Even the best basketball player does not know everything about the sport. There have been lots of changes to the game over the years, and being up to date on everything is key. Learn to get the upper-hand of your competition. Continue reading to find out how you can improve your game.
You need to learn the correct way to dribble the ball. When you dribble, only use your fingertips instead of your palms. This way you’ll have a lot more control over the ball. Keep the ball by your side as you dribble instead of right in front your body. Always look up and never look down at the ground.
Practice your layups a lot. Up to eighty percent of the baskets attempted in a game are layups. Whenever you practice, approach the goal full speed, jump and take a smooth shot. Practicing this technique helps you learn to make layups during a game.
You should learn the best way to throw a great bounce pass. Good bounce passes need to hit the other player waist length when they receive it. A good estimation is to target the ball to bounce at about 3/4 of the distance that the receiving player is. But, there are some factors that can change this.
Free throws require both mental and physical abilities. With everyone watching, it can be easy to allow the pressure to interfere with your game. Relax and focus on the basket; this will help you succeed.
Work on catching passes frequently. When practicing, try catching great passes as well as really bad passes. When the game is being played, passes may not be as perfect as we’d like. Therefore, learn how to catch any type of pass so that you can help lead your team to victory.
Entire Team
Learn good passing by drilling often without dribbling. Playing basketball without dribbling is very challenging, but your entire team will quickly improve their passing skills. This may be hard and frustrating at first, but as you get the hang of it your entire team will begin to excel at passing.
Passing between the legs is great when you are being closely guarded. Practice bouncing the basketball forcefully between your legs while stepping forwards and backwards. When you’ve mastered this step, you will be at a great advantage.
Practice passing while not looking in the direction of the pass. This throws your opponents off. When you do it right, the opponents are going to think you’re moving in one direction. That way, the person you’ve given the ball to has a bit of time to look at the net to taking a shot. Practicing this pass can really help to give your team the winning edge.
Basketball players need to engage in strength training. You need both stamina and strength to be a good player. Proper exercise allows younger players and older players an improved physical presence on the court. As players mature, weight training can begin. When you get to be an adult is when you want to concentrate on strength training to help improve durability on the court.
In order to help develop your non-dominant hand, you should use that hand only when trying to open things, and also when brushing your teeth. If you are able to become more dexterous in terms of your weaker hand in general life, you’re going to have better control of it. This will begin to spill over into your basketball game as well.
You should now feel a new level of confidence about playing basketball. These tips were made to better you as a player. Keep learning and practicing every day. Keep these tips in mind and take your skills to a whole new level.