College Basketball – 3000 Miles From Home

January 26, 2015 By basketballtrainer

Considering College Basketball Away From Home?

I’m from San Francisco, California. I grew up playing ball on the playgrounds. Then in high school (Balboa High School) and junior college (Contra Costa College) I graduated to playing playground basketball with referees. The city game is fast paced, lots of in your face defense in crowded tiny gyms where the wall is the out of bounds line. Lots of razzle dazzle and competing against cross town schools with guys who you just played against at the park last Saturday afternoon. Picture the movie “Hoop Dreams”. When I was offered the opportunity to play college ball in rural Northern Maine at the University of Maine at Fort Kent I jumped at the chance, as weird as that might sound.

Basketball Adventure – Taking The Show On the Road

Playing far from home was exciting to me. I was ready to leave home. I had spent way too long in San Francisco. Of course I would miss my family and friends back home but I knew that I was here for a reason: to finish my bachelors degree, and play ball. Northern Maine is pretty much as far as you can get from San Francisco while still being in the United States. If you look on a map my home is at the most far left of the country and Maine is in that top right corner. I barely remembered that Maine was a state when I first learned of this opportunity. The one thing that I did know about Maine was that it gets cold in the Winter, extremely cold. Brutally cold. San Francisco due to it being a peninsula in between the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay experiences mild temperatures year round, it’s only an hour drive at most to some sunny beaches and surfing in the beautiful Golden State. I knew coming in that Maine was going to be vastly different in that regard.

As you can see from the UMFK campus picture above, I was right. Aside from the weather, Northern Maine is a lot slower than the big city. I think there’s only a handful of stop lights in the entire town of Fort Kent. In San Francisco, there is always something to do. We have a plethora of museums, clubs, restaurants, and all sorts of attractions. In Fort Kent, your social gathering options are pretty limited outside of hanging with your buddies in the dorms. That’s why I spend most of my spare time in the gym.

Leaving The City Game Behind

The city game and the Maine game as I call it have their differences too. The game up in Maine is slower, not a lot of superb athletes. The city game can turn into a track meet quick. In Maine, lots of teams like to slow it down and execute in the half court. But the biggest difference I’ve noticed is the athletes, which makes sense. Any guy with a little bit of bounce who can run and jump is not going to end up playing in the USCAA in the cold of the North East. I haven’t seen an alley-oop play drawn up all season. Most of the players here in Maine are short, you see a lot of guys around six feet tall playing the 3 spot. Most of these guys handle the ball well, but nothing too fancy. They can all shoot the three and always make their free throws. Very fundamentally sound. Back home, a guy would rather miss a dunk in traffic and excite the crowd as supposed to trying and finishing the lay up with contact.

Another cool thing for me is the road trips. I’m getting to see a lot of the East Coast. I’m getting to see Maine, Vermont, Boston, New York, and Pennsylvania among other places. The road trips can be as long as 16 hour bus rides. When I was in High School, we took the city public bus 20 minutes across town to play games. Also, this being my first season in Maine, I don’t know any of the guys I’m playing against. Which is nice for me having grown up playing against the same guys from the area since I was in the 8th grade.

The Advantage Of Small College Basketball

However, the biggest change is that since San Francisco has so much to offer, there is no type of community feel around a team. Here in picturesque Fort Kent, the community really rallies around the sports teams at the university and they support them heavily. If I walk through town, people know that I play basketball for the local college and I take pride in representing not only the school but the entire Fort Kent community when I play. Back in High School in a big city with six major professional teams and another handful of NCAA schools in the area I could be one of the best prep players in the city but only a sliver of the population would know my name or know who I was. When we played our rival, University of Maine at Presque Isle, which is only an hour away, faculty members and staff on campus were coming up to me telling me that it didn’t matter if we lost every game this season as long as we won this one. The community here takes their sports very seriously and they are invested in the well being of their local team.

