
Basketball knows not of gender discrimination. People of every race, age, and sex can enjoy the fun and excitement of a basketball game. Get your friends together and impress them with your new moves. What new moves? Keep reading to learn what sorts of things you can do.
You need to learn the correct way to dribble the ball. Use the fingertips, not the palm, for the best dribbling. This gives you the best ball control. Dribble the ball around the height of your waist, and over to one side. Keep your head up, do not stare down towards the ground.
Free Throws
Practice your free throw shot. There are usually a lot of distractions when you are shooting free throws so you need to concentrate. Use the following directions to perfect free throws and practice often. Start out by holding the basketball right in front of you. Picture yourself going through the shot in your mind, with the ball sinking through the net. Bend your knees to control the arc of the ball.
Start out with proper balance before attempting to take a shot. You’ve seen the pros fall out of bounds when trying to shoot 30 feet from the basket; this is a bad move. These are not practiced skills, they are just flukes. If you have correct balance when you are making a shot, you will make more consistent baskets over time.
Work on improving your strengths to become an even better player. You can contribute to the team by consolidating your best skills, even if these skills do not make you one of the star players. Know the things you’re great at and keep practicing until there is no one better than you.
Bounce Passes
Learn the way to throw proper bounce passes. Bounce passes should not go above or below the receiving players waist. Aim for a firm bounce pass that hits the ground around 3/4 of the distance between you and the intended player. There are, however, other factors that influence the pass.
If you have a high school level basketball player for a kid, be sure their core muscles are properly trained. Core muscles include hips, abs and the lower back. Stronger core muscles will help them be more resistant and allow them to develop many different athletic abilities. A core that’s solid and strong will allow you to use force that comes from your legs so you can jump higher and run faster.
To make sure there are no errant passes, use hand signals. Basketball passes can be really frustrating when shot wrong. You can avoid this by using hand signals if a player is able to take a pass. If the signal is absent, do not pass to that player.
Good footwork is important when you’re posting up in the paint. Being physical under the rim is crucial, but having good positioning on the court is even better. Once you’re in position, you also need to secure your spot. Practicing your footwork is important to master these skills.
Proper handling of the ball requires that your fingers be spread apart. That will ensure that it doesn’t get away from you as you hold it. Your palm should touch the ball as little as possible. Only your fingers should touch it during a pass or when dribbling.
Quickness is something that’s desired in basketball. Developing speed and vision is vital to playing the game well. Steady drilling will help speed up your play. Although being fast is important, avoid playing faster than your capabilities. By playing beyond your speed capabilities, you will quickly lose control of the ball, which will lead to bad passes, bad shots, and turnovers.
Practice passing while looking another way. You can really confuse your opponents this way. You give your teammate a better chance to make the shot because the opposing player is moving the wrong direction when you pass the ball. This can be a great play if it is done correctly.
Develop and use a consistent routine for shooting free throws. A routine that is constantly in flux will only open up more opportunities for failure. You should work on your free throw techniques as much as possible until they become a second nature. A break in your routine will foul the shot.
A great drill to try is to see how many dribbles it takes for you to make it across the court. The ideal number of dribbles is five. You may find this very challenging, but once accomplished it will give you a real edge. In games, this drill will become useful when you have fast break opportunities.
Make sure that the pace changes when you are on defense. When you running towards the basket, try planting the front foot and start straightening up. The guard is sure to anticipate a slow-down and will then straighten their own body. When they do, push ahead hard and outrun them.
Remain low when playing defense. You will become faster and react faster. Maintain your proper defensive stance no matter what. If you break the stance to shot-block, then recover the proper form immediately after the pass or shot.
Now that you know how to play, you can be confident when you play. You may even have a few tricks up your sleeve. Keep in mind that this game is supposed to be fun, and it needs to stay that way. Whatever the case may be, it is fun to win the game.