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 Nothing will do more for your basketball skills than ramping up the work in the off-season
The legendary coach and broadcaster Al McGuire once said that basketball players only get better during the summer. The reason, McGuire said, is that players only have so much time to work on their games during the season.
So if a player wants to challenge himself, he must do in the off-season. Dan Bonner and Bob Rathbun say places such as summer camps are an ideal place for players to test their
basketball mettle. “If you attend a summer camp, you’re most likely going to face players who you haven’t seen before – the players who can challenge you a little bit,” Bonner says. “If a player is going to improve, he’s going to have to challenge himself or herself. And sometimes, summer camps are a really good way to do that.”
Overall, if you are going to improve as a player, you’re going to have to get a realistic evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses. Once you get this, you must work on your weaknesses. Try to improve upon the things that you don’t well, whether that’s extending the range on your jump shot or learning to rebound better. “Whatever it is, you have to work to make sure your deficits become strengths, and that your strengths stay what they are,” Bonner says.
For example, if you’re a right-handed player, the summer is the best time to work on your left-hand ball handling skills. That’s the way you have to think. “You have to work out with a purpose, a meaning,” Rathbun says. “It’s hard to replicate game speed, but you should work hard to get near that level. Don’t work half-speed.”
“That’s right, never go slowly,” Bonner says. “As you move along, you must pick up the speed. If you are practicing at a speed that’s below game speed, you’re going to struggle.”
That’s why Dan & Bob recommend summer basketball camps. “It’s an important opportunity, but don’t get frustrated if you struggle in this atmosphere,” they say.
While some camps are freelance style, in the way of basketball games, etc., Dan & Bob say it’s best to focus on the task at hand: getting better. Says Bonner, “You have to see how you do when you get back to your team. That’s the true test.”
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