Starting Basketball Late In Life

Are you starting to pick up the game of basketball? Are you a bit late in the game?

Confused how to start? Let's break those things down in this article.

I personally started basketball "late" in life. Late being 18 years old. Some people might not think that's late but considering kids start as early as 7 years old, it's 11 years behind. On top of that, kids will probably have coaching outside of school and within if they play on a team. That being said, it can be quite intimidating to pick up a new sport at 18 and beyond. So, how should one go about it?

I'll try and set the stage for the core skills you should pick and how to go about validating if those skills actually work in real games.

The first core skill is passing. There are two types of passes you need to master and they are quite easy. Note, anything you don't understand, try to Google or YouTube it, there will be plenty of videos with the skills I'm describing. Okay so the two types of passing are a chest pass and a bounce pass.

The second core skill is dribbling. You need to master some dribbles to feel somewhat confident when playing with people who have played for years. Work on the following, the basic crossover, between the legs, wrap around, and the behind the back dribble. Ensure you practice those while having your head up and your eyes on the court. You can practice all those dribbles on your own.

The third core skill is ..., you guessed it, shooting. I would focus on shots within the 3pt line for now. Try to hammer in correct form from the get go since it's tough to reset muscle memory, if you've practiced bad form for a while. You don't need a jump shot, just a set shot for now. A set shot is when you aren't moving and someone passes you the ball, then you shoot. A jump shot is while you're on the move and is not necessary at this stage.

The fourth core skill is defense. If you have no idea what proper basketball defense is and what a foul is, ensure you learn that as much as possible. There are times where you can be physical and times where you need to let go. Long story short and at this stage in the game, just use your feet to position yourself. Don't grab people, hold people or hug people. That's a sure fire way to get into an argument or even worse, a fight with someone. Like I said, Google, YouTube what clean basketball defense looks like, what fouls look like etc.

The fifth core skill is getting rebounds. Google how to properly box out and secure rebounds cleanly.

All the above skills can be practiced by yourself, except the defense part. That being said, how do you know if your new skills are good enough? There are two ways, one, you have a friend who is a decent defender and will play you 1v1. That won't test out your passing but at least you will be able to test a lot of the above core skills. Two, play pickup games. Let's talk about pickup games when you're a rookie.

Pick up games when you're a noob can be quite intimidating especially if the players are quite good or have rough attitudes. I grew up in Toronto and some of the courts I played on were not very forgiving. I'm referring to the players. Firstly, more experienced players will probably be able to spot your skill level immediately and if they're not patient with weaker teammates they may be really aggressive with you when you make mistakes. Personally I recommend avoiding playing pickup games with people who aren't patient since there's a risk you won't enjoy it. But if you insist on playing in any pickup game, there are a few things you can do to survive. One, pass a lot, almost all the time. Play hard defense and get rebounds. If you feel confident enough, shoot that open shot or try a drive. But overall pass a lot since you're still a rook. Two, as I stated above, don't do stupid fouls like grabbing, holding or hugging people, play with your chest and legs. Playing with your legs doesn't mean to trip anyone, it just means to use your feet to get in front of the offense instead of reaching with your hands or holding someone. Lastly, if you find a court is rough, find a better one. There are courts with nicer people that can give you the freedom to try things and not get yelled at etc.

I hope that gives you a good start into picking up some essentials for basketball. It takes work but it's well worth it. The better you are at those skills, the more freedom on the court you'll have.

Good luck!