A thorough cool down increases the removal of carbon dioxide and muscle lactic acid by keeping the capillaries dilated to wash out muscles with oxygenated blood. A decent cool down decreases heart rate and respiration as well.
Acquiring and performing movement skills.
Shooting is an essential skill in basketball because you need to score to win as well as ball-handling and passing drills which are also essential. The objective of the offense in Basketball is accuracy of each attempted shot. Every player must be his own critic and must know his range and know what a good shot is. This means he\she must understand the proper mechanics that affect the success, or failure, of every shot.
Therefore, before examining the techniques associated with the various shots, a good basketball player is expected to know the principles at work in every scoring shot from anywhere on a basketball court. These are divided into two parts, the mental aspect and the physical aspect:
Mental. Knowing when to shoot and being able to do it effectively under pressure distinguishes the great shooter from the ordinary.
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Concentration: is the fixing of attention on the job at hand and is characteristic of every great athlete. Through continuous practice, good shooters develop their concentration to the extent that they are oblivious to every distraction. Closely connected with concentration is the ability to relax.
Watch a good foul shooter as he approaches the foul line. They usually begin the ritual of adjusting the feet and bouncing the ball (nearly always a set number of times). As his/her eyes open wide in sighting the basket, the concentration is so intense, there is little wonder that he/she is undisturbed by the crowd or game pressures.
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Confidence: That is a "gut certainty" the ball will drop through the basket without touching metal.
Although, a good shooter never takes a shot that he/she is not confident they will make, they often miss. Therefore, the probability of making any given shot is less than 100% that his/her confidence is.
There are reasons why a player might lack confidence when confronted with a shooting opportunity having a good statistical probability of success. He/she may be off balance. He/she may have had his/her confidence shaken by a string of misses; or he/she may be overly tense, or tired, or may have a lapse in concentration.
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Physical: Shooting a ball and connecting with the target involves the following factors:
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Sighting or locating the target: The difference between sighting and aiming is that in aiming, a device (for example, a gun) is visually aligned with a target; thus, visual attention is equally divided between the pointer and the target. In sighting, however, the eyes are used merely to locate, or fix, the target in space, and the computing of an intercept trajectory is left for the brain.
Some coach once said, "To demonstrate the brain’s ability to determine a trajectory to a known location, close your eyes and touch either your nose or your ear lobe with a forefinger. To convince yourself of this ability in relation to a visually fixed target, focus your eyes on a nearby object and, without aiming, point your finger at the object. Notice that there is a strong tendency for your attention to shift from the object to your finger and that considerable concentration is required in order to remain focused on the object."
Notice, too, that when concentrating on the object your eyes open quite wide. The reason it is so important for the eyes to remain focused on the target is that they, too, are a kind of computer, continuously updating a three-dimensional fix on whatever is being held in focus. Naturally, the smaller the area focused upon, the smaller the fix and the greater the potential accuracy. The sighting point must be held in constant and clear focus from the moment the shot is begun to the completion of the follow-through.
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Body Balance: When properly balanced, a shooter can coordinate the efforts of each muscle to produce a force in the direction of the basket. Although the degree of balance may vary from the near perfect stance of a two-hand set shot to the last effort recovery of an aggressive offensive move.
The shooter’s ability to control the trajectory of the ball is directly dependent upon his/her ability to control the acceleration forces generated by his/her own body. However, it is doubtful whether a shot ever succeeds unless, at the moment of release, the shooter has enough control to complete a smooth, continuous follow-through.
Some players have such body control they can hit baskets from positions impossible for any other player. Each player must learn whether or not he/she is in a position to take a shot and complete a follow-through that will leave him/her in the position to rebound a missed shot.
They go on to explain, "To a weightlifter, this means that it is possible to synchronize the efforts of leg, back, shoulder, and arm muscles to lift a heavier weight above the head (as in a jerk) than is possible with the arms alone (as in press). To a basketball player, it means that the force he can pass on to the ball ranges from that required for a long two-handed set shot to that required for a tip-in a few inches from the basket."
