In my opinion, becoming a good
shooter is the most important thing you could ever do in order to become a
successful basketball player.
Every NBA super star, every great college
player, every playground legend...can pretty much attribute their success to
one thing...their ability to shoot.
Being able to shoot a basketball is
almost a license to be super successful and have lots of fun playing the game
of basketball.
If you want to become a better
basketball player, practice your shooting. Learn how to shoot the ball
correctly. Learn how to catch and release the ball with proper motion. Learn
how to follow through. Learn by watching the pro's and learning from coaches. I
guarantee it will be the most important basketball skill you ever learn!
2. Be In Great Physical Condition
When, I work with athlete's through
my Maximum Results Fitness programs, I am always shocked at how out of shape
most athletes are. I see so many athlete's that lack the basic strength and
conditioning they need in order to perform at a high level.
Basketball is all about
conditioning. The better physical condition you are in, the easier it is to
perform and learn the basic fundamental skills that will make you a successful
player.
Many players come to me asking me
for tips on how they can become a better shooter or a better ball handler, but
are shocked when I tell them, that their biggest problem really lays in their
lack of conditioning.
I am a firm believer that you're
only going to be as good as your body will take you. I often see players with
tremendous talent struggle, simply because they can't run up and down the floor
without losing their breath. It doesn't matter how talented you are, if you're
not in the right shape, you're going to struggle.
With many of my programs, I teach
what I call the Forth Quarter Principle. That is you want to be as good at
something in the forth quarter as you do from the very first play of the game.
The only difference between the first play of the game and the last is the
physical excursion that takes place in between.
If you want to become a great player
and if you want to maximize your skill potential focuses on your conditioning.
Good conditioning is a fundamental of basketball success.
3. A Little Practice Goes Along Long
Way
One of the biggest misconceptions
about becoming a better player is that you have to spend mega hours practicing
and training. I am here to tell you that this simply isn't true.
Obviously, if you want to become
better at something it helps if you practice a lot. But, many times people
misplace quantity for quality. I know a lot of players are under the
misconception that to get better they are going to have to practice long hours
before they start to see the results they are looking for.
The truth is results will s come
quickly if you prepare in the right way. It's much more important to have a
consistent, high quality practice schedule or workout routine than it is to try
and learn everything in one day.
Practicing only 20 minutes everyday
will help you more than spending two hours once a week. With consistency,
familiarity will start to develop. What you worked on yesterday will come
easier tomorrow and even easier the day after that. When there is a large space
between practice times or workout sessions, it is much more difficult to pick
up where you left off. You often have to re-learn what you already know. This
wastes valuable time, when you could be making progress.
Remember a little bit of practice
today, makes success not too far away!
4. Know Your Footwork
One of the things that is really
under taught and under empathized is proper footwork.
I define proper footwork as three
things:
1. Being able to pivot.
2. Being able to stay on balance.
3. Being able to push off quickly
(for running and jumping).
Pivoting is probably one of the most
fundamental parts of the game. Being able to keep one foot planted while
maneuvering with the other foot is extremely important. Being able to pivot
properly will help you play all parts of the game better. The more you practice
this the more it will become habit and it will help you develop a smoother flow
to your game.
When pivoting it is also important
to stay on balance and keep your body weight properly distributed at all times.
When you combine balance with good pivoting ability you will become stronger
and faster.
Good pivoting and good balance will
ultimately allow you more explosive jumping ability and greater quickness. When
you start to combine your pivot with good balance your footwork for skills like
shooting and dribbling will become easier and help your game develop more
quickly.
5. Dribble, Dribble, Dribble
The Cross-Over, Behind-The-back,
Between-The Legs, all of these moves have one thing in common. They all come
from mastering the dribble! If you want to become a good basketball player,
then you must become a good ball handler.
Dribbling is one of the core
basketball skills. It is also one of the funnest skills to practice and learn.
Dribbling is also very simple to become good at it. All you have to do is start
dribbling! Then Bingo in a short time you will become a much better player.
