Word from the coaches

Basketball fundimentals

Just knowing how to shoot a basketball dose not mean you know the game. If a player lacks the fundimental mechanics of the sport he or she will never win a game. The art of basketball is like Gung Fu. You need good foot work, hand and eye cordination and the spirit of a tiger. Master the fundimentals nd there is no game you can't win. Let look at the winning ingrediants to a good basketball player.

Dribbling:

Dribbling is one of the most fundamental skills that should be learned to be a good player. Not only is it the most important, but's also a crucial part of winning. knowing when, and when not, to dribbleis the key. One player who over-dribbles can kill a team's offensive motion and momentum. To become a good dribbler and ball handler, you must practice dribbling as often as possible, using both hands.

So here are the rules to dribbling. You can bounce the ball as long as you wish while standing in one place, walking or running. Once you stop dribbling you can not bounce the ball again until it knocked from your hands, passed back to you, or after a rebound shot.

Ball-Handling:

The most difficult skills, including shooting, passing, catching, dribbling, and rebounding, involve holding the ball. Work on these skills every day. Once you understand the proper whay to handle the ball you will find that you handle it different then others. Here are some tips in handling the basketball.

Hold the ball with your fingertips when attempting a pass. The palms of your hands should only touch the ball when dribbling or shooting. Some players like to shoot the ball with only their fingers. That's ok if that's what works for you.
Make sure your fingers are far apart.This y difficault to handle the ball with your finger close togaither.

Footwork

Basketball is played on the balls of your feet. Everything you do on the court involves good footwork. Some players are naturally quicker than others, but a player's effective quickness can be greatly enhanced if he/she understands proper footwork. A naturally quick player who lacks good footwork skills can be beaten (or contained) by a player with sound footwork fundamentals.

Pivoting

When you are stationary on the court, the rules say you can move one foot around, as long as the other foot (the "pivot foot") remains planted on the floor. This is called pivoting and all players must know how to pivot. There are two types of pivots, the forward pivot and the reverse pivot (or drop-step). Pivoting is done on the ball of the foot. You do not want to become flat-footed or have your weight back on your heels. When you pivot, just actually spin around on the ball of your pivot foot. If you pick up your pivot foot, or change your pivot foot to your other foot, you will be called for a traveling violation

Passing

A good pass is one that is caught by the receiver. Successful passing involves two parts, making the pass and receiving the pass. The receiver should have "soft" (relaxed) hands, catch the ball with both hands and look the ball into his/her hands. The receiver should, in most cases, be moving toward the pass... "meet the pass". Most of the time, the receiver should not be stationary. The receiver must learn to get open by making V-cuts and back-cuts, and setting screens for other teammates and then sealing the defender and "rolling" off those screens (see Cutting and Faking, Setting Screens). A receiver should always know where the ball is.

23 Tight zone Defence

	If the ball is in the middle, D1 and D2 straddle the circle line no more than 2ft. apart with arms extended. D3 and D4 straddle the foul line 1ft above block. D5 lines up on the broken circle to stop penetration to the high post.
	If the ball is on the left side, D1 slides left to protect the high post. D2 assists with high post and stops the return pass to the weak side. D3 moves up the lane with the ball, cuting off the passing lanes inside of the extended foul line. D4 covers the lane in front of basket. D5 positions halfway to assist with the high post andcuts off any pass to low post.
	With the ball in the right lane, D2 slides left to protect the high post, D1 assists with the high post and stops the return pass to weak side. D4 moves up the lane with the ball and cuts off the passing lanes inside of the extended foul line. D3 covers the lane in front of basket. D5 goes to the halfway position to assist with the high post and to cut off any pass to the low post.
	With the ball on the left wing, D1 is now responsible for the pass to the high post. D2 moves behind the post and covers the lob pass. D3 moves up to the extended foul line and plays the outside shoulder and cuts off passing lanes inside of the extended foul line. D4 protects the basket and weak side rebounds. D5 covers the low post pass.
	With the ball on the right wing, D2 is responsible for the high post pass. D1 moves behind the post to cover the lob pass. D4 moves up to the extended foul line and plays the outside shoulder in order to cut off the inside passing lanes. D3 protects the basket and weak side rebound. D5 covers the low post pass.
	Now the ball is in the left corner. If the offense dribbles out, D3 automatically doubles along with D5. D1 prevents the high post pass. D2 covers the lane and must rebound the weak side. D3 prevents the pass from the corner. D4 prevents the low post pass. D5 protects the baseline and traps in corner.
	Now the ball is in the right corner. If the offense dribbles out, D4 automatically doubles with D5. D2 prevents the high post pass. D1 covers the lane and must rebound the weak side. D4 prevents the pass from corner. D3 prevents the low post pass. D5 protects the baseline and traps in corner.