Practice over AAU (Review)

 In this blog post, I plan to review the article written by Coach Dell J on why one on one basketball training is more important than AAU basketball. For those who do not know what AAU basketball is is that it is essentially where an individual plays on a travel basketball team where they go to different tournaments across different states or within the same states. In the article Coach Dell J talks about why basketball players will get more out of one on one training rather than playing AAU travel basketball and he has a lot of good points to back that up. One of his first points is that you get more shots up through individual workouts and this is indeed true. Having your own workout with your own personalized trainers allows you to get up many more shots than you would playing in a game. According to Coach Dell J, "Most players will shoot anywhere between 400-500 shots per training session." This compares to taking maybe 10-12 shots in a game. Essentially, these individual workouts will allow you to create that muscle memory that you will not get strictly playing in AAU. Another point Coach uses is that it allows for you to work on any weaknesses in your game. Lets say you really struggle dribbling and finishing layups with your left hand. Having one on one workouts lets you strictly focus on getting better at that part of your game so when you do play in games, it is no longer a weakness on you and defenses will struggle to defend you. The one thing I would say that AAU has over one on one workouts is that it allows for you to try out some of the moves and the things in your game that you have been working on. If you have been working on a new move, using that move in an actual game is necessary to see if it works or not. Overall, Coach Dell J has a lot of very good points in his article and I believe he is correct in his points. What I will say is that make sure you are trying the things you worked on in games so you can see all of the work you put in.

https://www.coachup.com/nation/articles/10-reasons-why-one-on-one-basketball-training-trumps-aau

The Most Important Shooting Drill (Instructional)

 Through this blog post, I will be discussing a key shooting drill I used growing up that won me a few three point competitions that I also see high level coaches and players use as well. When first learning how to shoot we need to remember a few things. The first is balance. We always need to have correct balance when shooting the ball which starts with feet shoulder width apart creating a nice solid base. The second is elbow in. If you are a righty then tuck your right elbow into your side and if you are a lefty tuck the left elbow in. If that elbow gets flared out it creates major issues in getting the ball on line to the basket. The third thing to remember is knee bend. We do not want to shoot with our knees straight, we want to bend them so we can get some lift and elevate on our jumped to generate power. The final key is the follow through. We want a high follow through pointed directly at the basket so we can get the proper height and aim on our shot. The drill to make sure you have the proper shooting technique involves standing right in front of the hoop with the ball in your dominant hand with your weak hand off to the side. You want to have the palm of your dominant hand under the basketball, tuck your elbow into your side, bend the knees, and shoot the ball while holding that follow through right at the rim. With this drill, you are going to want to make 25 from in front of the hoop and 25 on both sides of it as well. While doing this, try not to hit any part of the rim and only attempt to swish it every time. Doing this drill before the start of every workout will help you have an efficient and effective jump shot. I know the drill may seem boring, but even the best basketball players in the world still do this drill to perfect their jumper.

https://www.teamsnap.com/community/skills-drills/basketball/shooting/576-catching-and-shooting-under-the-hoop

Why Basketball Skills Help in Life (Informational)

 In this post I will be discussing a little bit about why it is necessary to develop the skills needed in basketball and in life and why it is important to start early. Becoming a good basketball player or even a decent basketball player requires a lot of hard work. A lot of hours spent in the gym working on the little parts of the game or what we like to call the "fundamentals" of basketball. These fundamentals include passing, shooting, dribbling, rebounding, and defending. Not everyone is born with freakish athleticism, but everyone can develop the fundamentals of the game. I myself was not born with height or any god given athleticism, but what I was taught growing up was that being able to do these other things that are crucial in each and every game, I would give myself the best chance in succeeding at the game and it has gotten me to where I am today. Not only is it important to work on the fundamentals, but it is crucial to start early. The earlier you can start to perfect these, the more ahead you are going to be of everyone else developing their basketball skills. Learning how to put in those hours of work every day to get better also helps in life as well. You learn what its like to have that incredible work ethic and you will see the benefits that come from all your hard work. If you can have a work ethic in basketball and have the ability to transfer that work ethic over to a job or to family life, then you will see the results from that.

https://pgcbasketball.com/blog/work-ethic-is-a-skill/

About me

Hello readers, my name is the Court King which is a pen name that I prefer to use for my blogs and business. Down below I have provided an image of myself so theres no questions about what look like. In this blog I will be going into a little bit of detial about who I am and my love and knowledge for the game of basketball. I am an aspiring basketball trainer looking to teach youths the skills necessary to play the game of basketball while also teaching them life skills about work ethic. I have grown up playing basketball for the last sixteen years of my life and have been on staff for the women's basketball team at Illinois State University for the last two years and last year we made a trip to the NCAA tournament last Spring. Basketball has been everything to me ever since I started playing at the age of five and over those years I have been blessed to be coached by some amazing coaches as well as I have been a part of some basketball camps run by a friend of mine who plays in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs. During those camps I have gained much knowledge on what drills are used to best enhace the skills of youth basketball players. If you need to get in touch with me about setting up an appointment or if you just have any questions would be to email me at drillsforskills@gmail.com.