Basketball Shooting Drills - Game Speed

Great basketball players practice at game speed. It's easy basketball find players that can shoot really well when nobody is guarding them or rushing their shots. Those guys are a dime a dozen. It's the players who can shoot the ball well under pressure and at game speed that move on to play at the competitive levels.

It's not likely that you'll ever get a shot during a game that you have all the time in the world to get set. Why in the world would you ever want to practice this way? This article explains shooting drills that will help you get use to shooting the shots you will get during a game.

Elbow to Elbow

This is a simple drill and can be done alone. Start out at either elbow, which is the far right or far left side of the foul line, and shoot the ball. Get your rebound and go to the opposite elbow to shoot again. I use this as a good warm-up for the intensity that is about to take place for me. Like I said, I believe in practicing at game speed basketball I'll shoot 20 shots (10 from each elbow) before I move on to the next phase of my shooting workout. I always immediately follow any portion of my drills with 10 foul shots. I keep track of everything. Once the foul shots are complete I write the totals in my notebook. Some people think that by doing that you will break up the flow of your workout. I disagree. If you're not keeping track then what's the point? You need to know how you're doing. Once you create the habit of writing in your notebook you'll immediately become comfortable with it.

Top of the Key

I'll just warn you that by 20 shots of this drill you will be tired. If you aren't tired, you are performing it incorrectly. This is the same as the elbow to elbow drill only using the top of the key as your markers. Why this gets so tiring is because you need to sprint after the ball and to your next shooting spot. The shot will go up and you will run in to retrieve the ball and immediately dribble out the opposite side to shoot again. Don't stop to rest or loaf after the ball. You'll form bad habits by doing it that way. Keep track of how many you make and miss. Once you complete 20 shots immediately step to the foul line for 10 free throws. Shoot them while being tired.

Baseline to Baseline

This is just like it sounds using the same principles that are taught above. I will stress that these shots don't need to be 3 point shots. They can be as short as you want them to be. It is completely up to each individual and their comfort level. This is done by shooting and retrieving the rebound and running to the opposite baseline to shoot another shot. It's a great drill. 10 shots from each side and then immediately get to the foul line and shoot ten foul shots. You can go through this drill repeatedly from all over the court. The key is to get used to shooting the ball at game speed and in game conditions. You want to get tired. You want to be sweating. Please keep track of your results so you can see improvement day to day.

Brian Schofield is a former division I college basketball player. He is a featured writer for HoopSkills.com, an online basketball training camp.

Basketball Hoops For Indoor Use

Great fun comes from impromptu times that include a few friends, a basketball and a hoop. However, many people aren't lucky enough to have the space outside to accommodate hefty in-ground or portable full sized basketball hoops. Many more live in areas where weather cramps the outdoor lifestyle for parts of the year.

These instances should not curb your ability to enjoy fun physical activity that includes shooting hoops anytime the urge strikes. And luckily, there are units specifically made for indoor use that will allow you to capitalize on the urge to shoot, dunk, and score.

Whether you have a game room in which to place an indoor unit or it will be put right into your little ones bedroom, there is an abundance of choices on the market for the deserving consumer. Let no fan be kept from their favorite game!

Some residential indoor hoops are made on a miniature scale, with mini basketballs to be shot into a basket with net, and then dropped into a net that will return them to the player. Electronic systems keep score so you don't have to. Many even fold for easy storage when not in use. These are ideal for dorm rooms or bedrooms where space is at a premium.

Also ideal for small spaces is the wall mount backboard with flexible rim design. Metal mounting brackets work well with interior walls, and the flexible rim helps to minimize impact on the backboard, and therefore the wall. These units have backboards that measure anywhere from 18" W x 12" H to 24" W x 16" H, and rims that work with mini basketballs from 4 1/2" to 7" in Diameter. An acrylic backboard gives the look of the traditional basketball hoop we all imagine when hearing the term, with the basketball red border in striking contrast with the clear or white background. Working after hours has never been so fun as when you can take breaks and relieve tension by hanging one of these sturdy wall mount units right in your office!

For the recreation centers' indoor court, portable units with small bases work ideally. There are padded bases to keep everyone safe even when games get competitive. When the slams basketball flowing and balls start flying, these highly durable units, many with shatter proof backboards, can hold up exceptionally well. And when the game is done, these units fold and roll into their appointed storage place with ease.

Don't let the weather keep you from racking up the points on the court. Bring America's favorite game to your own turf with the right indoor hoop!

Author Bill Parsons is the creative author of a variety of online specialty stores that offer both items and information for all your athletic equipment needs. Today, he offers advice on indoor basketball systems, from basketball backboards to portable hoops.

