Few sports are as fast paced as basketball. You need energy, determination and motivation to really succeed from game to game. The other important thing you need is good information that will help you improve your skills. Take a look at this article and let these suggestions guide you to a better game.
When you’re passing the ball, make sure that you pass the ball to the location of where the person should be headed. You don’t want your pass to be the reason a person needs to slow down or double back. Your pass should be aimed for a little bit in front of the person that you are passing to.
When handling the ball, make sure you spread out your fingers. This makes it less likely that the ball will slip away from you. Also, keep your palm from making contact with the ball. Only your fingers should be involved in the process of getting the ball to where you want it to go.
When you have the ball, make sure you change your direction frequently. The entire court is open to you, and it is important to take advantage of that fact. As you move to the right or the left, make sure you shift your weight accordingly to have the easiest experience moving with the ball.
When dribbling, make sure to keep your head straight up. If you find that you keep looking down at the ball, you haven’t practiced dribbling enough. You need to gain the advantage of being able to see the court while dribbling. Then you can surprise your opponent with smart passes and quick drives to areas where they are not.
It is important that you practice layups. Layups sometimes wind up being 4 out of every 5 shots in basketball. Don’t just walk through a layup drill. It is key to go at game tempo to practice the timing needed to maintain accuracy. Practicing this technique helps you learn to make layups during a game.
You have to know how to bounce pass properly. Bouncing the pass to the receiver should be at their waist. A good estimation is to target the ball to bounce at about 3/4 of the distance that the receiving player is. Many other factors will affect it, too.
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.
To help your muscles get used to the change of pace in dribbling during a regular game, do 10-5 drills. Soft dribble for 5 seconds, then power dribble for 10. Do it these drills a number of times on each hand. That way, the muscles in your arms will be prepared to change pace as quickly as you need to.
Basketball really keeps you moving. It is high-energy and demands the best from players. Now that you have been exposed to some great tips and ideas, you can better enjoy the game. You can feel confident that you have some new or improved skills to bring to the court and dominate the competition.