So you have a son or daughter that is showing promise and most importantly seems to LOVE the game of basketball! If you want them to keep this passion for the greatest sport on earth – you must fuel the fire! INVEST in their development as basketball players. Basketball will give them self-confidence, the ability to work well with others, a competitive spirit, the ability to cope with failure, the ability to cope with success, great exercise and a lifetime of enjoyment!!! My concern is that I often see parents dump money into sport development such as hitting instructors, golf swing coaches, etc… However, when it comes to basketball it is often “here is a ball – go find a hoop”! What can you do to help your basketball player reach their full potential?
Here is a Top Ten List of ways to help them excel in hoops! I promise you that the small amount of money that you invest in this will pay for itself 100 times over the course of your player’s life. This game will give them everything they need to be successful, productive citizens! It offers all the lessons that they won’t find in a classroom.
- Help them find good basketball games for them to participate in year round. Like anything else, you can’t play 10 games a year and improve greatly. Get them playing as often as possible – church leagues, health clubs, driveways, etc…
- Enroll them in at least 1 quality basketball camp each summer. Google basketball camps in your state or surrounding area. This will be 1 full week of basketball that they will thoroughly enjoy.
- Purchase basketball instructional books for them to learn from. Amazon has great prices on 100’s of used books that will do the job.
- Purchase basketball instructional videos for them to learn from. Amazon has great prices on 100’s of videos that they can practice with in the garage or on the driveway.
- Sign them up for Group Skill Development Sessions or 1 on 1 Private Instruction with a respected local coach. You should go, watch and take some notes. Then they will be able to repeat the drills they learned for years.
- Go on the driveway daily and have them complete 10 minutes of basic drills with your assistance. The easiest is to just rebound for them. Ball handling drills are great. You can find tons on YouTube!
- Encourage them to watch big games on TV and discuss educational moments with them. They will surely be more interested if you are interested with them!
- Invest in a new pair of basketball shoes each year. Also having a basketball goal with a functioning net surely helps. You can get steals on Craigslist or local Facebook sites.
- Reward them for their hard work and success! That could be a College Basketball Camp next summer or just a Gatorade after a big game. Just show them that you are proud of them.
- Basketball School of Sandpoint!!!