Basketball is an awesome activity for kids not only in terms of encouraging them to get off the couch and to be more active on a daily basis, but also because it helps them learn the fundamentals of team building and to enjoy the camaraderie that naturally develops as they play with other young people their age.
In Australia, in particular, basketball training for kids has been growing in popularity in recent years, coinciding with the resurgence of the sport in the last decade. In fact, many pundits are now calling basketball “the next big thing” in Australian sports.
In view of this, we’ll be sharing some great tips that coaches and their young players – in Australia and beyond – can take into consideration when they decide to take their game to the next level.
Aim for optimum conditioning
Basketball is a very physically demanding contact sport that requires kids to undergo different types of training in order to develop their fitness level and range of skills on the court. These include aerobic conditioning for heart, muscle, and respiratory endurance, as well as anaerobic conditioning for short-burst, high-intensity activities.
Enroll in a proper basketball training program
However, basketball training also includes workouts for developing actual basketball skills like footwork, dribbling, passing, and shooting, as well as scrimmage drills that simulate gameplay. It’s practically impossible to develop all these without the guidance of a personal basketball trainer, and as such, it would be in a child’s best interest for them to be enrolled in a proper basketball training program. Indeed, basketball training Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide youths are fast becoming a thing for top coaches in the country.
Avoid focusing too much on set plays for offense
Trying too many prearranged manoeuvers all at once can be detrimental to a young player’s offense training. Focus instead, on the fundamentals of good offense, like training to achieve correct spacing, properly passing and moving the ball to other players, and developing proper timing and playing IQ on the court.
Learn man-to-man defence
Man-to-man or player-to-player defence is a type of defensive tactic in which a player is made to defend against just a single player on the offensive side. While learning other techniques such as zone defense and presses is also important, man-to-man defence is essential to achieving greater athleticism, developing problem-solving abilities on the court, and ingraining good defensive habits that focus intently on both the ball and the player being guarded.
Train to achieve better vertical jumps
The vertical jump is a very important movement in basketball, one that factors in greatly in whether or not a player can successfully perform other manoeuvers like dunking, rebounding a ball, and blocking field goal attempts. Activities such as jump rope exercises, toe raises, drop jumps, depth jumps, squat jumps, and huddle ups can help young player improve their vertical lift.
Practise dribbling and ball handling
Learning how to dribble and control the ball is essential in basketball for reasons that are self-explanatory. As you can imagine, there are tons of dribbling exercises that a young player can do, but to be an excellent ball handler eventually, one has to develop the following fundamental skills: dribbling the ball down the court at different speed levels, dribbling while moving rearward or in reverse, and dribbling offensively with countermoves such as a crossover dribble or an inside-out dribble.
Form shooting is a friend
Many basketball training professionals recommend that players practice form shooting every day. Some of the techniques that young players need to master when form shooting are the following: The correct way to stand, the proper way to move the ball to the shot pocket, how to make the shooting hand and balance hand work together, how to properly deliver the ball upward from the shot pocket, how to coordinate the different parts of the body as they release the ball, and how to follow through properly.
Master passing the ball
Passing the ball is another major maneuver in basketball, owing to its nature as a team sport that requires the cooperation of each and every player in the squad. There are many passing techniques that a young player should master to be able to play basketball at a higher level. These include the chest pass, bounce pass, two-handed overhead pass, baseball pass, outlet pass, wrap-around pass, dribble pass, no-look pass, behind-the-back pass, and pick-and-roll pass.
How about you? Do you have a basketball tip that you can share with our readers?
