Everyone from presidents to working class people have played the game of basketball. Whether you play it in school, in your spare time or even professionally, it will bring you a joy like few other sports can. To make the game even more enjoyable, check out all of the tips below.
It’s simple to want to work on offense when you’re getting into basketball, but it’s smarter to think about defense practice too. Basketball games are often won by the defense. Offense receives all the glory, but it is nothing without the best defense.
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.
To improve your basketball dribbling skills, set cones out on the court and practice dribbling in and out of the cones. Go from one end of the court to the other at different speeds to enhance your ball control. After you have been up and down the court several times, practice stopping and shooting from various positions.
To keep passes under control, make use of hand signals. One things that’s frustrating in basketball is passing to a teammate while they try heading to the basket. You can stay away from doing this if you use a hand signal to see if someone is ready for a pass. If no signal is displayed, a pass ought not be made.
Picking the right basketball shoe can be very important to your game. If you need support for your ankles, choose a high top sneaker. Make sure that the sole of the shoe has enough traction to prevent slipping. Always buy a shoe that is the correct size by having your feet measured at a sporting goods store.
Try yoga to improve your basketball game. You might not want to tell your teammates about it, since some of them are going to likely laugh. However, the increased flexibility and agility you get helps prevent injuries or at least leaves able to get back up quicker when you get knocked down. Don’t laugh; Kareem Abdul-Jabaar used it to extend his NBA career.
Learn the positions on a basketball court. Each position has different roles to fill on both offense and defense. There are guards, point guards, forwards, power forwards, and centers. If you want to really enjoy basketball, learn the needs of all of the positions, not just the one you are most interested in.
Video tape your games, and then review your technique later. Can you see chances that you missed or ways that you could have done better? Do not waste time criticizing yourself. Just make an honest assessment. This gives you an unfettered view of how you actually performed on the court, rather than relying solely on your memory of the game.
Want to try a drill which will really work you out? Try dribbling with two balls at once! This will help you learn to master dribbling with both hands, plus it will build your arm muscles very quickly. You can’t use your eyes for this exercise, so you will learn to dribble without looking at your hands.
To get an amazing arm workout, dribble the ball on a patch of dirt. This will take a lot of power as the dirt absorbs most of the energy you put into the ball when it hits. Do this for a few minutes, but don’t over exert yourself or you could hurt your arm.
Remember that being good at basketball starts with being athletic. That means working on all of your skills, not just those which involve a ball. Run to build stamina and your cardiovascular health, and lift weights to build your strength. The harder you work on your overall condition, the better you will play.
In order to play basketball you need to have good legs and be free from injuries. Unfortunately many people who play basketball develop injuries to their ankles. You can prevent these injuries by getting yourself a good pair of basketball shoes. Although they are pricier these days, it’s well worth it if you want to prevent those horrible ankle injuries.
To play the best defense, you have to beat your man to the place he wants to go and force him to go somewhere else. This means that your feet have to move quickly, so practice shuffling from side to side without crossing your feet. This is the quickest way to move laterally on the floor and will frustrate your man.
To inbound a basketball when no one is open and your defender’s back is to you, you can pull a trick — just toss the ball lightly off the defender’s back. Then step inbounds with both feet and grab the ball and go. The ball just has to touch a player inbounds before you can touch it again.
Use only your fingertips when you are dribbling the ball. It may be tempting when you are first starting out to dribble with the palms of your hand, but you’ll have no control over the ball at all. When you use your finger tips, you’ll see that you’ll have a lot more control overall.
To warm up your hands for a game, hold the ball ahead of your chest then slap it hard as you pass it from one hand to the other. This helps you to truly get a feel for the ball while the blood begins to flow through your hands, getting them ready to play.
When you love something, you need to work hard to become better at it. This is true of all sports, even basketball. While the game itself may seem simple, it takes practice and education to master it. This article is a great first step, so use the tips read here and improve your play.