All in all, being away from home can bring you down sometimes, not having the support of your friends and family at the games; but those feelings are made up for quickly with such a warm communal feeling around the area. Also, Maine and Northern Maine specifically is rich in basketball tradition. People in the area tend to stay here and raise their families here and they create legacies and generations of basketball players in each small town throughout Maine. I didn’t know it but Mainers really care about hoops and they are so willing to embrace someone who is representing their community on the court.

Although it may be by default since life is slower up here and there aren’t as many distractions, it doesn’t matter to me because for the first time in my life I have the backing of a ton of people and I feel I am playing for something other than myself. I am glad I had a sense of adventure and have been able to play small college basketball 3000 miles away from home.

Fletcher Brown was kind enough to share his basketball journey with us… a journey spanning the borders of the USA. Our hope in sharing this story is that it will encourage other basketball players to look beyond the confines of their local area when pursuing the dream of college basketball. Great universities and colleges like the University of Maine at Fort Kent want to hear from talented young basketball players. Embrace a growth mindset and learn to keep your basketball dream alive by expanding your vision of possibilities.

Basketball Academics – 5 Keys To Overcoming Academic Failure

January 20, 2015 By basketballtrainer

Getting knocked down by avoidable events and poor choices stink, but are an inevitable issue in everyone’s life. We are human, we make mistakes, but life is about perseverance, we have to be able to get up after life knocks us down and don’t give up on our dreams of becoming (in this case) an excellent student athlete and here are some tips to make this process easier.

1. HAVE AN ACADEMIC AND LIFE PLAN

The first step and arguably the most important is having a plan. In order to strive for success you must first have an idea what the end result will be. Know why you are there other than to be a basketball player. Make sure you understand which classes you plan on taking each semester, a degree plan is highly recommended. Take the time to understand why you are in college, why you are taking a course and why you need to stay disciplined. Without a goal in mind it makes it easy to think the journey is pointless.

2. RESISTING TEMPTATION

I personally struggled with my grades as an 18 year old freshman in college. The main issue I seemed to be faced with was temptation to live the “star life” but ignore the academic side of being a college student. The answer is so obvious yet is easily ignored. Resisting temptation is the key! Its understandable that you’re young and meeting new people and want to broaden your horizons socially, but you must realize you’re not there to socialize. Most of us in this situation have basketball as a priority and its probably the only reason we are at this school in the first place, but basketball cannot exist without good grades and motivation in the classroom and if basketball truly means that much to you, you will do anything to keep it in your life.

3. LIVING AN ORGANIZED LIFE OFF THE COURT

When you enter college it is your leap of faith out of your parents nest. You might be used to having your parents take care of your needs or your teachers in high school making exceptions for why your big assignment isn’t done, this is the real world, it doesn’t work like that anymore and its time to grow up! The key to staying on top of your assignments is organization, an academic planner became my best friend in college and it should be yours too, its about understanding when each assignment is due and the feeling of self-satisfaction you get when you cross it off in your planner. Another extremely important piece to being organized is keeping your living area clean. When your dorm is cluttered and messy it becomes easy to lose track of important items that are imperative to your success.

4. STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEMS

We all feel at times we are in over our head, but this shouldn’t worry you. Fortunately, in college we establish strong bonds with people who are willing to do anything they can to make sure you find success along your college venture. We all run into issues we cannot tackle alone, but instead of hiding from these problems, attack them head on, proactively seek your issues and then go to that person that is willing to help and let them guide you through it. Mentors love to help people who want to help themselves, if you truly want to succeed academically, college will provide you the tools to make this dream a reality. Please do not be afraid or ashamed to ask for help when you need it.

5. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF ACADEMICALLY

The last bit of advice I will give is to believe in yourself. Confidence is key! In basketball we fear nobody we envision ourselves out on the court doing nothing but the right things. Why shouldn’t it translate over to the academic side of being a student athlete? The answer is it should! Don’t expect to fail because if you do, more often than not you will! Be confident, be ready for anything your professors throw at you, and most importantly have passion for success.