The thing I also love about
dribbling is that you get to spend more time with the ball. Any activity you
can do where you spend time with the ball doing multiple repetitions is going
to make you a better player.
The other great thing about
dribbling is that you can practice it almost anywhere. All you need to do is
break out your ball and start dribbling. It only takes a few minutes a day to
practice and soon you will see quick improvements in your game.
6. Finish Strong
One of the big mistakes I see a lot
of players make is they learn to make spectacular moves, but then fail to
finish the play and make the basket!
Developing moves and learning skills
to get past your opponent is very important, but it doesn't do you any good if
you can't make the basket at the end!
One of the main things that college
and pro scouts look for is a player's ability to finish the play. They know
that it doesn't do any good to make a great move and then miss the basket.
To train players to become good
finishers I tell them to think about any move in two parts. First is the
"move" part where they separate themselves from the defender and
then, second is the "finish" where they concentrate on making the
basket. When practicing, it's often a good idea to practice them separately
first and then bring them together. For example, if you were working on a
behind-the-back dribble move you would practice the behind-the-back part first.
Repeating it over and over again, without shooting. Then once you got it down
you would start adding the "finishing" part, where you start adding
the shooting part. Then you can see what part you need more development on, the
"move" or the "finish".
Remember, that if you don't make the
basket, it wasn't a successful move!
7. Fake Your Way To Success
Want to make your moves twice as
effective?
Then add simple fakes to your game!
Faking is a very powerful way to get opponents off balance before you even
start your move. Lot's of times a quick and simple fake is all you need to get
wide open for the shoot!
The great thing about faking though,
is you can use them in almost every part of the game. In shooting, you can use
pump fakes. When dribbling, you can use foot fakes. When passing you can give
"no look passes".
I really recommend that you start
trying to add as many fakes as you can to different parts of your game. Once
you do you will soon realize how effective they can be. After you keep
practicing them and using them when your playing they will become so natural
you won't even know that you are using them!
8. Move Without The Ball
Let's face it, having the ball in
your hands is fun. It's fun to catch and pass and shoot and dribble. We all
like to touch the ball as much as possible, because it makes us feel that we
are more involved with the game.
However, if you really want to
become a better player it is very important that you learn to play without the
ball. To become a complete player, this is a must.
In most games you will only have the
ball in your hands about 10% of the time. That means the other 90% of the time
you won't have the ball! That 90% of the time can be spent doing other
important things.
Learning to play without the ball
can also give you the mental edge that you need when you have the ball. Many
times players get frustrated, when they haven't touched the ball in awhile.
It's important for you as a player to realize that it isn't how much you touch
the ball what, but what you do with it when you have it. Or in most cases what
you do when you DON'T have the ball. Doing this will add confidence to your
game and make your complete game more effective.
9. Get The Right Mentality
Having the right attitude is
essential if you want to become a better basketball player. Many times players
will fail to reach their goals, not because they lack the right skills, but
because they lack the right attitude.
Many times things are not going to
go how you would like them to go out on the basketball court. The best thing to
do is not get frustrated. Instead, focus on what things you can do to have a
positive result on the next play or series of plays.
One of the best examples of this is
when players get fouled and it doesn't get called. They often get so focused on
the fact that a foul wasn't called that they then lose their focus and start
making mistakes. Then those mistakes start to lead to frustration.
Don't focus on negative things,
instead immediately start to focus on a what you can do to make positive things
happen. Don't worry about the foul that wasn't called or the mistake you made.
Try to think about how you can get a rebound or a steal, or what you are going
to do next time to make sure you get the call.
Just a slight change in your
mentality can make a big difference.
10. Learn As Much As You Can
The game of basketball is a
wonderful sport and becoming good at it is a lot of fun. No matter what level
of play you are at, you can always become better. That's why I encourage you to
learn as much as you can about the game. Whether it's watching games on TV or
playing by yourself out on the playground, there is always a new move or a new
technique to be discovered that will give you that extra edge.
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