Fundamentals of Basketball At All Levels

Despite the differences at various levels of basketball--professional, college, high school, grad school--there are fundamentals which must be taught at every level. The players must learn to know the score, the number of fouls, and the skill level of the opponent. They should know if the opponent is right or left-handed or whether he or she prefers to drive to the basket or shoot long. Other useful lessons include recognizing different types of defense, knowing if another player is hot or cold, maintaining eye contact, passing effectively, receiving a pass effectively, mastering shooting skills (lay-ups and rebounds), blocking out, concentrating, anticipating where the ball will bounce on a missed shot, dribbling, how to guard a man who has the ball and one who does not have the ball, when to shoot or not, stealing the ball, keeping your hands up on defense, how to move on defense, how to execute a full-court press, double-teaming, the roles and responsibilities of each position, and much more (Shurtleff 1).

Obviously, all of these aspects of the game cannot and should not be taught to young children who are merely playing to have fun, learn teamwork, and develop coordination and competitive spirit. The higher the level, the more of these aspects must be taught, and at the college and professional levels a good player must know all of these aspects and more.

At the same time, because of the emphasis on sports today, even youngsters are being exposed to subtle aspects

Related Essays

Fundamentals of Basketball .... the coach plays in instilling those fundamentals. .... Teaching remains important on .... levels but is .... coach will stress fundamental basketball because receptive .... (2083 8 )

Athletics & Development of Leadership .... individuals who are talented and who have learned the fundamentals of the .... mentors must accept this and use it for the good of ..... .... Coaching Youth Basketball. .... (2265 9 )

How Athletics Develop Leadership Qualities .... individuals who are talented and who have learned the fundamentals of the .... mentors must accept this and use it for the good of ..... .... Coaching Youth Basketball. .... (2265 9 )

s confidence that they can do their best and that rewards will flow naturally from that effort. The coach cannot apply coaching fundamentals effectively without knowing the specific strengths and weaknesses of his or her particular team. For example, You have to be able to balance the fact that a press generally helps an underdog with the possibility that your underdog team lacks the quickness to play a press. You have to understand that a high variance player (like a three point shooter) can hurt you in the regular season but help you in the postseason as well as you understand that your high variance player is a senior who knows how to take the last shot in close games (Oliver 1). The importance of teaching the basics of the game to such an extent that they become second nature to players, whether the players are highly talented or mediocre, cannot be overestimated. Here is famed coach Red Holzman on player (and now Presidential candidate) Bill Bradley: Bill studied the game, and his knowledge of it was as good as anybody's. He believed in team basketball and made up for his lack of speed and physical ability with his knowledge of the game and ability to be in the right place at the right time. He made sure he was alwa

Category: Misc - F