It is possible to read many articles about footwork. However, there are few if any, articles that state what the footwork should be like and how it can be best taught and trained. Many articles extol the virtues of doing drills to learn footwork but this is not teaching what the footwork should be.
Drills are great for reinforcing a learned skill but not for teaching or learning how to execute a particular skill. For example, how do you move the feet (legs) in a sharp cutting action for forty-five and/or 90° to the direction in which you are running? What is the footwork involved in moving immediately in the opposite direction from the one that you are moving in?
When you do a drill you repeat a pattern. But if you do not have the correct pattern, you will be reinforcing improper technique. Doing this will not lead to better execution but to worse execution! But if you first learn the correct foot work when executing a specific type of cutting action or movement, the drill would be excellent for reinforcing the learned footwork.
In other words, you have to learn how to execute the movement before you do the drill to reinforce the movement. You must do enough repetitions of the skill when it is executed in a specific manner to reinforce the learning.
This is an example of effective teaching and learning to mastery a skill or movement. But yet, we constantly read articles stating that footwork “… can be taught and skilled feet can be developed by using a variety of drills.”
Coaches often maintain that footwork is the most overlooked and under-developed aspect of playing a sport. This can be considered a true statement but just saying that footwork is overlooked and under-developed does not resolve the problem. There must be effective teaching and learning of the skill.
We see plenty of drills for the learning and perfection of many skills. But instead of getting effective learning we seem to be reinforcing more of the bad habits. This is why it is possible even on a professional level, to see many if not most of the athletes still executing poor cutting actions. This is vivid evidence of ineffective learning.
For more information on footwork and execution of cutting actions see Build a Better Athlete and Explosive Basketball Training.