be a better basketball player -- jump higher, run faster, stop in less time, and change direction quicker -- they need to produce more force. Squats have a direct effect on these skills and the force needed to excel at them.

So start squatting and enjoy the benefits of improved athleticism!

In strength,

Coach Kurtz, MS, CSCS, RSCC*D, USAW, FMS

VIDEO EXERCISES:

Body weight squat:

1. Push the hips back
2. Keep chest up and back flat
3. Sit back toward your heels
4. As you go down, push your knees away from each other
5. Control the squat on the way down and come up faster

Goblet/ Kettle Bell/ Dumbbell Squat: 

The cues are the same except you want to hold the weighted object at shoulder height. Keep the arms tight to the upper body. Now since you have a weight in front of you, the athlete can really sit back into the squat.

Front Squat

The cues are the same except you want to hold the barbell on your shoulders. The bar should rest on the front of the shoulders and clavicles. Keep your elbows up so the bar stays in good position.

Back Squat:

The cues are the same except the bar should rest on the back of the shoulders at the base of the neck. The scapula should be retracted.

Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat:

1. Hop the front foot out so your knee stays behind your toe as you descend
2. Push the hips back as you descend
3. Keep chest up and back flat
4. Top of thigh should be parallel to the ground

Micah Kurtz, MS, CSCS*D, RSCC*D, USAW, FMS, NASE, is in his eighth year as Director of Strength and Conditioning at AC Flora High School in Columbia, S.C., which was won 14 state championships in the past five years, including the 2016 boys’ basketball championship. He also serves as Strength and Conditioning Consultant Coach to nine-time high school basketball national champion Oak Hill Academy, which won the Dick’s High School National Basketball Tournament in 2016. Kurtz was named the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) National Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2016. He was also named the South Carolina High School Strength and Conditioning Coach of the year in both 2013 and 2014 and is part of the NSCA’s Subject Matter Expert Committee. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @KurtzM3 or visit his website at: www.TheAthleteMaker.com.