5 Basketball Shooting Must Haves

May 23, 2014 By basketballtrainer

What Qualities Must A Shooter Have?

Are you a shooter? Do you want to be a game shooter? Well, here are 5 must-have qualities you must train to develop.

1. The ability to make shots!

This sounds silly because it is so obvious, but the ability to make shots in games is a must-have for shooters. I’ve heard a coach say “There’s nothing worse than a shooter who can’t shoot.” If you’re a shooter, your job is to not only make shots, but to carry at all times the threat of making shots on your person to space the floor for your team’s offense. If you can’t make shots in games, you’re hurting your team in two ways; your team misses out on points when you miss, and the opposition can play a more compact team defense against your team. Players who want to be shooters should practice shooting in game situations, while fatigued and in high intensity situations. Shooters should also know their range so they know from what distance their shooting opportunities should come in games.

2. The ability to catch and shoot.

Catching and shooting means being ready to shoot as soon as you catch a pass from your teammate. No dribbles. No getting your hands and feet together after you catch the ball. Your hands and feet must already be ready on the catch. If you’re a shooter, the defense knows you’re a shooter, and they will rarely leave you open. If you do find yourself open, it won’t be for long. You need to be able to capitalize in the limited amount of time you have an open window to shoot.

3. The ability to use screens.

Shooters have to be able to get themselves open via straight cuts, curl cuts and fade cuts off of screens. If you’re a shooter who cannot effectively use off-ball screens, you are truly at the mercy of a ball handler to get you an open shot. Los Angeles Clippers guard JJ Redick and Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver are NBA shooters who use screens well to get open. Using off-ball screens well takes practice, as you must catch and get into your shot quickly without traveling. But once you’ve got this, you can use the threat of you shooting to get your screening teammate a good shot as well.

4. The ability to understand spacing.

Shooters must understand spacing to be truly effective. When a teammate is driving, a shooter needs to know how to drift down into the corner or up towards the wing to be in position for a great kick-out pass. Shooters also need to know how to move off of post entry passes, as this can be another way they get open for shots. Shooters who don’t understand spacing bring over an extra defender to double a driving or posting teammate, or they clog driving lanes altogether. These are not good things. Shooters must understand spacing.

5. The ability to make contested shots.

Remember that as a shooter, the defense has tabs on you. When you are able to get free, defenders will close out and contest hard on you. A real shooter understands that he will get only a handful of really open shots, and that he must be comfortable shooting with a hand in his face. If you are a shooter and only shoot when you are “wide” open, you are not capitalizing on all the opportunities that are there, and you could be hurting your team. When you do shoot those contested shots, you still have to convert them at a decent percentage. Making contested shots takes practice, so spend the necessary practice time developing this skill

Shooting is a scientific art form, and shooters know these five things are important for them to be effective weapons in games. To develop your shooting artform, contact your local basketball trainer today. We look forward to seeing you knocking down big shots for your team.

How To Get Out Of Your Basketball Funk

May 22, 2014 By basketballtrainer

How to Get out of a Basketball Funk

If you’ve been playing organized basketball for a while, you’ve probably been through periods where you’re not playing so well. It can be for a quarter, a half, an entire game, or a couple of games. These things happen from time to time. We call these periods “funks” or “shooting slumps”, as we’re usually talking about performance on the offensive end. While a slump can be hard to shake off for youth basketball players, here are some things you can do to help.

Get to the Free Throw Line

When your shot is not falling from the outside, and you also seem to be missing finishes you usually makes at the rim, one of the best things you can do is get to the free throw line. This means getting fouled of course. The best way to get to the free line is to drive hard to the basket and brace for contact as you attempt to score at the rim. After you’re fouled, you get to take a moment to relax and shoot a couple of uncontested shots at the line. Shooting free throws is good for getting out of a slump because it’s a chance for you to see the ball go through the rim. Seeing the ball go through the basket is good for your psyche and can restore a little bit of shooting confidence.

Hit the Boards

Players who are struggling to score can look to get some high percentage opportunities off of rebounds. On the offensive end, snagging a board right in the lane might give you an opportunity for a putback at the rim. Seeing that ball go through the net will help you. On the defensive end, you can get a good opportunity as well. When you get a rebound, try pushing the ball up the court aggressively for the coast-to-coast layup opportunity. You can catch defenses off guard a lot of times and get a less-contested shot at the rim. If you don’t make the shot and instead get fouled, there is still the opportunity to see the ball go through the rim at the free throw line.

