Basketball is a remarkable sport because it allows you to achieve great things with only a few simple skills. The basics of basketball can be learned in a matter of minutes. However, you can always learn more if you would like to improve your game, and the following tips will help.
Learn proper dribbling. When you dribble a basketball you have to use the fingertips instead of the hand’s palm. Dribbling this way improves your ball control dramatically. Avoid dribbling in front of you and only dribble to the sides of your body. You should always be looking up instead of at the ground.
Make sure to practice your layups whenever possible. A huge percentage of successful shots are layups. When you practice, be sure to run at the goal with full speed, jumping and shooting in a smooth series of motions. Drill the jumping technique regularly so you can do layups very smoothly and always stay in control of where the ball is going.
Free throws are as mental as physical. Training your body is important, but you also have to be mentally ready for the shot. Relax yourself and concentrate on your shot.
Watching the pros can help you pick up on certain skills for improving your game. You can follow the pros in online videos, on TV and you can also attend a basketball game if there is a pro team in your area. You’ll see that every great player has specific skills that cause them to be great and you have the opportunity to practice what you’re watching them do.
Practice your passes and catches frequently. During practice you should come up with drills where you perfect catching bad passes along with the good ones. Understand that during a game, you will receive very scattered passes. Some will be good; some won’t. Cover for your teammates’ errant passes by developing the hands to cover their mistakes.
When developing your jumping skills, limit your use of weight-training. Muscle strength is beneficial for playing any basketball position, but there is such a thing as too much. Some shooting guards worked on their arms so much that they started lowering their percentage of field goals.
If you want to correctly handle the ball, you need to know where to place your fingers. This makes sure that it does not escape away from your grip. You should avoid having your palm touching the ball. Whether you are passing or shooting the ball, your fingers are the only part of your hand that should be touching the ball.
Practice passing while looking in the opposite direction. Your opponents can really get confused by this, as well. If you can pull it off, it’s effective to draw your opponents away from the shooter. That way the shooter gets a great look before shooting. It’s a great play if done properly.
If you want to make the most of your layup, push up from the foot that is opposite the hand you will shoot from. If you play to use your right hand to shoot, you’ll want to use your left foot to take off. That way, the body stays balanced while it moves toward the hoop.
Ensure that you have good court awareness. This is so that you’re able to catch passes, get shots in, and look at the scoreboard. Your peripheral vision should be at its best. If you view the entire game without focusing on the ball, you’ll see defensive pressure advance, along with open teammates.
Take every charge you can. Taking charges gives you a chance for earning a defensive stop, gives your team the ball, and gives one more foul called in your favor. This play can give your team a psychological boost, as well as demoralizing the other team.
Strength and flexibility training can help your skills in basketball. Strength, flexibility and stamina are all important things to have in basketball. Basketball requires a lot of sprinting and jumping. As players mature, weight training can begin. When you’re an adult you have to be sure to do strength training to do well on the court.
If you are in a defensive position, keep yourself low. This will aid you as you jump and make it easier to react to the front man. Stay in your defensive stance all the time. When rebounding or blocking, you break the stance, but then you must get back in the stance quickly.
Maybe you are new to basketball. Maybe you have been playing your whole life. Whatever the case, all the information here is going to make you a better player. Make use of this advice the next time you step onto the court.