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Choose the Best Dive Gear before Going Scuba Diving

March 3, 2011 By GuestPoster

Before buying any scuba diving equipment, it is important to understand the type of scuba diving you would be doing. Beginners would be required to take some scuba diving lessons and if that is the case then you can always take the equipment on rent. This is a good way to check out the equipment before spending money buying the best dive gear. This way there is no financial commitment.

The glass that is used in the scuba diving masks is particularly important and it has to be made with tempered glass. This way there will be no glass splinters in case of a breakage. The split strap is the best kind of strap and it will prevent any slippage that can occur with the other types of masks. One must always ensure that the skirt of the mask fits comfortably against your face. However, those with a lot of facial hair might find this difficult. Ensure that long hair is always tied into a ponytail.

There are masks that are available with corrective lenses and are helpful for those who wear glasses. This is very expensive and could be a financial drain. A better option would be to wear contact lenses when you start out.

You will eventually learn a lot about the top dive gear when you take a certification course. There are a lot of details that go into the selection of dive gear. For instance, the fins you purchase will depend on the temperature of the water and there are different kinds for cold water and warm water. When you dive in warm water, you will require full foot fins as you will dive from the side of the boat. But if you dive in cold water, you will require the Neoprene bootie with the open heel fins. All of these minor details are essential before purchasing the dive gear.

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9 Basketball Dribbling Drills You Can Start Practicing Today

February 2, 2011 By admin

Low Dribbles:

Not all basketball dribbling drills need to be complicated to be effective.

This drill starts with you dribbling the ball as low as you can. Once you get a good rhythm going begin to bounce the ball around and between your legs in a a figure 8 motion. Continue the dribble for around 2 minutes each time.

Do 3 – 5 repetitions of this dribble each practice.

Around the world drill:

Each of the following steps need to be done 20 times going right, and then another 20 times going left. There is no dibbling in this drills but it is great for improving your hand co-ordination.

Pass the ball around the body part indicated below as fast as you can. The key to this drill is to ensure that the ball only touches your finger tips and not your palms.

  • Around the Head
  • Around the Waist
  • Around Both Legs
  • Around Right Leg
  • Around Left Leg
  • Figure 8 Between Legs

Catch and Swap:

This is probably one of the hardest basketball dribbling drills to master, but one that pays off big dividends.

Place the ball in between both of your legs. Pick up the ball with your right hand at the front of your bod and your left hand behind you. Now that you’re holding the ball in between your legs let go of it. Now, quickly, without letting the ball hit the ground, rotate your hands and catch the ball. Now that you’re holding the ball again, your opposite hand should be at the front and back of your body.

Figure 8:

Start this drill off with a stance that looks like you’re about to start running (Crouched with one leg forward). Start dribbling the ball as low as you can and then dribble the ball in the shape of a figure 8 around your legs.

The lower the dribble with this drill, the harder it is to complete.

Toss & Catch:

This is another of those basketball dribbling drills that is all that complicated but is good for hand eye co-ordination.

Simply toss the ball up in the air and do a reverse pivot. When you are facing the opposite way catch the ball behind your back. Be sure to only use your finger tips when catching the ball.

Dribble V:

Do the same stance you would to complete the figure 8 drill. Instead of dribble the ball in a figure 8 motion, you’re going to keep the dribble to the side of you.

Like a pendulum, dribble the ball back and forward beside you. One dribble behind you, one dribble in front of you, one dribble behind you, one dribble in front of you etc.

Do this for 2 mins on each hand.

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Basketball Training Aids To Improve Your Shooting

August 3, 2010 By admin

When it comes to practicing basketball, whether it be shooting or dribbling, we all have bad habits that we need to break. These bad habits need to be fixed because they will have an impact on your performance. Don’t stress though because their are plenty of great basketball training aids that will help you with these problems.

First off we are going to focus on training aids that will improve your jump shot. Seeing as this is one of the most critical parts of your game, this is one of the things that requires most attention.

When it comes to your jump shot form, everyone will vary slightly from the way they release the ball, or the way they hold the ball etc. But their are certain fundamentals that everyone should follow to have an effective jump shot.

The first of the two basketball training aids i’ll talk about is the “Unique Shooters Fork”. This training aid is great in improving the way you hold the ball on your jump shot, and it also makes sure that you are releasing the ball properly on your shot.

The shooters fork basically has to bands that wrap around your indexand middle fingers and they stay in place for the duration of your practice.

This shooters fork will alsohelp you shoot the ball in a more straight line.

The 2nd of the basketball training aids is a shooting hoop training aid. One of the major problems people have with their jump shot, is that they don’t get enough arc on their shot.

