Basketball is an extremely popular sport. It’s easy to just go down to the park and play a game if you’d like, or you can make it a career if you start early enough. Read on to learn the ins and outs of basketball.

When you dribble, look forward, keeping your head up. If you must look at the ball while dribbling, you haven’t practiced enough. Always have a basketball handy. Dribble on your way to school. You will not be able to see what’s happening before you on the court while beholding the ball.

TIP! Learn how to hit a free throw shot. The execution of a free throw is not as simple as it may appear.

Make sure that you practice your layups frequently. In a typical game, up to four-fifths of all shots are layups. When you practice, run toward the net, and then get a high jump in so you can smoothly shoot. This type of technique will translate well into actual game situations.

Watching the pros play is a great way to see how great basketball players use their skills in the game. Watch professionals play or go check out talented local teams to see who has the moves that you want to learn. By doing this, you will quickly find that players all have their unique subset of skills, allowing you the best chance to see what areas are the best fit for your personal game.

It is important to practice catching the ball from others as much as passing. When you practice, be sure to do drills that improve catching wild throws and making great passes. During a game, not all of your passes will hit the mark. Help your team by learning to catch those bad passes, as well as those perfect passes.

TIP! Look forward when dribbling. If you start staring at the ball while you dribble, you know you need to practice more.

If you want to take jump shots, don’t spend time pumping iron. It’s important to be strong, but not too strong. You will notice that most basketball players have well-defined muscles that are not overdeveloped.

Core Muscles

If your kid is going to try out for the basketball team, they should be properly training their core muscles. Core muscles include hips, abs and the lower back. The core connects the lower and upper extremities, and if a person has a weak core, they will fail to excel in athletic pursuits. By developing a strong core, your legs will follow suit.

TIP! Knowing how to perform a crossover is a must when you handle the basketball frequently. This is when the ball is moved from hand to hand.

Try using hand signals to ensure that your passes are received. One things that’s frustrating in basketball is passing to a teammate while they try heading to the basket. Avoid this using hand signals to see if they can get the pass. Without a signal, you should not attempt to pass the ball to a player.

You should now know what you need to do to get the most out of basketball. Not a difficult sport to understand, although it can be enhanced by learning and through hard work if you play. After you begin playing it you probably won’t want to stop. You can be a real player in no time.