Joe McCloskey is a basketball player at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. We asked him to share his story with us after learning of his dramatic academic turnaround. Joe is currently averaging 20.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He is most proud of his journey to improve his academic focus and looks forward to building on his success. Joe was reluctant to share his name and transcript here, but when learning of how it could positively impact other young student athletes he did not hesitate to tell his story.

Basketball Grandparent On Prediction, Patience & Perspective

January 5, 2015 By basketballtrainer

Basketball Grandparent on Prediction, Patience and Perspective

As a senior in high school I wrote a short auto-biography entitled “Basketball is My Life”. Little did I know what a prediction it was to become. As a young dad my son, Fred, could not wait to play competitive sports. I think the first word he learned as a child was “ball”. But his first opportunity really came in wrestling as a 3^rd grader. He was tall and gangly for his age with little moxie for the sport. He could, however, spread out on the mat and no one could “pin” him. This strategy enabled him to have some success…he quickly experienced the emotion of winning and losing.

Fred’s real sport was basketball; he had watched Dad play in the YMCA leagues since he was a toddler. He ran the scoreboard with his sister when he was 5 years old. Fred would get his first chance to play organized basketball in 4^th grade in the local community sports program. Three weeks before the season started, Fred cracked his collarbone skating on a hockey rink…not an auspicious start to the basketball season. As Fred’s dad, I was perplexed as to how soon Fred could start basketball practice. Fred and my patience were to be tested even before his first season started.

I had played Basketball in high school with some small town success. I was a triple jumper in college and grew up as an avid New York Yankee fan. I thought these would be valuable credentials to being a fantastic youth basketball coach. Fred had natural athletic ability and had height on his side. Winning in 4^th and 5^th grade came rather easy and there was not much pressure. Fred and Dad thought they were well on their way to winning basketball. They looked forward to 6^th Grade “traveling basketball” where there were “tryouts” and better competition. A rude awakening lay around the corner.

The first few 6^th grade games were quite a challenge. Our team was not very “deep”, and all the kids and their parents expected to win and have their share of playing time. My desire to WIN did not necessarily fit with playing the kids equally most of the time. Players with limited ability grew frustrated with lack of playing time. Their parents became restless with Dad’s coaching style and “wins” were few and far between. My demeanor on the sidelines left much to be desired. I yelled at the kids instead of encouraging them. I lacked patience and exhibited noticeable frustration. It rubbed off on the kids and the parents. The fun of the game was eluding everyone…not good. A 10 – 20 win/loss season was not an expected result. Seventh grade traveling basketball was, unfortunately, a rerun. Eighth grade brought a 50/50 winning percentage. Fred and Dad were due for a change.

Ninth grade basketball brought a new traveling coach with valuable experience and some solid coaching in school. The boys appreciated less pressure and a more level-headed, supportive coaching style. Patience and encouragement brought a winning season and brought fun back into the game. I was embarrassed at the way I had spent 5 years coaching Fred and his buddies in a negative atmosphere.

Fred went on to play in the State Basketball Tourney as a senior and was named Player of the Year in the Metro area. I felt better about the groundwork I helped lay in basketball fundamentals in the early years. Fred had a successful college basketball career and went on to play overseas.

I have had the joy of watching both Fred and my son-in-law coach my grandchildren with class, enthusiasm and encouragement, including success. They find ways to play kids equal time and develop wonderful relationships with the parents. They encourage the kids and do not get upset when a loss comes their way. I have gained a perspective that enables me to feel better about my contribution to youth sports and appreciate how well others are able to do a far better job. My early prognostication was right on, but not as rosy as I envisioned. Now at the age of 70 I truly appreciate the willingness of parents and coaches to work with the kids, encouraging them and mentoring them…and setting an example that all participants can be proud to exhibit.

