Please mark these dates on your
calendar as we have our next tournament the week after we come back from break
and need all the gym time we can get to get ready for the Hawley Hot Shot
Tournament! It is very important that we have all players at the next few
practices to help prepare for the upcoming tournament.
Sunday, January 3rd, 2 – 4pm in the
Community Center (2 hours instead of 1.5
and new location!)
Monday, January 4th, 6:30 – 8pm in HS
Gym
Saturday-Sunday, January 9th – 10th,
Hot Shot Tourney, Hawley Schools (time/date
TBD)
Sunday, January 10th – NO PRACTICE
If possible, we strongly
encourage you to visit Open Gym over the holiday break to work on shooting and
ball handling. Open Gym is on Sundays, 3:30-4:30pm. If you can’t get to Open
Gym, there are five drills you can practice inside that won’t drive your
parents crazy! Visit http://tinyurl.com/h5zk3zk for details and videos on how to do the drills.
Floor Shots – All great shooters practice with plenty of repetition. You can
practice your shot laying bed or on the floor.
- Lie flat on your
back
- Slightly bend
your legs
- Set your hands
in a shooting position and shoot the ball directly upward to the ceiling
- Follow through,
catch the ball, and repeat
Ball Circles – You don’t have the
dribble the ball to improve your ball handling skills. Strengthen your hand-eye
coordination.
- Stand with your
feet about shoulder-width
- Swing the ball
around your torso from front to back
- Work in 60
second intervals and switch direction
- Work circling
the ball around other areas of the body: head, knees, and ankles
Finger Tips – Building up strength
in your fingers will help with your ball handling, passing, and catching.
- You can do this
while standing, sitting, or lying down
- Hold ball in
front of you with your fingertips, tap ball back and forth between your
hands as quickly as possible
- More advanced
players can move arms around in different locations while moving ball back
and forth
- Set goals of how
long you can tap ball back and forth without making a turnover
Ball Slaps – another drill that you
can perform to increase finger strength.
- Hold basketball
in one hand then pound it in your opposite hand
- The receiving
hand should squeeze the ball upon impact
- Repeat process
for 60 second intervals
Defensive Stance – Just as repetition
helps your shot, muscle memory also applies to your defensive stance. Increase
your strength and stamina.
- Set your feet
slightly wider than shoulder-width and bend your knees to a defensive
position
- Keep your hands
extended
- Hold this
position till fatigue
Happy Holidays and
see you in 2016!
