Basketball Basics...and More!

       Basketball is a sport that is loved by many around the world. Basketball has many rules and there are many ways to play.  The objective of basketball is to get the basketball into a hoop. It is played with five people on each team, which will add up to ten people on the court at a time. Depending on which side of the court the ball is on, you will be on either offense or defense. Offense tries to get the ball into the hoop, which is not as easy as it sounds. Meanwhile, defense tries to block them from getting it in. There are two hoops which means that whether you like it or not, you will play both offense and defense. These are the simple basics of basketball, but it is not all. Basketball is a sport that takes a lot of practice and thinking to master.
      Teams are chosen randomly when you play basketball for fun. This means that you will not always have your best friend in your team all the time. A golden rule for basketball is to accept the people in your team whether they are girls or boys,  friends or foe, skilled or not. You can make a friend for a life time when you learn that you have to accept people's differences. Once you have your team, you will have to find a way to play. What is meant by this is that you have to decide whether you will pressure, clump together, spread out, pick, do man-on-man, or play freely, (all which will be explained later on). Offense is not as thoroughly thought out as defense, but in my opinion, it is the most fun part of basketball.                                                     Offensive position is the position in which you are in when the ball is on your side of the court, where your basket is. Offense is where you try to get the ball into that basket. Teamwork is key when you do have the ball. Don't be a ball hogger! Ball hoggers are those that try to shoot even when they know that another person is closer to the basket and has a better chance of making it. Ball hoggers are those that do not pass to anyone and want to do everything themselves. Nobody likes ball hoggers! As I said, teamwork is what is a key part in basketball. You have to pass to your teammates and work together to get closer and closer to the basket. Once you do have the ball and you shoot, it is important to have a good form. The proper form of shooting is to square your shoulders and holding the ball with your dominate hand. Your non-dominate hand should be giving the ball support, but you should be able to shoot without it. A great way to practice shooting properly is to hold your non-dominate hand behind your back and hold the ball with your dominate hand. Then you square your shoulders and squat to give your shot more power. When you shoot, your finger should be pointing to the basket. One more important rule of shooting is to NEVER jump. Jumping is not necessary, all you have to do is squat, this will give you the momentum you need to shoot the ball with power. If you jump you will create a bad habit that will not benefit you. If you unfortunately don't make it in and don't score, then you should probably sprint to your defensive position...quick!
     Defensive position is where you are when the ball is on the other side of the court, the other team is trying to score. Your job is to stop the them from scoring. A good defensive position is to squat down and hold you hands to your side. If one of the players is right in front of you and ready to shoot, get out of your squatting position and put those arms up (this is where being tall comes in handy). If they do shoot, jump like a crazy person to try to knock the ball down before it gets to the basketball. The ball may go in or not. If the ball goes in, run to offensive position because the ball will go to your side. In occasions where the ball does not go in, you can get the rebound. Rebounds are gotten by boxing out which is accomplished by stepping in front of a person and pushing them back. If you do get a hold of the ball and a player from the other team grans it as well, grip the ball as if it were your life. The referee will call a jump ball and your team will get the ball. In circumstances where no one tries to take the ball away from you, you try to throw it down the court to a teammate. Do one thing or another and if you are successful you have done your job!
    Fouls are inevitable in basketball. Fouls are when you are way to aggressive or you just messed up while having the ball. Being too aggressive would be punching or hitting someone for no reason(there should never really be a reason). Sometimes you hit somebody's arm while they are shooting and this will earn them a free throw. DO NOT EARN THEM A FREE THROW! It can make the difference of winning and losing. Messing up while having the ball would be being in the lane/key for more than three seconds. The lane/key is the half oval in front of your basket. Traveling and double-dribbling are also not very good ways to mess up. Traveling is walking or taking two or more steps with the ball. Double dribbling is when you pick up the ball and dribble again. In all, don't commit fouls or else... Anyway, I hope that this blog has helped you in the smallest way possible to understand basketball and love it, well maybe not love it yet, but soon enough. Go basketball! Remember to square your shoulders while shooting, jump like crazy in defense, don't commit fouls, and last of all...HAVE FUN!