Get Out in Transition

The highest percentage shot in the game is the layup. Or for those who are able to do it, the dunk. And the best time to get yourself an uncontested layup or dunk is on the fast break. For this reason getting out in transition is one of the best ways to get an easy score and get yourself going. When you see a teammate grab a defensive rebound, turn and sprint up the floor towards your team’s basket. Even if you don’t have other teammates running with you on the other wing, if you beat the man defending you up the floor you might get a long pass that leads you right into a layup. The transition layup might be just the thing you need to help you break out of your funk.

If you’re in an offensive slump or funk, these are some of the things you can use to get yourself going. If your slump is caused by you playing against a new higher level of competition and you’re having trouble keeping up, you may need some skill development. Either way, contact a local trainer to help you develop some skills and know-how. We can’t wait to see consistently performing on the offensive end.

Train To Win In Basketball – 4 Cornerstones

May 21, 2014 By basketballtrainer

4 Cornerstones of Training To Win In Basketball

Basketball is a fun game… training to win requires higher focus and work ethic within the fun framework. It allows for so much creativity and a showcase of various skills. But basketball is also a competitive sport, one that pits two teams against each other to determine a clear winner. The beauty of the game is merging talent, skills and teamwork together to gain a victory over the other team. That being said, the game is won and lost on more than just skills. Here are some tips for being a winning basketball player every time you play.

Take Pride in Your Basketball Performance

This is something kids playing youth basketball all need to learn. Although you should truly be loose and free playing the game, know that how you perform while on the floor affects the outcome of the game. So you need to take pride in how you perform. Personal pride in your own performance can have more affect on your game than a coach’s instructions. For example, if the man you are guarding has scored on you a couple of times in a row, personal pride is going to make sure you start locking in, giving a greater effort and playing more soundly the next time he tries to score on you. This sense of personal pride will carry more weight to you than your coach barking instructions to you from the sidelines. And this type of attitude breeds winning. On the other hand, a player with no personal pride would not make the necessary effort to tighten up on defense no matter how much the coach instructs him to do so. A player like this is not playing winning basketball.

Don’t Be Discouraged In Training or Games

Youth basketball games range anywhere from 24-40 minutes in duration. That’s a long time running, jumping, shooting and rebounding. There are ebbs and slows throughout the game. If things are not going well at a certain point, do not get discouraged. There’s still time on the clock to turn it around because the game is not over until the final buzzer sounds. This can be hard for young players to understand, as sometimes getting scored on a couple of times or missing a couple of shots can cause them to lose confidence. But keep fighting. There have been so many epic comebacks in the game of basketball because a team kept fighting and believing. And remember, if you are playing discouraged basketball, you are doing the other team’s work for them. Don’t help them in their cause to beat you down. Keep putting pressure on the other team by fighting until the final buzzer.

Be Selfless As A Basketball Teammate

Selfless players and teams are winning players and teams. Selfish players do things that hinder winning. Being selfless means doing little things like passing to the open man and encouraging teammates. After all, if the goal is winning you want your teammates to stay encouraged the entire game. Passing to an open teammate when you feel like you want to try to score may cause you to lose out on a shot attempt, but winning players don’t let personal stats get in the way of team success. In actuality good stats have a funny way of following winning players.

Be Fearless on the Basketball Court

An important aspect of winning in basketball competition is being fearless. You don’t want to be the type of player who looks good in practices and drills, but when it comes to games you all of a sudden freeze up. If you’re known as a shooter, in games your team needs you to shoot. If you’re a good driver and scorer, in games your team needs that from you. In competitive basketball, you can’t consistently win if you’re not giving it your all. You can practice being fearless by being aggressive at the beginning of games when you are nervous. Eventually the nerves will go away and you can focus on using your skills and talent to help your team win. Being fearless is VERY important in winning basketball, so learn to develop this quality now.

Competition, whether it is in basketball or anything else, is about playing to win. Along with developing your physical skills, work on developing a winning attitude towards the game of basketball. That includes implementing the tips here, along with some others. Get with your local basketball trainer today to help you with that development. We can’t wait to see you out there playing to win using the 4 cornerstones of winning basketball training.