Therefore, beginning at the ball, each of the following adds to the total transmitted force:
- A forward action of the wrists and fingers.
- A sudden extension of the arm, snapping the shoulder and elbow.
- Rising to the balls of the feet.
Obviously, with a jump shot, much of the energy generated is converted to altitude. The remaining force required must be provided by arms, wrist, and fingers.
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Timing or rhythm: The timing of a shot begins with getting the correct foot down for takeoff (jump shot) and ends with the follow-through and recovery. In a set-shot. Perfect timing results in a smooth, continuous thrust from the floor upward, developing a peak force at the fingertips, the instant before, and sustained through, fingertip release.
In a jump-shot, body momentum decreases rapidly to zero and the shot must be timed so that fingertip release occurs just prior to the highest point of the jump. Any non-synchronized acceleration of the body or its members will directly affect the path after launching of the ball.
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Hand-eye coordination and fingertip control: All forces passed on to the ball by the shooter should pass through the fingertips. This technique allows the fingers to make fine trajectory adjustments at release and provides a soft natural backspin.
By stating that the optimum trajectory is that which results in the ball’s entering the basket at the highest possible angle equal with the lowest possible velocity, I will have said all that can be said about trajectory.
In adjusting his/her hands preparatory to shooting, the shooter should space the fingers comfortably to hold the ball firmly in his/her fingertips and on the heels of both hands. The palms are held slightly clear and the three middle fingers aligned perpendicular to the seams. Players should practice their feel of this until this adjustment becomes instinctive as soon as they catch a ball.
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Follow-through: Throughout the act of shooting, the brain continues to compute the precise amount and direction of the force needed to reach the target. Although these computations continue automatically in what computer people call, "real time," there is sufficient lag time to make compensations impossible for any abrupt accelerations at, or before, the instant of release.
Therefore, success depends upon the constant sighting and a smooth, continuous build-up of propelling force that reaches its peak at the instant the ball leaves the fingertips. This means that a follow-through period in which the forces generated are allowed to diminish is an essential part of the shooting sequence.
Progressive activities
To improve my jump shot firstly I will look at strengthening the muscles in the leg by the exercises listed below:
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Quad sets
Sit on the floor with the injured or weak leg extended and the other knee flexed. Contract the quads of the affected leg as tightly as you can, trying to straighten out the knee as much as possible. Hold this for 10 seconds, rest for 2 seconds, and repeat for total of 30 to 40 repetitions.
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Straight leg raises
Start like you do for the quad sets, but in addition to straightening the leg, raise it off the ground about 2 to 3 inches. Hold for 6 seconds, rest for 2 seconds, and do 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.
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Squats
This is the most important of the exercises here. If you do these properly, your quads will really begin to burn.
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Position 1: Stand up with your feet placed slightly wider than your shoulders. Stick out your butt, and squat down until your knees are almost at a 90 degree angle. Keep your butt back and down. Put most of your weight on your heels. Hold that position for 30 seconds to begin with, and work up to 90 or 120 seconds. At the end of each hold, do 10-15 shallow knee bends flexing and extending your knee while keeping your butt back and your back straight. Repeat 3 times.
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Position 2: Start like position 1, but bend forward with your arms extending out, flex at the hip so your chest is parallel to the floor, and keep your butt back and knees flexed about 90 degrees. Hold for 30 seconds. At the end of each hold, do 10 repetitions of shallow knee bends.
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Position 3: Start like position 1, but this time reach back with your arms and head through your legs, and hold for 30 seconds. At the end of each hold, do 15 repetitions of singing your arms and trunk back and forth through your knees, keeping your butt back and knees flexed.
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Wall holds
Stand up, put your back against a wall, and squat down until your knees are almost at 90 degrees. Hold for 30 seconds, and work up to 2 minutes, with 3 sets.
