Back to the Basics

Ever dreamed of being a collegiate or professional basketball player?

If so, this is a dream you share with many other young boys and girls who work and train hard at summer camps and clinics to improve their basketball skills.

Basketball, much like any other skill, takes a lot of dedication, time and practice.  

I had to learn this at a very young age before eventually playing DI basketball at Davidson College.

If you want to become a great basketball player, you have to start honing basic basketball skills and fundamentals, in this case, dribbling and ball handling, which are used interchangeably despite being two different skills, are two of the most important basketball skills you need to become a good basketball player.

Obviously, these are not the only skills, but I must emphasize that they are VERY important! Think about it, if you’re playing AAU or even collegiate basketball, if you can’t handle the basketball, your coaches may be afraid to put you on the court because it could lead to multiple turnovers.

At both levels, the game is fast-paced with a lot of defensive styles that consist of traps and if you can’t hold your own when it comes to dribbling, you will be exposed.

The difference, however, is that dribbling is the skill used to control the ball while ball-handling is what you do with or how you use the dribble.

Since dribbling is integrated into ball-handling, you can practice your dribbling skills to improve your ball-handling ability as well.

It is also important to activate your imagination with ball-handling, picturing yourself in game-like situations, so that you can have a clear picture of how you would use your ball-handling ability in an actual game.

Do you think Steph puts a limit on his imagination when it comes to dribbling the basketball? Absolutely not!

At Pro Skills Basketball, we train our players the old fashion way, which consists of hard work, good coaching and practice. Our team works together to ensure that kids have the best basketball experience ever.

Our training sessions are geared towards developing basketball skills via hour-long sessions covering a variety of skills, including ball handling.  

Here are a few other tips for better ball-handling:

• Fingertip Dribbling – good ball control involves dribbling using your finger pad or the palm of your hand. Its position should be similar to when you are about to shoot the ball. Fingertip dribbling is effective for getting open to shoot,  driving the ball to the basket, and opening lanes for better passing.
• Pound Harder – pounding the ball harder would make it return to your hands faster giving you more control over it.  It also helps to practice dribbling without looking down in order to prepare yourself for game-like situations. Can you see the court and pass to your teammate if you are looking down while dribbling? It is imperative to keep your head up as much as possible while playing the game. This is very challenging to do for most basketball players. 
• A Lower Position – a lower position when dribbling the basketball actually enables the player to hold on to the ball longer as the ball is out of his or her hands for an even shorter time giving the opponent less of an opportunity to steal it.
• Repetition – ever heard of the saying that practice makes perfect? Well, that is also true when improving your ball-handling. Do hundreds upon hundreds of crossovers, right pounds, left pounds until you master these techniques and they become natural against any defender.
• Watch Videos and Learn –  Watching videos and learning the techniques can help you pick up tricks and tips on how to improve your ball-handling skills. Pro Skills Basketball has a YouTube channel with tutorials on a variety of techniques that you can learn from.

All of these techniques may seem basic but are essential in building your ball-handling skills.

Here at Pro Skills Basketball, we offer camps, clinics, and training sessions to help you in achieving your basketball goals to effectively dribble the basketball!

Better Handles; More Playing Time

If you want to be one of the best, you have to train like it. Improving your ball-handling skills can help you potentially get more playing time on your middle school, high school, or even college basketball team.

At Pro Skills Basketball, we aim to develop not only talent in playing the sport but skills applicable in real life as well as on the court. With our training, camps, and clinics all designed to help you achieve your goals, you are well on your way to becoming a great basketball player with good handles.

We will give you the tools but it is up to you to take what you learn and apply it when no one is watching.