Top 5 Reasons To Become A Basketball Trainer

May 19, 2014 By basketballtrainer

Top 5 Reasons to Become a Basketball Trainer

Being a basketball trainer has many benefits especially for former players or coaches that want to build a new basketball career. Individuals that poses extensive knowledge about teaching the game of basketball and have experience developing individual players don’t just have to be coaches or volunteer their services part time. Many coaches get burnt out because of all the off the court responsibilities that come with the job. This article should lay out why you shouldn’t limit yourself to being stuck in the mindset of traditional basketball coaching. Here are five reasons why you might want to think about becoming a basketball trainer.

Being a basketball trainer allows you to stay in the sport you love and help young basketball players achieve their goals. To become a legitimate basketball trainer you have to have a wealth of knowledge relating to the game. Sharing this information with young athletes can help reach their goals and have opportunities that may have been a struggle for you
You get to help young athletes improve their game and succeed on the court without all of the time and commitment that traditional coaches are required to commit to. You get to set your own schedule and train when you want to train. Plus by only seeing a player 2-3 times a week your voice doesn’t get stale in their heads. This allows you to be more affective and help players see quicker results. Also there is usually tension between coaches and parents. As a basketball trainer you will get much more positive response from parents because you won’t be limiting their kids playing time you will be helping them earn more!
You can make a basketball training career doing what you want! There isn’t anything more satisfying than being self-employed and getting to do what you want every day at “work” if you want to call it that. You get to run your training, camps, and program the way you think it should be done while putting your own personal stamp on the game.
You will have more opportunities to enjoy the game and improve as an instructor throughout the year. Your off season is basketballs in season. So when all the kids you train are playing in games you will have the time to travel and attend their games. You will still be training or doing “tune ups” and clinics throughout the season so don’t let that worry you. You will also have time to fine tune your teaching points and develop new curriculum for your players.
Finally you get to be in a gym with basketball shorts on every day you work. In our opinion it doesn’t get much better than that.

Infinite Reasons To Become a Basketball Trainer

There are many more reasons to become a basketball trainer but these are the main reasons that you should think about modifying your career path. Also understand basketball training isn’t just hanging out on the court all day there is a lot other work needed to put in to get the clients filling up your schedule. Basketball trainer can help with this process and give you more time to plan workouts and be in the gym. Claim your bassketball trainer listing today to connect with ambitious young basketball players.

Don Meyer Quotes Infographic

May 18, 2014 By basketballtrainer

The team here at Basketballtrainer.com are big fans of Coach Don Meyer and wanted to share some of his knowledge with the players we train and the coaches we work with. We are so thankful for his work, his life and all that he shared.

For more inspiration from many great minds, check out this link from the Coaching Toolbox website: Basketball Quotes

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Don Meyer – A Basketball Angel

May 18, 2014 By basketballtrainer

Meyer_Don The Meyer family just announced we have lost a legend of basketball today and that Heaven has gained a basketball angel. I have followed Coach Meyer for several years and am so thankful for his sharing of his teaching online. His teaching focused on both basketball and life lessons. The list of accolades Coach Meyer has is long including the second winningest basketball Coach in NCAA history.

Coach Meyer chose to remain at the Division 2 level so he could focus more on teaching and sharing and less on the business of basketball necessary at Division 1. Fame was not his favorite “F” word. Faith, Family and Friends were his favorite “F” words.

Yesterday my 6 year old daughter asked me if I was famous. My wife and I both laughed. To my six year old she sees basketball training clients, coaches and assorted other basketball people stop me at the supermarket etc. and I guess she thinks this makes me famous. I tried to politely explain that being famous was neither good nor bad, that the key was to deliver value to other human beings around you regardless of what notoriety it might bring. I explained that if our basketball training delivers value to young people in building confidence on and off the court, then supermarket fame was okay. She understood my goal is not to become Miley Cyrus famous.

Many people can explain these concepts to their six year old… but few can model this behavior like Coach Don Meyer did. Thank you Coach Meyer!

Please check out Coach Meyer’s website at http://coachmeyer.com/ for more resources on basketball and life. I strongly encourage you to watch Coach Meyer’s speech in the below video as he spoke at the Espys.

You may also want to check out our Coach Don Meyer Quotes Infographic.