Gerry Vandegarde is an accomplished athlete in his own right and still plays competitively on the over 70 volleyball circuit. most recently chasing an elusive national championship. Before retirement, Gerry was a Senior Systems Analyst for Wells Fargo and is still a dedicated fan of youth sports… particularly those events involving his grandkids.

Top 6 Skills To Teach Your Beginning Basketball Player – Shared By An NBA Scout

November 2, 2014 By basketballtrainer

We have had the pleasure of working many Austin Youth Basketball Clinics with former collegiate & pro player Mike Vandegarde. Mike has also worked for years as collegiate coach and has been a scout for the NBA for the last 15 years. Mike is also the proud father of two youth basketball players. We asked Mike: “What should parents, coaches and trainers focus on when teaching beginning youth basketball players?”

What to teach a beginning basketball player as they start to learn the game

The Basics…

How to Dribble:

Practice, Practice, Practice, that is how children learn how to dribble. Being able to dribble with both hands is the most important skill one can learn early on. Following that they need to learn how to dribble without looking at the basketball. Also, learning how to change directions while dribbling to get by defenders is when things really get exciting. They need to practice dribbling while going full speed. That means running and dribbling as fast as they can without losing control of the ball. These dribbling techniques can not be learned unless the time is put in by the player on the court.

How to Shoot:

Technique is the rule when it comes to shooting. The shooting hand needs to be under the ball and the guide hand needs to be on the side of the ball. The ball should not be deep in the palm of your shooting hand. Proper rotation and release is vital and that is very difficult for many younger children. As you release the shot the middle finger and pointer finger should be the last 2 parts of your hand touching the ball. A reverse rotation on the shot is best and that helps as the ball lands on the rim to make the ball go through the basket. Age, strength and size will determine the level of skill they can master in terms of shooting the ball. Different release points or very normal for kids early in the learning process. Weather the release is from the body, the forehead or the side it is most important to teach your kids how to shot with one hand and how to get the proper rotation.

How to Pass:

Being able to pass the ball makes playing the game with others fun. A simple chest pass, bounce pass, and overhead pass are needed from day one. Hands should be on the sides of the ball, and both hands should be used while passing. Many kids like to use one hand and that teaches bad habits. A chest pass should be straight with no arc and from chest to chest. A bounce pass should be the exact same form as a chest pass and should bounce closer to the receiver then the passer. Both these passes should have some backspin to make it easier to catch and softer on the bounce. The overhead pass is very similar to a soccer throw in. You have both hands on the side of the ball and throw from the top of your head to the receivers face. Passing is very much like dribbling. Practice is the only thing that will get you better.

The Advanced…

How to make a proper lay up:

So many kids can not make a layup jumping off the proper leg and shooting with the proper hand. This is the best technique you will ever teach a child learning the game. You shoot a right handed layup with the right hand jumping off the left foot. The right knee should come forward and help propel the entire body up toward the rim. Just like you are skipping or jumping to touch something very high. A left handed layup is the exact mirror image. You shoot with your left hand jumping off your right leg. Once again the left knee will go forward as if you are skipping or jumping for something very high (videos are all over the internet to get this technique correct). Basketball is all about footwork and balance and learning to shoot a proper layup sets the foundation for everything your child will learn about the game. Kids get cut from middle school and traveling teams because they can not make a proper layup. Teach them early how to do it correctly.

How to Pivot:

This takes balance and proper technique. When kids first start playing games they get stuck when they pick up the ball after dribbling. They need to learn how to pivot to create good passing angles and passing lanes to pass the ball to a teammate. Kids need to learn how to pivot on their toes and stay on balance. There are 4 types of pivots. A right forward pivot, a right reverse pivot, a left forward pivot, and a left reverse pivot. Understanding each one takes time and practice. Being able to do just one pivot well will make a difference when playing games and not turning the ball over to the other team.

