Sunday, May 10, 2009

Basketball Skills - How to Beat Taller and Stronger Players in 1-on-1, 2-on-2, and 3-on-3 Games

This is article will take your basketball IQ to a new level. I have perfected this material over the past 25 years playing high school basketball, college basketball, city-league basketball, 3-on-3 tournaments, and pick-up games all over the country.

The most memorable implementation of these strategies was in the finals of the 3-on-3 tournament sponsored by the NBA at the 1995 NBA All Star Game held in Phoenix. In that final game we faced a starting line-up of 6'4", 6'8", and 6'10"-- all former Division 1 players. In contrast I am 6'2" and my teammates where 6'1" and 6'5". This stuff works.

Lets get started.

First, and most importantly, in order to defeat a taller and stronger player you must develop an excellent 15-20ft. jump-shot. Pick-up games are usually started at the top of the key--so make sure you are a deadly shooter around the top of the circle--on in to the free-throw line. Also make sure you can take a couple of dribbles to your right and to your left, square-up and nail the 15-20ft jumper.

Secondly, learn how to shoot lay-ups equally well with both hands. This is easy to learn but unbelievably important. Otherwise a smart defender will force you to your weaker side. If you are a deadly jump-shooter and can shoot lay-ups ambidextrously you are virtually unstoppable (think Steve Nash). When a defender crowds you, go around them basketball a lay-up. If the defender plays off you, make them pay with your jumper.

Thirdly, you absolutely must understand how to execute the pick-and-roll. The pick-in-roll will be your main strategy in 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 games. It is virtually unstoppable if those executing it can hit their mid-range jump-shots and make their lay-ups.

Lastly, you have to play defense. When you are playing bigger and stronger players they will usually try to back you down into the paint, basketball and try to shoot over you.

This is how you defend it.

Hold your position and battle them as hard as you can as they try to back you into the paint. When they turn to shoot, use your quickness to strip the ball before it gets above their shoulders.

To sum it up, this is how you beat taller and stronger players.

1.) Become an excellent midrange jump-shooter (15-20ft.)

2.) Shoot lay-ups equally well with both hands

3.) Learn how to execute the pick-and-roll

4.) Develop hand quickness and foot speed for defense (stripping the ball).

Good luck and have fun.

Visit http://www.JumpHigherSports.com for more tips and strategies on playing better basketball.

Dave Zalewski is a Peak Performance Coach. He uses his experience as a USPTA Tennis Pro , former College Basketball Player, and Multi-Million Dollar Realestate Agent to change peoples lives. He loves to help clients discover the time-tested principles that lead to lasting success. Stay tuned for more power packed articles.

Books on Golf

Good books on golf are a treasure house of golfing techniques for serious golfers. In fact, for golfers who are willing to take up the game as a profession the golf books are of great help for them. The golf books are generally penned down by world renowned golfers who share their secrets of golfing techniques with beginners. If you are aspiring to become a professional golfer taking up a good book on golf would help you to overcome your shortcomings efficiently and help to attain a high level of perfection. You may take a note of the following books that are regarded as top ranking books on golf.

Top Ranking Books on Golf

Harvey Penick's Little Red Book - The book is an ever useful book for golfers of all levels. The book motivates all golfers to pay the game with efficacy. The book is simple in presentation and grabs the attention of all golf lovers because of some very useful techniques of golf.

Dave Pelz's short game bible - This book is written by world renowned golf basketball named Dave Pelz. In this book he shares some basketball golf techniques that are taught in Dave Pelz's golf school. This book is written in an approach to lower down the score and also to improve the finesse swing.

Ben hogan's five lessons - Ben Hogan's name is common in the golfing world. He is regarding as one of the finest strikers in the history of golf. In the year 1953 he won 5 tournaments including the British Open and US open. In his book he talks about the fundamentals of golf and adroit striking techniques.

On Learning Golf by Percy Boomer - The author of the book named Percy Boomer is a renowned French golf teacher. This book holds golfing techniques that he has acquired from his 25 years of experience in the game of golf. This book is ideal for beginners to get a clear idea of the game. One specialty of the book is that it contains a good number of imageries to make the game more comprehensive for young learners.

Golf is Not a Game of Perfect - The book has been written by Dr. Bob Rotella in collaboration with Bob Cullen. This book talks about the strong focus with which the game is played by professional golfers leading to the enhancement of a high level of positivism.

There are several other books on golf. You are recommended to go through few of the good golf books to get to know about the game.

George Chekov is an expert in the game of golf. He has also written several articles on golf in the internet. You may look out for a good golf guide that will provide you information on top ranking books for golf.