This hoop is designed to help you get a perfect arcing shot, to give you abetter chance of your shot going in. Their are so many missed shots in basketball because shots are so flat.

The hoop is placed directly above you and requires that you shoot the ball through the hoop above you, resulting in a higher arcing shot.

So these are a couple of the best basketball training aids i’ve used. Their’s plenty of reviews online about them. But the key thing to remember when your practicing your basketball is practice practice practice. This is the main thing that will improve your game!

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Fade Away Basketball Shooting Drills

July 22, 2010 By admin

One of my favourite basketball shooting drills is the fade away or turn around jump shot. This drills is great to practice no matter what position you play – whether your a center, guard or forward – you will benefit from having this shot in your arsenal. Once you perfect this shot, it’s extremely hard to defend.

Before I go into teaching you how to practice this shot, you need to be aware that you shoot this shot the same way whether your fading away left or fading away right.

To start this drill you will need to be facing away from the basket. You then need to step left/right and begin turning towards the ring. It’s important that when you’re turning, you carry the ball high (around your chest), this will keep the ball protected and make it harder for your defender to strip the ball away from yo

u.

As you’re coming around, try and square your shoulders towards the ring as much as possible. When you’ve come around you need to jump and fade away from the basket.

You’ll notice this is one of those basketball shooting drills that take away a lot of energy from your legs. It’s important you always get good elevation from your legs even if they’re tired. If you’re struggling to get lift off of your legs take a quick break and then start again when you get that energy back.

Having that good push of your legs is one of the most important aspects of this shot. If you can perfect this turn around jump shot like Jordan did, you will create so much space between you and your defender that it will be near impossible for them to block it.

Basketball shooting drills should be practiced every day. Try to spend 30 mins a day practicing a few different shots from different spots on the floor. Once you start hitting a percentage of your shots, you’ll start to create such headaches for your opponents that you will open up other areas of your game so easily.

 

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Some Of Ray Allens Basketball Shooting Drills

July 20, 2010 By admin

Some of the most important things when practicing basketball shooting drills is making sure that you get your knees bent and you allow yourself to get good lift on your jump shot, follow through and hold your follow through. You also want to shoot your jump shot the same way every time, so whether your wide open in a corner or you have a 7 footer standing in your way, you should get lift on your jump shot every time, that way it creates consistency,

One of the simple basketball shooting drills that Ray Allen does is a +1 -2 drill. You can do this in 2 different ways: You can run around the key then shoot. Or, you can slide across the key, catch the

ball and take a shot. For every make it’s 1 and for every miss it’s -2. If you’re working with a buddy or by yourself, first one to 10 wins or first one to -10 gets knocked out. This drills is just something simple but it works on your mid range jump shot.

One of the next basketball shooting drills Ray Allen does is shooting off screens. So what you do is come of your screen and come into your curl. You plant your left foot as you come around the corner and then you explode up. The next thing you do is slide right to the corner and take a shot. Then you take off, and do exactly the same on the other side.

Typically this is what us, as shooters, do all the time. Coming off screens and getting a shot off right there but you have to learn to get the ball up quick. If my timing is off, if I hold onto the ball for too long or if i’m letting it go too soon, you should go to the free line. Whether it’s in practice or in games it’s important to always get my foot and my body right and go straight up and release.

Whenever you feel your shot is off, go to the free-throw line and work on your freet-hrows. Develop a routine or a rhythm. Focus on that rhythm and do it every game. If you focus on tat rhythm, your freethrows are going to improve and then your shot’s going to improve

Basketball shooting drills should be worked on at least 15 – 20 minutes a game. If you focus on this then you will see improvements in your game in no time at all.

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3 Key Basketball Shooting Drills

July 18, 2010 By admin

As basketball players, we all want to be a killer jump shooter. We all want to be trusted with the ball in our hands in the closing seconds of a game and we all want the other team to fear our jump shot.

If you want to be respected as a jump shooter, you need practice your basketball shooting drills daily. It’s the most important fundamental you will need to master.

Here is a list of 5 drills that I have practised for years and have served me well.

Free Throw Drill

Being a good free throw shooter is such a big advantage to have as a ball player. If your jump shot is off on any given night, you can drive the ball more to try and get to the line. As shooters, this is one of your shots that is very rarely off.

My favourite drill to practice is playing ghost. This is a simple drill and only requires 1 player.

The only shot you will be taking is free throws. The rules of the drill are as follow:


  • Every free throw you make you score 1 point.
  • Every free throw you miss, the ghost scores 2 points.
  • If you reach 20 shots first you win. If the ghost reaches 20 first they win.
  • Do this for around 30 mins – an hour a day.