Triple threat position:

Triple threat means when you catch the ball you should be ready to dribble, pass, or shoot. This means catching the ball and bringing the ball to your chest with your strongest hand behind the ball ready to dribble, pass, or shoot. Every time you catch the ball you should teach your child that their first instinct should be to go to the basket with the dribble. Most kids just starting out need to get within 6-8 feet of the basket to make a shot. As your child gets a better understanding and skill level for the game they can tell when a pass or quick shot is the best option.

In conclusion…

Everything I have talked about in this article takes time and practice to master. Children need to not only practice these skills but to practice them going at full speed. Games happen at full speed and kids need to practice techniques at full speed. If your son or daughter has a real interest in the game these early techniques are a necessity to building their skills for the future. We all want our children to have success in sports so go find a driveway, a park, a basement, or a gym and get started to today and share these great skills with them.

7 Steps to a Stress-Busting Attitude for Basketball Players

August 24, 2014 By basketballtrainer

Stress is one of the leading contributing root causes of poor health for most Americans. In fact, it is linked to all six of the leading causes of death in the United States including heart disease, cancer, liver diseases, lung diseases and even suicide.

While most basketball players are healthy enough to not have to worry about the above listed chronic conditions, stress can still have a significantly negative impact on players who feel overloaded between the demands of school, work, family, romantic relationships and performing well on the court.

Even chronically low levels of stress can lead to poor sleeping patterns, anger, irritability, anxiety, mood swings, as well as a lowered immune system. Basketball players who feel more stressed are often likely to suffer from the cold, flu and allergies throughout the season.

Stress targets the physical, mental and emotional aspects of the human body which means that basketball players are constantly under attack from all angles of life in order to maintain balance between these three aspects of well-being.

Mental, physical and emotional well-being are all interconnected so it’s often that if a player is suffering from severe stress in one of these areas the other two will suffer. For example, final exam week is a time of great mental and emotional stress which can mean that physically players may not perform at their best during practice because of the stressful mental distractions of worrying about studying for and passing their tests. Likewise, when a basketball player is physically exhausted or even nursing an injury, their efforts in the classroom or at work are more likely to suffer as well.

Being a part of a competitive basketball team is stressful in itself. From competing for more playing time to memorizing and executing plays perfectly, there is a lot that players have to focus on and worry about in order to develop their skills enough to become a great asset to their team. Not to mention the stress that comes with trying to perform consistently at a level on the court and in the classroom that will get them noticed by college recruiters and land them that college basketball scholarship they’ve been dreaming of for years.

Many people believe that a person’s attitude has a lot to do with their daily levels of stress. The mind is an incredibly powerful force and if you can conquer your thought processes and mental stress as a player than the emotional and physical sides are likely to follow suit for an overall peaceful and stable life on and off the basketball court.

I’m going to share with you 7 proven steps to help you develop a stress-busting attitude no matter what you may be facing in order to bring more balance to your life as basketball player and all the responsibilities that it entails.

Step 1: Become an Optimist

Optimism can take you very far in life. The way you view and deal with challenging situations can make all the difference in how you respond and sometimes even contribute to the outcome. Rather than always seeing the glass half empty, strive to be someone who sees the glass half full at all times. Basketball season comes with many challenging situations personally and as a team. Competing for positions, battling injury and sickness, dealing with tough losses and sometimes struggling to get along with difficult teammates or even a coach can leave a player feeling rather pessimistic; but, if you focus on the good things and believe that the negative will turn to positive and work towards your ultimate benefit than life will be more of a breeze than a struggle.

Step 2: Listen to Your Self-Talk

As you go throughout your day you will notice that you are always talking to yourself. Sometimes what you are saying is positive and sometimes it’s negative. By beginning to pay closer attention to the way you are talking to yourself you can gain a great idea of why you tend be more positive or negative in general. Your self-talk should be positive, encouraging and uplifting at all times in order to make yourself feel confident, empowered and ready to deal with the everyday challenges you will face as a basketball player and student. If you can’t be your biggest fan, than who will be?

