TIP! Practice hitting your free throws. As easy as these shots may seem, they are rather hard.

You have accessed this article to learn more about the great sport of basketball. You are a player with love for the sport. But even the best of basketball players realizes that not everyone knows everything about the sport. There’s an excellent chance that you’ll acquire a few skills here. Read on for some useful ways you can improve your basketball game.

Free Throws

TIP! Avoid errant passes by using hand signals. Oftentimes frustration occurs when trying you aren’t on the same page with a teammate who cuts to the basketball when you try to pass him the ball.

Connecting on your free throws is as much mental as it is physical. Your body can be trained to make free throws, but your mind has to be focused on success if you want to make the basket. Stay focused and vigilant to improve your ability to make free throws.

TIP! Have your team mates critique your playing skills. What are your your best skill areas? They may say you’re fast or that you share well.

Lifting weights too much can actually take away from your jump shot. Muscle strength is great for any position in basketball, you can have too much when it comes to perimeter play. Some shooting guards that play professionally have such big arms that their field goal rate went down.

TIP! When exercising, concentrate on building up core strength and improving your footwork. With strong core muscles, you will have better balance.

Tricking the other team is a good way to win a game. Try using a back pass! Hold the ball in your strong hand to start the pass. Then, put the ball around your back. Next, snap your wrist in the direction you want the ball to be moved to. This is a very useful trick to confuse the opposing team.

TIP! If you’re quick on the basketball court, you have a built in advantage. Speeding up the temp allows you to out-quick your opponent.

If you have a child that is strength training for basketball, their core muscles should be properly developed. They should train their lower back, hips, and abs. The core is the muscle group that links the arms and legs together. If their core strength is poor, then so will their athletic performance be. A strong core helps the legs move better, like jumping higher and running faster.

TIP! Work on passing through your legs to add another skill to your arsenal. Bounce the ball very hard through your legs while stepping to the front or the back.

Avoid errant passes by using hand signals. It can be frustrating making a pass when a player moves away towards the basket. You can get around that when you use hand signals, if a player can receive a pass. No signal, no pass.

TIP! Practicing with your weak hand will help to make you a better dribbler. If both hands are useful for dribbling, your opponents will not stand much of a chance.

When an injury occurs while you are playing ball, don’t keep playing with pain. This is a physically challenging game, so you may end up hurt much worse. Playing through an injury can prolong it which is always bad. If the pain is bad, visit a doctor.

TIP! Be sure your vision is unobstructed. Vision is an integral part of making shots and catching passes.

If you slump when you shoot, look at what your shoulders are doing. When they are out of alignment, all shots will fail. Your shoulders should always be squared towards the hoop. You want your strong-side shoulder in perfect alignment with the rim.

TIP! It can be great help to do strength training when you’re training for basketball. Conditioning training will also increase your stamina.

Always be aware of where you have your feet and what you are going to do with them next. If you have the ball and you step outside the baseline, then you’re out of bounds. Also, you can cause a turnover if you walk without dribbling the ball. Avoid lifting your feet when you are screening or in position for a charge or the foul will be called on you instead of your opponent.

TIP! To increase your three-point shooting skill, shoot from where the NBA players range. All the other three point lines are much closer than the NBA line.

Get someone to analyze how you play on tape. Are you able to see what you’ve missed or things that you could improve on? Assess yourself honestly, but don’t be a harsh critic. You can learn a lot by watching how you play and what you need to concentrate practicing on.

TIP! If you want to improve your outside shooting skills then you need to take hundreds of shots each day from all over the court. You should also practice starting with a dribble and then taking a shot.

When you’re practicing passing, try to look the other way. This will make your actions very confusing to the other team. Not only will they not see the pass coming, they may think a pass is going in the opposite direction. This play can be very powerful.

TIP! Don’t stop dribbling until you are ready to pass or shoot. When you stop dribbling, then you limit your options.

Develop and use a consistent routine for shooting free throws. If you aren’t consistent, you will find that your shooting is off. To better perfect free throw techniques, try using repetition via practicing one routine repeatedly. This will help you develop a routine. If that routine goes off, it will cause you to miss your shot.

TIP! Make sure your dribble is consistent until you decide to shake up the opposing player. Dribble consistently, then break it up by dribbling fast.

Perform drills in which you move the ball up the court in just five dribbles. This may seem quite difficult at first, but once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you’ll have great speed and stride length. It can mean easier lay-ups when dealing with fast breaks and it can help your teammates for just a moment.

TIP! Practice all types of shots while in different distances and angles. Begin with practicing your grip and balance.

If you use these tips, you will feel a revived energy when you play the game. When you learn something new, you can see how they will work. Show off your new abilities with the tips you just learned. Enjoy basketball every day!