What You’ve Always Wanted To Know About Basketball
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much would you say you know about basketball? Whether you said 1, 10 or somewhere in between, the great thing about basketball is there is always something to learn. Continue reading to find out some helpful advice about improving your basketball game.
Practicing with your team is important, but don’t overlook the value of daily practice on your own. Set up a daily practice time for yourself and stick to your schedule. Practice footwork, shooting, and dribbling. It is also important to include strength training and endurance training in your practice schedule.
If you need to improve your basketball shooting ability, practice as if you were really in a game. Rather than taking your time to throw the perfect shot, act as if there are defensive players around you, trying to distract you and take away the ball. This will help you shoot better under pressure and make the shots that count.
When shooting a basketball, it is important to stay relaxed and stay focused. Tensing your forearms can result in a missed shot. Additionally, losing focus can cause you to miss a shot that you would normally make. To help keep you relaxed and focused, take a deep breath before shooting.
When using the ball a lot, you must relearn a crossover. This move entails transferring the basketball from your left hand to your right hand and back again. It has to be done fast to be effective. Learn how to perform a crossover dribble will help you get down court quickly.
Learn to pass more in basketball, even if it means giving up a good shot. Unless your team is down and must have the score, letting other players take a chance will improve the team as a whole. Taking all the shots that you can will cause other players and probably the coach to view you as selfish and not a true team player.
Even though dribbling movement should start with the feet and below the knees, finish or follow through the movements with your whole body. The right combination of eye and arm motions can actually throw your defender off for even a half of a second, giving you the daylight you need to make a play or pass.
As you develop your ability to shoot a basketball, try practicing on one foot only. This will improve many areas of your play, including accuracy when shooting. As you get better, move to practicing your shot from greater distances. Only after you master the basic techniques will you truly get better at long distance shots.
To play your best game of basketball, it is important to keep focused. Even when the action is not near your position, remain aware of the action and be ready to move fast. A positive attitude combined with being fully focused on what you are doing can give you the competitive advantage.
If you aren’t shooting the ball well, you need to concentrate on your shoulders. If you have bad shoulder position it doesn’t matter how great you are the shot isn’t going to go in. Ensure that you line up your shoulders so that they are squared with the basketball net. Also, allow your dominant shoulder to line up with the rim.
Once you are in your defensive stance, remember to hold your ground. Keep your feet moving to each side or push your opposing foot off so you can keep yourself in position. Stay low and make it hard for opponents to get around you.
Speed and agility is important, but you need to know how to practice to improve those skills. Running yourself ragged by training for long lengths of time or by running long distances won’t benefit your play on the court. Instead, practice sprints and other short bursts of exercise. This better mimics how on the court play really is.
To trap the opposing players in a 2-3 zone, have the defending guards hold back till the opposing point guard has moved beyond the midcourt line by about ten feet. At this point, your guards must rush the point guard thus trapping him. At the same time, have your forwards on the blocks sprint out to the players on the wings. This will likely cause the point guard to make a high, short pass, which your forwards will steal quite easily.
With this advice, you can’t go wrong! No matter what skill level you have at the moment, you are only bound for improvement if you make use of these tips. It doesn’t matter whether you play for fun or competitively, learning all you can will turn you into a better player.