Training to Jump Higher - Body Limits

A very important thing I have learned in my training over the years is that human body has limits. Sometimes your body will just not want to get stronger. These times become more basketball more frequent as you grow older. Teenagers who are still growing can usually see improvements from just about any training strategy. Once you stop growing and start aging, training will have to be more and more precise to produce good results. Nutrition and rest will demand ever increasing attention as well.

Getting your body to respond to training can be quite difficult. When you do come across an effective training program, it will not be effective forever. For example, my freshman year of college I did a few weeks of bench pressing Monday through Friday. I did 3 sets and tried to add a rep to the workout each day. When I got to 3x10 I would increase the weight. My max bench shot up 30 pounds to 250, but then the grueling schedule caught up to me, and I stopped getting stronger. I switched to 2 more thorough days of lifting each week, hoping the new schedule would promote further gains. Instead, my bench dropped down to 230 very quickly. I went through a similar scenario again the summer after that school year, and again after last year's basketball season ended. The point is that the human body goes through cycles with its fitness and performance level. This is something I hope to learn much more about in the future.

The progression of my vertical leap is another example. I have basically had just 3 periods of significant improvement since I first began doing squats and calf raises in 7th grade. Those happened when I was 13, 15, and 20. The first two I credit to a little bit of luck and some appropriately timed growth spurts. The third I believe I achieved by finally gaining some understanding of jumping and applying it to my vertical jump training. There were other times that I attempted to increase my vertical and experienced little to no gains. I believe this was partly due to lack of expertise, but I think the bigger reason was that my body was not always in a condition to become stronger. Long hard basketball seasons were always wearing down my body, severely limiting the potential for increased basketball (A quick sidenote... I have heard some negative things said about basketball players and their tendency to avoid the weightroom. My theory is that basketball demands so much time and energy in the gym developing skills and teamwork that basketball players' bodies cannot recover from additional work in the weight room. So dedicated players make very few gains in the weightroom when they do lift, so they are reluctant to continue expending themselves in this way.) Even now, I have gained a lot of knowledge and understanding about jump training, but my vertical has reached a temporary plateau after a period of growth. You just simply cannot expect your body to continue responding well, even if you make intelligent adjustments to your training.

I have several vertical jump training programs available on my blog. They are all just 2 or 3 phases of 3-5 weeks, because you simply cannot plan further ahead than that. Even 3 phases is a stretch I think. In the last 6 weeks or so I have been training several friends of mine. After getting familiar with the first phase I had planned for them, they always asked what the next phase would be like. I always told them it depended on the results of the first phase.

The point is that nothing is ever guaranteed to work, because the body is not guaranteed to respond all that well. This varies from person to person too. Some people can build muscle like its nothing; others will struggle to even maintain any strength they gain. You have to be willing to try a lot of things, and you have to be willing to take time off as well. Overtraining can occur very easily. The goal is to maximize your gains during those times when your body is in the right state for growth. Then you want to do just enough to maintain your performance level until the next gains come along. I'll be the first to admit it can be frustrating. Fortunately the results are well worth the effort.

I am a college student and former D3 basketball player. I have given up basketball and now focus solely on jumping higher. I have been successful at times; I have reached a 43 inch vertical. I have compiled all the information I have learned over the years on my blog http://verticalleaptraining.blogspot.com

Cheating Your Way Through Life

One of baseball's biggest stars, Alex Rodriguez, recently admitted to cheating by using performance enhancing drugs while a member of the Texas Rangers. Although many baseball fans are appalled and shocked, I'm not.

Over the past few years, many star athletes have been caught taking drugs to enhance their game. Rodriguez wasn't the first to get caught cheating and he won't be the last.

As children, we are taught that cheaters never win and basketball never cheat. If a child believes this going into high school, he or she may end up on the chess club instead of the football team or cheerleading squad.

We are now learning that cheaters are only getting younger.

Not only are high school students cheating in sports by taking performance enhancing drugs, they are also cheating on exams and plagiarizing their term papers.

The pressure to make good grades may decide whether your child attends Harvard or Nameless U. The stakes are high when it comes to competing for academic and athletic scholarships.

So why do people cheat? We cheat to get the edge on competition or to just get ahead in life. We live in a competitive society where winning at all costs is the only thing that matters.

If you don't believe me, just refer to the NFL.

The NFL is the biggest game in America. It's a game that makes millions, if not billions of dollars. Team owners shell out millions to coaches and players they perceive to be potential winners. But when an NFL season ends, losing coaches get discarded and winning coaches get contract basketball This is a ritual in a sport that only wants winners.

To sum it up...society smiles upon winners and frowns on losers...only performance matters.

Someone once said that winning isn't everything...and if you believe that statement, you are either naive or played football for the 2008 Detroit Lions.

William Greene operates a social dating website at http://www.socialhearts.com William is interested in discovering what makes a relationship either good or bad. Would you like to share a wonderful relationship story or one that wasn't so great? Please post your stories at http://www.socialhearts.com/Relationships.html