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Lunges
Extend your left leg forward, and drop down so your right knee almost touches the ground. Then rise up and extend your right leg forward and drop your left knee. Do about 10 to 15 lunges in one direction, and turn around and do another 10 to 15 in the opposite direction. Repeat each set 3 times with a 1 minute rest
Secondly I need to work on the accuracy of the shot with the mental and physical aspects. I’ve got to have complete confidence in myself and concentration is key to a successful shot. It will take mainly practice if I am going to progress by increasing the amount of baskets I can score and I can do this by testing myself how many baskets I can get out of ten. Over time I will see an improvement.
My Performance Pyramid
- At foundation level – This is the introduction of sport to young children so they can learn the basic movement skills and through a wide variety of activities they can develop a positive attitude to physical activity, and maybe through the schools PE program.
- At participation level – Youngsters choose to take part in selected activities to enjoy themselves and make friends as well as increasing health and fitness. They usually do this by extra-curricular activities or taking part at local clubs or centers.
- At performance level – Commitment to performing in formally organized matches or activities at regional or higher club level. Also focused on improving their standard, train a fair bit and receive coaching.
- At excellence level – These are top class, elite performers who will probably represent their country in national and international competitions. They will be 100% committed to their sport and a lot will train full-time and have financial, medical, administrative and personal support.
Where I am with relation to the performance pyramid.
I believe I am in the performance level of the pyramid. I am a member of a local basketball team and have competed in a fair few competitions. I have been helped by the NGB of basketball (England Basketball) through my school and local teams. I have received coaching from the local team’s coach and he runs schemes funded by the NGB for basketball. The funding for this scheme was from EBBA which has distributed £10 million of money since 1996 from the English Sports Council Lottery Sports Fund. This has aided me in improving my performance in basketball and has been a great opportunity for me.
Contemporary Studies in Physical Education.
England Basketball (NGB)
One of the main aims of England Basketball is to increase the number of young people playing basketball in this country. This can best be achieved through the introduction of the sport at a young age. Children from primary levels up to sixth form and college levels benefit from regular sporting activities to enhance physical, mental and social development.
Basketball promotes co-ordination, control, teamwork and leadership skills as well as good health, and is accessible to all.
England Basketball supports the development of Basketball in Schools, and has established a Player Pathway(ask BA) to help all players attain the highest level of play with the most support. There are systems in place to assist talented young players to reach high levels of achievement within the sport and to gain maximum benefits from the game. This includes the provision of trials to identify the best players and from there the progress to Area Performance centres and ultimately into national teams.
Basketball can be a rewarding part of the curriculum for many students and teachers. England Basketball currently have limited copies of ‘Coaching For Teachers Candidates Resource Pack’ which are available to teachers, and provide help and advice on teaching Basketball as part of the curriculum.
In my last year at my secondary school we had a basketball coach from the local team come in and show us some key skills needed for basketball. Over the few weeks I had learnt a lot to progress my own skills in basketball as a sport.
The coach volunteered to come in so it was really lucky for him to come to our school as he was not being paid for it. At first he seemed very strict on how we should act in his lessons. When I frequently asked questions, his answers indicated that he was very experienced as he used to play and now coaches a decent local team.
I went to a few out of school camps at a local sports centres which were run by the coach that was at my school, I enjoyed the different skill activities and situations that I was put in partly because I had done similar before and I knew what to do. This helped me to help other people which were new to this. At school when the coach left I read up the officiating rules for basketball and began to referee the games we had in PE lessons.
England Basketball
Tel: 0870 774 4225
England Basketball,
First Floor,
EIS, Coleridge Road,
Sheffield,
S9 5DA.
I live in Yorkshire and the regional structure for Yorkshire is Yorkshire basketball ()
There is a number of leagues available at all different ages for basketball in my region.
One of these is the Leeds and district basketball league which has just joined with the Bradford basketball league to form two men’s divisions and one women’s league.
There are the Yorkshire boys team which was made for the younger basketball players hoping to make it professional.