Step 3: Ask Better Questions as You Reflect

Reflecting upon the questions you are asking yourself throughout the day when you face difficult situations takes self-talk a step further. It’s easy to fall into a negative, stress inducing pattern of beating ourselves up with self-defeating questions like, “Why do I always miss my second free throw?” or “Why do I always have to mess up that play?” Instead, ask yourself questions that are going to help you overcome the situation or circumstance like “What do I need to learn from my failed attempts to make it better the next time?” or “How can I adjust my form and visualize my shots going in so that I can improve my free throw percentage?” These are the kinds of questions that are focused on the positive and are going to get you much better results.

Step 4: Use Daily Positive Affirmations

Positive affirmations are one of the most powerful tools that you can equip yourself with as a competitor to overcome adversity and stress. Affirmations are things that we believe and they become imprinted on our subconscious mind, so regardless of whether you are consciously thinking a positive or negative thought at the time, what your subconscious believes is typically how you will behave when you are faced with stress. For example, if you believe that you are not a good defender in your mind, than your emotions and physical body will limit themselves to your affirmative belief. Employing daily positive affirmations can take you to the next level as a competitor. A good way to start using them is to make a list of 3-5 statements that are going to begin changing your subconscious mind for the better. Try powerful statements like, “I am blessed with an athletic body and gift that I use daily to the best of my abilities!” or “Every day in every way I am getting better and better as a basketball player.” You can see how these positive affirmations will you help you bust any stress you have and take you on to success.

Step 5: Set Positive, Realistic Goals

Learning to set positive goals is a great way to build your self-esteem and confidence throughout the basketball seasons. Remember to use positive words, be realistic and to keep everything in the present tense. Whether you want to increase your shooting percentage, decrease your turnovers or up your assists – keeping these things at the forefront of your mind will keep you motivated, focused and less likely to be stressing out about all the outside factors in life that can cause worry and tension.

Step 6: Practice Positive Visualizations

While thinking positive thoughts is incredibly powerful, putting energy into positive visualizations can bring success as well. How about picturing yourself hitting the game winning shot before you even take it, or how about seeing yourself shutting down the other teams’ best player? If you can create visualization in your mind then technically you already are experiencing the emotions that come with the success of the moment. It won’t be a surprise or simply a chance of luck, instead you will succeed out on the court because you expect to! Your mind is an incredibly powerful tool, so get creative and put it to work—your imagination is your friend during times of stress.

Step 7: Laugh Longer and More Often

Lightening up for more laughter and humor throughout your day no matter how hectic it may seem may be just what you need to take off that stressful edge. In fact, making time to laugh often is the most powerful stress-buster around. Research and studies are also now showing that laughing has the potential to boost the immune system as well considering that stress levels and immunity do go hand-in-hand.

Life is always going to be a challenge regardless of whether you are playing basketball or not. The important thing to remember is that you have more power over the outcome of each day and your attitude than you might think! By following the seven steps above to busting stress as a basketball player you will be happy to find that your days will flow with more ease and you won’t force yourself to spend so much time being pessimistic, focusing on the negative and beating lf or others up over small mistakes. The less stressed and happier you are on a daily basis, the closer you are to reaching your basketball dreams and goals in life.

Don’t let challenges, obstacles, difficult people and situations get in your way of living a low-stress and peaceful life – it’s simply not worth it!

Let’s review:

Share this Image On Your Site

Please include attribution to Basketballtrainer.com with this graphic. <a href=’https://basketballtrainer.com/7-steps-to-a-stress-busting-attitude-for-basketball-players/’><img src=’https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.67/p4o.8c1.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/slide1-4.jpg’ alt=’Basketball Stress’ width=’540px’ border=’0′ /></a>

Sleep Tips For Better Basketball Training

July 27, 2014 By basketballtrainer

Does Your Basketball Training Plan Monitor Your Sleep?

You know those mornings when you feel like you got out of bed on the wrong side so to speak?

