The Characteristics of a Great Rebounder

Rebounding can be an overlooked skill at times. People never realize how tough it can be to be an amazing rebounder. Those people need to step in rebounders' shoes and discover how amazingly wrong they are.

One thing basketball I hate is when people say, "Come on. You're at least 4 inches taller than that guy. You should have grabbed that missed shot easily." Sure, height is a great help when you're a rebounder, but it's definitely one of the bottom things on the list of most important things to be a rebounder. Rebounding takes physical strength, determination, positioning and aggressiveness.

Physical strength isn't extremely necessary to be a rebounder, but if you're fighting for a board against a guy with twice the muscles you have, it's going to be tough. Upper body strength is the key here. If you're reaching up to grab a board at the basketball time your defender is, your upper body strength helps you to rip the ball away from him. Vertical can definitely help in rebounding too. Jumping 5 inches higher than your opponent is definitely going to help you out-rebound your opponent.

If you think that you can't grab a rebound, then obviously you're not going to grab it. Be determined in yourself that you're a better rebounder than your opponent, and that small boost of self-confidence will definitely help you out. If you're a smaller guy, don't tell yourself that you have no chance of grabbing a board. Just jump as high as you can and fight for it. I personally love the feeling when I've got a guy that's almost twice as big as me and at least a 6 inches taller than me who's trying to box me out, and then I fight around him and grab the rebound. I've seen many smaller players give it all they've got to fight for position against a taller player and rebound the ball.

A great rebounder knows where to position himself to get the best chance of rebounding the ball. Obviously the best position you can have is in front of your defender. If you are already in front of your defender and boxing him out, the best thing you can do is push him backwards and keep your arms out to make sure he doesn't get past you. Keep on feeling him to know where he is, and if he gets in front of you, the only option you have is to fight back for position. If you're fighting for position, the person who is boxing you out usually fall for a fake. Take one step one way, and the quick burst to the other way and fight for that position. Don't be afraid to get rough. Just make sure you don't jump over him, because that will definitely be a foul. Another great way to get position is predicting where the ball will bounce off the rim, and moving to that position.

If you watch the NBA you will notice that some the best rebounders are the aggressive ones. Take Kenyon Martin for example. In my personal opinion, he's one of the most aggressive NBA players. He will play as rough as he can to grab a rebound. If that ball isn't in anybody's hands, then he will try his absolute hardest to grab that ball. Here's my take on aggressive rebounding. Imagine you haven't eaten in weeks, and your opponents have full stomachs that are greedy and want all the food. Pretend the ball is a nice juicy steak with honey garlic sauce smothered all over it. When that ball hits the rim, you don't want the well-fed opponents to eat your food, right? So do whatever you can to get your hands on the juicy steak and stop your opponents from getting it. If you're creative enough of thinking this while playing a game, then this analogy can help you out.

Being a rebounder definitely takes some toughness. But if you have these four characteristics, rebounding will be seem to be easier to you. Stay aggressive and you'll be out-rebounding opponents like it's nothing.

For more great basketball tips and NBA news, check out JM NBA Source

Carolyn Hart's Ghost at Work - A Fun Break For Everyone!

Bailey Ruth Raebur--remember the name! She's the main character being introduced in Carolyn Hart's latest novel, Ghost at Work. And I just know that...she'll be back!

I've enjoyed Carolyn Hart's books in the past, but none were so delightful or fun to read as Ghost at Work. Act-u-ally, Bailey Ruth is an emissary--the proper title, according to Wiggins, the head of the Heavenly Department of Good Intentions, who is giving Bailey Ruth her first opportunity to return to earth to help somebody in need. Of course, there are a number of rules to follow as she takes on this challenge...

And who could be more in need than Kathleen Abbott, a pastor's wife who has found a dead body on her back porch? And that dead body is a man who just happens to have, among other things, offered Kathleen a gift of a little red teddy the night before he was killed!

You will find that Bailey Ruth tends to act impulsively-she's trying hard to help Kathleen-so the first thing done was to move in quickly, introduce her presence by responding to Kathleen's muttered comments to herself, and later suggesting that the body be moved!

Then Kathleen remembers that Daryl Murdoch, the dead man, had taken a picture of her when she was opening the "teddy" and on retrieving the phone from his pocket, Kathleen and Bailey find other pictures of individuals basketball recognize-in unusual poses. It seems Daryl took pictures of people who now could be considered suspects!