The main point of this basketball shooting drills is to find a good technique or rhythm that you can replicate in games.

Quick Release Drill

If you look at some of the best shooters of all time, most of them had a few things in common. One of them was a quick release. Look at Reggie Miller and Ray Allen. They are some of the best we’ve ever seen and also have such quick release for their jump shots. 

Of the basketball shooting drills I do to improve your release is the pass and shoot.

You will need 2 people to pra

ctice this drill an

d it works as follows:


  • Start at the baseline and run around towards the top of the key as if you were coming off a screen.
  • Roll around the screen, the other player passes the ball to your from the key.
  • As you curl around the screen catch the ball.
  • When you catch the ball quickly get into form to shoot the ball.
  • Continue to do this on different spots of the floor.
The most important part of this training is that you do not dribble the ball. All in one motion you should catch and shoot the ball.

Pump Fake Drill

If you are a great jump shooter other teams will respect you and make sure that a defender is guarding you closely. One of the best ways to free yourself from a defender is with a pump fake.
To practice this drill you will need 2 players and do the following:
  • Start at the top left of the key and make a dash to top right of the key.
  • The other player will stand at the bottom of the key and pass the ball to you as reach your spot.
  • When you catch the ball pump fake it. This will normally get your defender in the air.
  • When you have the defender in the air take one dribble forward or away from the defender and release your shot.
  • Continue to do this on different spots of the floor.
The most important part of this drill is the dribbling away from the defender and making sure you have a quick release.

Basketball shooting drills should be something you practice every day for around 30 – 60 minutes. The main things to remember when practising is to keep good form on your release and to shoot from different spots on the floor. Try not to have a “favourite spot”. The more places you can shoot comfortably from on the floor, the more of a headache you’ll be for the defence.

 

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How Basketball Dribbling Drills Will Increase Your Points and Assists Per Game

July 13, 2010 By admin

t; margin: 0px;”>Practicing basketball dribbling drills shouldn’t be overlooked by anyone no matter how long you’ve been playing. Even though it is the most basic fundamental in basketball, it will improve your overall game more than anything else you can learn.

When you improve your ball handling skills you will notice how much easier your offensive game is to play. A player with great ball handling can break down the defense easier, can create open shots more often and also create more assists.

If you only focus on your basketball dribbling drills for 15 minutes a day, you will see major improvement in no time. Obviously the more time you put in, the more you will get out of practicing your drills.

Below is one of the stationary basketball dribbling drills routines I use to improve my ball handling.:

Figure 8:         With your legs shoulder width apart and knees bent, do a low dribble with your left hand and bring the ball to the front of your left leg. When the ball has come around the front of your left leg, dribble the basketball between your legs. With your right hand take over the dribble and bring the basketball from the back of your right leg to the front. Now repeat this going the opposite way. 

The dribble of the ball will follow a figure 8 shape around and between your legs.

Keep a lower dribble and increase the speed of your reps as you get more confident.

Toss & Catch:    With a normal stance, toss or throw the basketball up in the air. Reverse pivot and catch the ball behind your back. When you catch the ball make sure you only use your finger tips. Avoid the ball touching your palms at all times! Complete 20 – 30 reps of the drill.

Dribble V:        With your legs shoulder width apart and your left leg extended forward begin a normal dribble using your left hand. Bounce the basketball in front of you and then send the dribbling behind you. This should look a V shape bounce. When the ball bounces behind you repeat the previous step bring the ball forward. Get a good rhythm going and do this drill for around 3 minutes with each hand.

All you need to do to see major improvement in your ball handling is to spend 15 minutes a day practicing these basketball dribbling drills. Don’t start out by trying to do these drills as fast as you can, rather focus on your rhythm and form then gradually increase the speed

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Basketball Dribbling Drills Using 2 Balls

June 21, 2010 By admin

We’ve heard it all before, but just to drum the message further into our heads – Basketball dribbling drills need to be practiced every day if you want to improve your ball handling skills. It may seem like a lot of work, but you only need to put in about 15 minutes of practice daily to start seeing some major improvement.

There are 3 main types of drills you can practice – stationary drills, moving drills and 2 ball handling drills. To make your practice as effective as possible you should either write up your own practice routine or download one from the internet. If you have a weekly dribbling routine you will see much better results than if you just did random drills e

very day. There is a list of all the different drills you can practice on this site, but for today we’ll focus on doing drills using 2 balls.