This is a result of not getting enough deep sleep during the night to promote full relaxation which typically sets a tired tone for the day.

It’s a known fact that sleeping is an essential daily activity needed to maintain excellent health and well-being. If this is the case, then why are so many of us putting getting enough rest every night towards the end of our priority list? It just doesn’t make sense.

Did you realize that 40 million people in the United States are currently suffering from some form of ongoing sleep disorder while 62% are not getting enough quality sleep at least a few nights each week?

Sleeping plays a vital role in several functions of the body including learning, memory, and immune function as well as being one of the greatest remedies for stress. Making more time for sleep each night can make a huge difference not only for your health but also for success in life with your family, school, job, and basketball performance.

The Importance of Sleep for Basketball Performance

Basketball players need extra quality snooze time to help the body and mind cleanse, repair and regenerate for the next workout, practice or game.

However, it’s too often that players are running on less than the ideal amount of sleep due to late nights after games, traveling during season, early practices and other major responsibilities like school or family.

Regardless of whether you feel that you’re currently getting enough sleep each night, it’s important to understand that a chronic lack of sleep takes a huge toll on basketball performance and according to sleep expert, Dr. Charles Czeisler of Harvard University, it’s the sleep immediately after an event, lesson or game that is the most crucial for memory retention. He quotes, “If you don’t sleep the night after training, then even if you sleep the next night or the next night, you never learn.”

Dr. Czeisler suggests that players getting adequate rest can be more decisive and confident of their performance quality, and this factor is even more important than that extra hour of practice or time spent watching film in some cases.

He believes that playing on little sleep is like playing with one hand tied behind your back due to delayed reaction time and decreased bodily awareness — maybe you’ve felt that way during a practice or game before.

In fact, there’s a good chance that you have experienced a lagging performance due to exhaustion considering that 7 out of 10 athletes are currently not getting enough ‘Z’s’ on a regular basis.

It’s important to realize that whether you get plenty of quality, uninterrupted sleep every night or not is going to directly affect your learning ability during practice and your performance on game day!

Don’t let something as enjoyable and refreshing as sleep become an obstacle for you to becoming the best basketball player possible.

The Health Concerns of Accruing Sleep Debt as a Basketball Player

We now know that both the mind and body are negatively impacted by sleep debt, and the main concerns for basketball players because of sleep deprivation are a decline in the hormone testosterone, decreased coordination, mobility, agility, focus, mood and energy.

Testosterone is mostly known for benefiting the male reproductive system, however it is also key to building strong muscle mass, maintaining a healthy body fat percentage, bone density, vigor and vitality. It’s obvious how all of these factors have a direct effect on the level of your performance on the court.

Along with a decline in testosterone levels, sleep deprived basketball players will experience decreased hand and eye coordination causing their shot to be off or their passes to be just a little bit too slow.

Mobility and agility are also impacted and lessened, which in turn could have a negative effect on basic basketball moves like sprinting, cutting, defensive sliding, blocking out and jumping for rebounds.

Finally, a drop in focus, mood and energy certainly won’t turn you into a basketball champion. When you lack these things consistently it’s safe to say that you might just find yourself on the bench rather than guarding the other teams’ best player or taking the game winning shot!

How much Sleep is Enough For Basketball Players?

It’s recommended that children ages 5-12 get about 11 hours of sleep per night, teens get at least 9 hours while adults need to focus on capturing 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each day.

In a recent survey conducted by the Better Sleep Council, 73% of adults are getting only 7 hours or less of sleep each night. In time, you become so far into sleep debt that the only remedy is to begin getting at least 8-9 hours for several consecutive nights.

As a basketball player, you must take these numbers seriously, because each night that you don’t get enough rest you are compromising your physical effectiveness and abilities out on the court.

Players should get up to at least 9 hours on nights after games, long practices or intense workouts.