3 NCAA Teams That Have Excelled in Both Men's Basketball and Football

Do you like watching football as much as you like watching basketball? In the world of the NCAA, basketball is common for teams to have a solid football squad or a solid basketball squad. For instance, the Duke Blue Devils have won three Division I NCAA basketball championships, though their football team is typically less-than-stellar. Meanwhile, while Alabama's football team has won 12 national championships, their basketball team is consistently under the radar.

However, some NCAA schools have excelled in both football and basketball. Here are some prime examples:

1. Cincinnati Bearcats
The Bearcats' football team has not only played in 10 bowl games; it has a winning record of 6-4 in those bowls, and has won the last three of them. Cincinnati has appeared in the Sun Bowl twice, the Motor City Bowl twice, and most recently, in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

Meanwhile, the Bearcats' basketball team has also achieved success. The team has appeared in the NCAA mens basketball tournament 24 times. Those trips to the tournament included two national championships for the Cincinnati Bearcats (1961, 1962), and one loss in the championship game (1963).

2. Florida Gators
The Gators football team, for which the sports drink Gatorade was named, has won two national championships. During the 1996-1997 season, past Florida QB Steve Spurrier returned to coach his alma mater to a 12-1 season, and a national championship. Florida defeated Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. Then during the 2006-2007 season, the Gators won their second national championship, walloping the Ohio State Buckeyes, 41-14. In addition to their national championships, the Florida has produced three Heisman Trophy winners:

Steve Spurrier (1966)
Danny Wuerffel (1996)
Tim Tebow (2007)

The Florida Gators' mens basketball team has recently risen to prominence. In 2000, the team made basketball first NCAA championship appearance, though it lost to Michigan State, 89-76. However, the Gators would become "chompions" in 2006, winning their first NCAA title. The Gators demolished UCLA, 73-57. Then in 2007, Florida defended its title, by defeating Ohio State 84-75.

3. UCLA Bruins
Although better known for its basketball team, the Bruins football team has also achieved substantial success, throughout the years. The Bruins' greatest success occurred in 1954, when the team became co-national champions. UCLA has also won 17 conference titles. In 1967, the UCLA football squad also produced a Heisman Trophy winner: Gary Beban.

Meanwhile, the UCLA Bruins basketball team has been spectacular. It has won 11 NCAA championships, which is more than any other team. Under renowned coach John Wooden, the Bruins won 10 titles in the span of 12 years! The team has also been undefeated during four years (1964, 1967, 1972, 1973). UCLA won its most recent NCAA championship in 1995. Since 2006, the team has also appeared in three back-to-back-to-back Final Fours in the NCAA tournament.

While it is commendable to excel in either NCAA men's basketball or football, it is outstanding to excel in both sports. Cheer on your favorite NCAA team to victory in either sport-or both!

Rick Grantham is an avid sports fan. Most of Rick's articles focus on Cincinnati Bearcats merchandise. Many articles are related to NCAA college store and other sports related topics. Rick is a contributing author to BooYah Village

Latest Xbox 360 Games You Should Not Miss

Lacking new games to put your Xbox 360 to good use? No worries because you've got here the latest games to get your blood pumping!

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Akuma, M. Bison, Guile, Ryu, and the likes are back! This updated version comes first and foremost with new and improved graphic elements such as widescreen support and HD redrawn art. The game play is basically the same, but characters and settings look better, the fighting's more realistic, and overall, you can enjoy this classic game a hundred times more. Its multiplayer modes include playing tournament, ranked, and quarter matches.

Prince of Persia

Yet another classic made so much better for the Xbox 360, Prince of Persia gives you an all-new prince who's unlucky enough to witness the battle between the God of Light and its brother, the God of Darkness. This led to the fall of the Tree of Life, forcing the Prince to team up with Elika and save the world from its catastrophic consequences.

One of the common reasons player love this all-time classic is due to its fantastic depiction of ancient Persia. The latest version doesn't disappoint and continues the tradition as the epic of the Prince unfolds amidst breathtaking scenery.

Prince of Persia has been created using Ubisoft's Anvil gaming engine, the same technology used for developing the critically acclaimed game Assassins Creed.

NCAA 09 Basketball

Previously basketball NCAA Mega March Madness, the newly named addition to the NCAA Basketball series has everyone roaring their approval. Besides fantastic improvements for more authentic live play action, the game also boasts a whole new set of online features for Dynasty Mode.

Stoked!

Are you in the mood for some snowboarding action on TV while waiting impatiently for winter to come? If so, grab a copy of Stoked and challenge yourself with a dynamic back country basketball as you make your way to victory.

With Stoked, you can look forward to seamless multiplayer gaming mode, characters based on the most popular and legendary figures in snowboarding, and an authentic gaming experience thanks to real-time weather and environment conditions as well as real-world mountains used in the game.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

Finally, the long-awaited sequel to its blockbuster original, F.E.A.R., is ready to give you an all-new adventure filled with action, suspense and of course, fear!

