Basketball is a tough game. There is a combination of physical and mental capabilities that can make it difficult out there on the court. You need to optimise both your physical and mental fitness to play your ultimate game. But this is all part of being in the team and these healthy benefits will carry into your social and professional life, too!
With this in mind, here are seven tips for being an ultimate player:
Prioritise mental fitness
Grab your Cairns Taipans basketball, because we are going to talk you through what makes an ultimate player. First, you must optimise your mental health. Why? Because you cannot expect to be one of the best on court if you are unable to focus on every moment you are out on the court. Some of the best ways to mentally prepare yourself for a game are to meditate, listen to music that gets you pumped or undertake some external pregame warmups.
Then work on your physical fitness
One thing prioritising your mental health does is create a greater sense of discipline. Once this discipline has been further developed you can then go on to working on your physical fitness. Your physical fitness is obviously essential to being one of the best on court, so take the time to workout at the gym or work hard at training sessions – it will go a long way to ensuring you are one of the fittest on court!
Practise your shooting
Even if this means outside of team training. Sure, you are not going to nail every shot you take, but working on your shooting is one of the best ways to increase your success rate. If you have a hoop at home – or one down at the local park – we recommend taking the time to head down there at least once a week for some imperative practice!
Focus on training
Just like any skill, the only way to truly become good at basketball is through focusing on your training. Match situations don’t actually exist to improve your skills – they are a way of demonstrating the skills you took the time to learn outside of a game situation. Therefore, don’t overlook the importance of training – it is the single most important thing to improving your on-court attributes.
Work on your vertical jump
Basketball – alongside some obvious Olympic events – is one of the world’s most vertical sports. Even shorter players have to work on their vertical jump to be able to take on the taller opposition members. In fact, this is even more imperative, as these players already have an unfortunate height advantage over you! So, if you’re not quite as tall as some of the other players out on court, it’s important to take the time in training to work on your vertical jump.
Work on the fundamentals
The fundamentals are essential to any player’s game. Dribbling, passing and shooting are imperative and you should work on each of them throughout every training session. What’s more, work on your awareness. You have teammates across the court working with you towards the hoop and your awareness is key to finding their pass every time.
Think about the game
Watch and study the game. How do the pros do it? If you play a particular position, watch your favourite team and see how their player moves around the court and what they do with the ball. You might like to emulate that or take it your own way – either way studying and thinking about the game are great ways to amplify your on-court attributes!