Tips for Building a Good Sleep Credit

Practice relaxation rituals before bed – whether you take a warm bath with Epsom salts, read a book, use a heating pad or write in a journal, try to find a low-key activity each night that helps you to start winding down and preparing for sleep.
Stick to a sleep schedule – the body likes routine, so it’s best to try and plan your day around your sleep cycles. Go to bed and wake up each day as close to the same time as possible.
Check your sleeping environment – ensure that the environment you are sleeping in is ideal for deep, restful sleep. A comfortable mattress, clean sheets, cooler temperature and dark room are all best to promote a good night’s slumber.
Eat light at night – don’t wait until an hour or so before bed to eat a heavy meal. Instead, stick to light snacking preferably with foods high in easily digested proteins and complex carbs like oatmeal or quinoa.
Drink herbal teas – a cup of warm tea can do just the trick to take you from an energetic mood to one ready to pull up the sheets and sleep. Try calming, caffeine-free herbal teas that have lavender, chamomile, hops, peppermint, spearmint, holy basil (tulsi), catnip, valerian root, lemon verbena and passionflower.
Try aromatherapy – aromatherapy can trigger chemical reactions in the body that promote relaxation. Putting a diffuser in your living room or next to your bed with calming essential oils like lavender, peppermint, cedar wood, rose and sandalwood can set the tone for a peaceful night.
Give yourself a light massage – you can also use essential oils for massage therapy which promotes relaxation by mixing them with a carrier oil like almond or jojoba. Take time to rub the achy parts of your body then follow with a heating pad or ice pack depending on whichever feels best.
Reduce or eliminate your caffeine intake – consistent use of synthetic and acidic caffeine like coffee, soda, commodity sports supplements that you find on the shelves of stores and even poor quality teas can lead to an overstimulated nervous system making it very difficult to relax when you need to most. You don’t have to cut out all caffeine, just be sure to only use caffeine that is from high-quality teas and specialty sports supplements that use caffeine from plant sources like guarana seed extract from the Amazon rainforest, which is gentler on the nervous system. Also, don’t consume caffeine in the late afternoon or early evening which can lead to restlessness at bedtime. If you’re someone who has depended on these bad caffeine sources for a long period of time, it would be wise to detox your body from it and go completely without it for up to 4 weeks or more.
Cut off the electronics – excess mental stimulation is part of our fast paced, technologically based society. Unfortunately, too many people are winding down their days to a cell phone screen or movie which actually prevents the body and mind from settling into a deep state of relaxation needed to cleanse, repair and regenerate. Swap out Facebook and the cell phone for a book or word puzzle and you’ll find yourself sailing off to dreamland in no time.
Ask your doctor about food and plant-based supplements to boost serotonin levels – in many cases, the inability to truly relax and achieve proper sleep is due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Eating a healthy diet is great, but due to the lack of minerals in our overworked and depleted soils today, we are not getting everything we need from “healthy foods” like we used to even just 20 years ago. This is where food and plant-based supplementation can really help the body to supercharge its nutrient stores and help you sleep better. A multi-mineral supplement that has calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and other key minerals are known to promote a healthy central nervous system which leads to relaxation. Noni, an exotic super fruit from the Pacific Islands, has been shown to support the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the body which helps the body to begin to naturally relax once the sun goes down. Tart cherry juice concentrate is another food-based supplement that can help to build natural melatonin stores in the body rather taking synthetic versions of it which has shown to be less effective overtime. Finally, valerian root and lemon balm are a great duo that are widely known for promoting healthy consistent sleep.

There’s certainly no question that if you work on getting better sleep each night you’re performance on the basketball court and in life will improve. Who couldn’t use better memory, learning, focus, moods, energy, coordination, agility, speed and strength? The best basketball players in the world are focusing on proper rest and relaxation every day which is why you should too if you want to take your game to the next level. Sometimes you need to put down the ball and take off your sneakers and simply snuggle up in bed and get to snoozing overtime! Connect with a local basketball trainer to help you optimize your basketball training.