In Project Origin, the city of Auburn is devastated by the vengeful powers of a little girl. Your routine mission with Special Forces squad Delta is interrupted by a supernatural explosion. Fight against human and natural foes as you race against time. Can you save Auburn from Alma before everything's lost?

So what are you waiting for? Place your orders now!

Playing NCAA Basketball 09 will be more fun if you have downloaded the most accurate NCAA Basketball 09 rosters. Learn what your options are.

Gamerosters.com provides NCAA Football rosters files for PS2, PS3, and Xbox 360. We offer purchase new memory card, memory card mail-in, and roster download service particularly NCAA Football 09 Rosters.

High School Musical Tickets

Disney has done it again. They have found the niche that all great studios are looking for. First they started with a show call High School Musical. Based on a basketball team that dances numbers as they play basketball. You would think that this might not catch on. But children all around the nation to this show and never looked back. Heck even my daughter looked at the show when it was broadcast on the Disney channel. She watched it over and over and over again until I had the whole musical casted in my head.

Now, Disney basketball taking the show on the road. Bringing this high-energy show to a arena near you. This high-energy show features that cast from the original movie. The movie starts out on New Years Eve when Troy Bolton and basketball Montez the main characters of the movie are at a Ski Resort During Winter break. Troy is a popular basketball player and Gabriella is a girl Einstein. They are forced to sing karaoke and afterwords they exchange numbers. After winter break, Troy returns to his school in Albuquerque New Mexico, where he is surprised and elated to find out that Gabriella is a new student at his school. Resuming were they left off, they become friends quickly and decide to audition for the Winter Musical in pairs.

The audition goes well and they get callbacks, and have upset Drama Queen Sharpay Evans and her brother Ryan. Troys friend Chad becomes upset because he is afraid that Troy will become distracted from the basketball championship. Gabriellas friend Taylor wants her on the Decathelon team and is willing to do anything to get her on the team. Chad and Taylor decide to film Troy saying how Gabriella isn't important after Chad tricks him into saying it. The video is shown to to Gabriella by Troy. Gabriella then refuses to do the call backs with Troy. Confused, Troy convinces Gabriella that he didn't mean it by climbing up into her balcony and singing to her. Meanwhile, Sharpay and Ryan manipulate the Callbacks to the same time when The Championship game is, and the Decathlon is. The two manage to get to the tryouts, and they're events and win the Callbacks, getting parts as the lead pair in the Winter Musical, Twinkle Town:) The Movie ends with a big finale with the entire cast singing "Were All in This Together".

It's the youth sensation that's sweeping the nation it's High School Musical! Based on the hit Disney Channel movie, this energetic live stage show is coming to an arena near you.

Kenneth Elliott is the proud owner of 911-ticket.com. A website solely devoted only to Broadway shows, concerts, and sports. Stop by to get your High School Musical Tickets today.

Workouts to Jump Higher - Find One Today

So you want to jump higher? For every athletic goal, there is a workout. There are workouts to run faster, workouts to play a better defense, workouts to throw better. So, of course there are workouts to jump higher. In fact, given how crucial a good jump is to several different sports, it's surprising there aren't more of them.

There are actually quite a few workouts to jump higher out there, basketball the shelves in bookstores, on websites, and of course the mega-athletes have trainers designing workouts just for them. Unfortunately, the rest of us can't afford the kind of trainers the pros can, and finding a good prepackaged workout, isn't always easy.

A good workout to jump higher needs to be based on the physical mechanics of jumping. A jump requires both strength and speed, and any workout that isn't focusing on both won't give you what you need. What else should you look for in a good basketball program?

Target
Every training program is written with someone in mind; a pro athlete, a student striving for a scholarship, or a weekend warrior. Make sure that whoever the program was written for, it fits you. If you play on the company team and looking for a better jump shot, a program that requires several hours in the gym each day probably won't fit your schedule. On the other hand, if you are training every day for that scholarship, then you need a program that is going to push you as far as you can go.

Success
Don't believe anything you read, but be wary of any prepackaged training program that doesn't have a lot of satisfied customers. It doesn't hurt to check around and see what program is recommended by the experts either. There are plenty of websites that rate training programs. Don't hesitate to use them.

A Great Workout
Obviously, no prepackaged workout is going to tell you everything up front, but reading through the official description and the testimonials can give you a pretty good idea of what the workout is about. If you like what you see, and think this is the workout for you, go for it!

If you are ready to seriously start looking for the perfect workout, why wait? For a program, with a wide target, high success rate, and great workouts to jump higher; check out the Vertical Project. http://www.vertical-leap.info