Though Bailey Ruth tries hard to "follow the rules," there are some things that just cannot be accomplished-like remaining invisible while carrying a cell phone! Or the murder weapon!

Soon there are reports all over town of strange happenings as Bailey follows the basketball and tries to find the person who murdered Daryl and tried to frame Kathleen. This is especially important because Kathleen in fear of her involvement has destroyed evidence, such as the cell phone...and gains Bailey's help in burning the "teddy." Bailey does feel bad for creating a false trail for the police to follow, but her role as "emissary" on behalf of Kathleen is paramount, especially, when she realizes that Kathleen daughter, nicknamed Bayroo, can see her and they all realize that Bailey Ruth is an ancester!

Bailey Ruth's story might well be considered an "alternative future" story rather than an alternative historical fiction...for she certainly does provide us lots of information about our lives after we, too, leave this earth! But, it was even more fun watching her catch up here on earth as she learns about the technological upgrades, such as computers, and decides to "dress" in today's fashions! Her interaction with Wiggins, her boss, is truly genius as she inveigles to remain on earth, even though violating rule after rule, all in a good cause, of course!

Hart has made me a permanent fan of Bailey Ruth! I certainly hope and recommend she continue this character into a major series...hopefully with Bayroo helping! Needless to say, for lovers of cozies, comedy and charming characters...Ghost at Work must be considered a must-read!

Ghost at Work
By Carolyn Hart
Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780060874360
290 Pages

G. A. Bixler is co-owner of an online review site of Independent Professional Book Reviewers. She has over 40 years experience in educational administration and publishing. New or well-known, self-published, or small press authors are all welcomed! Compare our prices to other professional book review sites!

http://www.Bookreviewers.org

Two Minute Drill

Off-season or In-Season basketball Development Workout

This is the best Individual Development drill that we have seen. It develops:

1. Ability to shoot free throws under pressure

2. Conditioning

3. Footwork coming off of a screen or cut

4. Three-point shooting

5. Mental Toughness/Competitiveness

6. Making shots under pressure

Basketball players are highly competitive people by nature; therefore it is beneficial to design drills that provide an opportunity for players to compete against other players or against themselves. The competition increases the player's enthusiasm for the drill and results in better intensity during the training session. The Two Minute Drill requires only one player. The players compete against themselves for their best score. However, it is extremely helpful to have someone timing the drill.

Many players practice free throws by shooting 100, 200 or possibly more in each practice session. While volume shooting is an important part of developing confidence and rhythm on free throws, this type of practice does not subject the player to the same conditions that exist while attempting free throws during a game. Pressure and fatigue are just two factors that may affect free throw percentage. To be a successful free throw shooter in games, players must be able to step to the line a make two in a row while fatigued and under pressure.

The Two Minute Drill is designed for player to do just that. Players must step to the free throw line and make two pressure free throws while fatigued. The objective of the Two Minute Drill Game is for the player to move from level one to the highest level possible. In order to advance from one level to another, the player must make a power lay-up, a spin-and-catch intermediate shot and a three point shot. The player must shoot until he/she has made each shot, even if s/he misses each one four times, the level is not completed until each of the three shots goes in. After making the three-point shot the player immediately (with no rest!) steps to the free throw line to shoot a one-and-one free throw. If the player makes both free throws he/she advances to the next level and repeats the same sequence. If the player misses a free throw he/she must remain on that level.

The drill is timed for two minutes. The stopwatch only runs while the player is shooting shots from the field, like a game. It does not run during free throws. If there is no one to time the player can wear a sport watch to time him/herself. The timing of the drill is very significant to its effectiveness because the clock pushes the player to run hard after rebounds and to shoot shots that are more game-like. However, if no timer is available, the player must push him/herself to go hard. To make it competitive, the shooter can be limited to a total number of misses or to commit that the first missed free throw will end the game.

Players compete each practice session against the highest level they have ever achieved. They may also compete against other players by seeing which player reaches the highest level in a given amount of time.

The game may be altered to more benefit to post players. Post players may choose to substitute the three-point shots or the intermediate shots with jump hooks or other post moves. It is easy to come up with several other variations to keep the drill from becoming monotonous.

The Coaching Toolbox http://www.coachingtoolbox.net is a resource site for basketball coaches and players of all levels. The author of the site, Brian Williams, is former coaches with over 20 basketball of experience at various levels. The site is just getting off the ground, so we hope that you will visit us and continue to stay and grow with us as well!