My basketball season starts on Jan. 6...anyone have any tips for me?

c0LLect0r

I made the A team. I am either gonna play SG or PG. So...anyone have any tips bout like shooting?

Metros69

A team? How old are you?

EHTHOCKEY09

12

Metros69

Here are some tips:
1) Don't think about your shot
2) Don't make stupid passes
3) Drive to the hoop
4) Play good Defense
5) Box out
6) Don't get fancy play disiplined
7) Don't tell your parents to argue with the coach if you dont play
8) Go hard in practice

hakeem

Hey man, I'm 17 and live in Australia, I've originally played intertown BKB then district, state for my school and now I've stepped up to the next level and I only started playing when I was your age.
From my experience of starting late I quickly learned that the best thing to do is specialize in one position. Originally I was a centre and began posting up but as other grew I'm now a guard and have to work more on ball handling. If your a guard try to get really good on both sides of your body and be THE playmaker,
for example be the Kobe and not the Iverson. Iverson insists on taking the shots himself and doesn't often create but Kobe has learned to score but create more and more. Thats the key to your position.
A GOOD ROLE MODEL FOR YOU WOULD BE JASON KIDD. one word "awareness".

KOBEcollector

collector, since your young and have a lot of b-ball ahead of you i would concentrate on 1 thing

FUNDAMENTALS !! for example , can you dribble with both hands ?( not at the same time of course )
Can you dribble without looking down at the ball ? if your dominant hand is your right work on making sure you can dribble just as well with your left. If you work hard and practice your fundamentals at every part of the game now at an early age by the time your in high school you'll be a solid player

another thing is to practice on your own not just during your team practices. thats how i got so good lol

IversonMiles

I am 14 on the 8th grade "A" team ..... the key is listening to your coach and going HARD in practice...bottom line..PRACTICE LAZY PLAY LAZY...PRACTICE HARD PLAY GOOOOOD

Bobstar

Good luck from both of us.CJ started his indoor soccer season as well.Just learn the fundamentals well & the rest will come in time.
The most important thing at this age is to have FUN;lots & lots of FUN.There will be plenty of time later in life to get serious about stuff.HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

gettinout

There have been some great points made already and I'm gonna repeat a few of them:

1) practice twice as much dribbling with your weak hand as you do with your strong hand...you have to be able to go either way. Especially at your age, if you are right handed and go strong to your left while dribbling with your left hand, you can really dominate. A lot of the other kids your age that are right handed will only guard you to your right because they don't think about someone being able to go left because they can't go left!!

2) Square up to the basket and take solid shots and use the backboard. Dont try and showboat or take off balance shots.

3) One thing that my first coach told me clear back in 1983 that has stuck with me and that I now tell my kids is this: "how you practice is how you play". If you don't go all out in practice, you won't go all out in the game. If you try and "conserve your energy" during practice, you'll have a lot of time to conserve it during the game because you'll be sitting on the pine.

4) Be able to make your free throws.

Allen

If you don't know how to shoot it is a miracle that you made the team. Either take charge and be the go to guy and carry the team or be a role player and feed the ball to the main man.

ejones06

let's see..high school basketball..

coaches really don't give a crap if you can shoot or not (atleast in my school). all they really want to see is good ball handling skills however if you can shoot, that's a plus.

DMILES89

my tip from experience is make sure u make ur team mates happy and play ur hardest cuz if u slack off a lil that could be the game and dont take stupid shots also dont me afraid 2 shoot or drive and good luck man!

ive got 2 season starting around the same time good luck man

c0LLect0r

Thanks guys

I'll start to work on my left hand more often

I am one of the better shooters on the team but I wanna get even better. I'll tell ya guys how the season goes...Happy Holidays

Thylenol

im right handed an probably dominate with my left. Weird though i can dribble real good wit my right too. For those who watch and one, im simualr to hot sause. THats why they call me tylenol( my own name). When i break yo ankles youll need some medicine to heal you. Anyways, lol, col1ector i sent your cards yesterday.You?

nowitzki

There is one move that I made about half of my points with.

If a man is guarding you tight, take a jab step to the weak side, dribble under your weak leg, bring it all back quickly, square up and let her fly. This creates a comfortable gap between you and the defense. If he gets wise, (will take a while at your age group), jump into him just a little, so he makes contact with you and he will be called for a foul.

Worked like a charm for me. I would score about 10 pts a game with it and even more when they start fouling. Hit your free throws. If you do this move and can't hit the freebies, you will find yourself on your tail end alot. This move really irratates the defender and if your change it up a little, you will really tick him off. Instead of squaring it up for a shot, you can keep your dibble, and when he is bolting to get to the shot, you can dribble into him and he will plow into you. Another free throw=money.

duncangal

You have received some fine advice, but none better than to enjoy the game. If you love the game, you will want to excel at it, and everything else will fall in place...Good luck to you !!!

nowitzki

And another thing. PLAY D. I see so many kids now days not playing d. Great offense will help you make the team but great d will keep you playing. A coach always need people playing d.

c0LLect0r

LOL. Ok nowitzki...i'll try that one Ya...a lot of people can't play D for their life.

Thanks Joyce...I do love the game

TGray22

#1 tip in shooting - No Motion! What I mean by this is, don't force your body back and forth in the air when shooting. Some players shoot and then land a foot or so forward. You need to be straight up and down (No Motion).