First thing first, you need to have 2 balls that have roughly the same feel and bounce to them. Next, you can practice these drills either in a gym or just on a hard surface with enough room for you to move around. So here are 3 drills that I practice 3 times a week for around 5 minutes:

Synchronised Dribbling

This is one of a few basketball dribbling drills that will build up the control on your weak hand as well as your preferred hand at the same time.

Start this drill off with one leg slight extended forward, knees slightly bent, eyes looking ahead and and your back up. Begin to dribble the ball at a pace slow enough that you can begin to bounce them at the exact same time. As you begin to get a flow in the dribbles, begin to pick up the pace.

If you want to make this drill a bit more difficult, change up the pace of your dribbles from fast to slow, to medium, to fast, to slow etc….

Alternate Dribbling

This drill as one of the others to help increase the skill in your weak dribbling hand.

The stance you take for this drill is the same as the synchronised dribbling. Rememb

er to keep your eyes looking straight ahead and having your back upright. Begin to dribble at a slow enough pace that you can get a good rhythm in dribbling the balls in alternate bounces. Example, while the ball in your right hand is on it’s way down, the ball in your left hand will be on it’s way down. When you build up your confidence and rhythm with this drill begin to pick up the pace of the dribbles.

Like the previous drill, to increase the difficulty change up the pace of your dribbles between fast, slow and medium.

Walking Back and Forth

This is one of the basketball dribbling drills that can be used as 2 different drills. Either use the previous synchronised dribbling or the alternate dribbling technique.

Begin to dribble the ball and while keeping good control of the balls take around 10 steps forward then come to a stop. Again, while keeping good control of the balls take 5 steps backwards. Continue to do this for the full length of the basketball court and then turn around and start again. Continue this drill until you’ve done about 10 repetitions.

When you feel this drill is becoming easier, increase the difficulty by jogging up the court instead of walking, then start to do this while running instead of jogging.

There’s still a few points you need to keep in mind before you begin these drills – always make sure your eyes are focused ahead of you and not on the balls, always ensure you’re only using your finger tips to dribble and control the ball and, don’t increase the difficulty of the drill until you have nailed it doing it slowly.

When your setting up your daily basketball dribbling drills I recommend keeping your 2 ball handling drills in the same day. Try not to mix other drills in on the same day.

And remember practice, persistence and patience makes perfect.

 

 

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Basketball Dribbling Drills

June 10, 2010 By admin

Basketball dribbling drills are often not considered to be important by players and coaches because dribbling seems like such a basic skill. Coaches and players however, should not overlook this area as a key fundamental. Basketball dribbling drills are simple, fun and easy enough to do that players can do them anywhere.

The ball handling skills we go through here will give players enough practice dribbling with both their left and right hands, that it will help build versatility, skill and patience. The best time to run basketball dribbling drills is at the beginning of practice and for a few minutes each day. The key to building this into a strong skill set is repetition. You need to be able to dedicate time to this without focusing on any other basketball fundamentals.


Here is some effective drills you can begin to run today.

Low Dribbles:

These are pretty common, but to make it effective you’ll need to do a variation of different moves.

Start out by keeping a low dribble and doing a figure 8 pattern 5 times and then reverse the direction of the figure 8 pattern another 5 times.

When you’ve completed them without losing control of the ball, begin to keep a low dribble around your right leg 5 times, and then around your left leg 5 times. Then complete the same dribble in reverse.

Again, if you complete these without losing control of the ball, start another low dribble around both legs 5 times. When you complete that, do the same low dribble around both legs in the opposite direction.

Circles:

The following drills need to be done 20 times in one direction, and then 20 times in the opposite direction before you can move onto the next one.

Around the Head

Around the Waist

Around Both Legs

Around Right Leg

Around Left Leg

Figure 8 Between Legs

There is no dribbling with this drill, but it improves your ball control and speed. Don’t start this drill by doing it as fast as you can. Begin slowly with good control, and then gradually increase your speed.

Catch and Swap:

This is probably one of the hardest drills to master, but one that will dramatically improve your ball handling skills.

Start with the basketball in between your legs. Then, pick up the ball with your right hand at the front and your left hand at the back. Keep the ball in between your legs and let go if, quickly switch your hands (Left hand will go the front and right hand will go to the back) and catch the ball before it hits the ground.

Improved Basketball Dribbling

Basketball dribbling drills are essential to perfecting your basic dribbling skills, even if you think you get enough practice dribbling during regular practice and games.

If you don’t practice your dribbling skills everyday, you will not be reaching your full potential in speed, ball control and penetration. The basketball drills shown on this website should be practiced everyday to keep you on your game at all times.


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