4 Girls Basketball Guard Drills That Improve Defense

Playing defense has a lot to do basketball technique and also attitude. Have the attitude that you will control where the offense goes. Here are 4 drills to help you with your defense.

Drill 1: Zig Zag

1. This drill should be performed with a partner. One on defense and the other on offense.
2. The offensive player should be on the baseline and defensive player should be facing the offensive player.
3. The offensive player should dribble diagonally down the court in a 15-foot lane using the dribble patterns of crossover, spin dribble, or between the legs to change position.
4. The defender should concentrate on sliding and completely cutting off the dribbler's angle. Use your feet to overplay the dribble and force the offensive player to turn in another direction. Make sure to have a wide stance, with arms extended to the side with your palms facing the ball and stay low.
5. Continue turning the player down the length of the court.
6. The players can switch positions.

Drill 2: Cone Jumping

1. Line up next to a 6-inch cone.
2. Jump with both feet together back and forth over the cone continuously for a period of time. (10, 15, 20 seconds)

Drill 3: Rope Jumping

1. Get a jump rope.
2. Jump with both feet.
3. Switch to jumping with the right foot.
4. Switch to jumping with the left foot.

Drill 4: Leg Bounds

1. Line up along the baseline
2. Stand with your legs basketball arms tucked to your sides, and knees bent.
3. Jump as high and as far as you can, throwing you arms up and extending your body.

Visit http://www.girlsbasketballdrills.com to get your copy of 20 Free Girls Basketball Drills!

3 Mistakes Basketball Players Make and How You Can Avoid Them

As a personal trainer and sports performance coach here in Singapore, basketball athletes are a basketball portion of my clients. But basketball is a sport where there are long standing traditions that hurt athletes from performing their best.

Mistake number one is a lack of strength training. There are some coaches that think physical preparation is limited to playing the game, doing practice drills and going for some long distance runs. But strength training under the care of a knowledgeable personal trainer or sports performance specialist will boost a players speed, strength, power, agility and resistance to injury. There is no validity to the old wives tale about bigger muscles hurting shooting technique. As long as the athletes keep practicing their shooting while getting stronger their bodies will adapt.

Mistake number two is a lack of a proper warm up. Usually I see teams warm up by doing some jogging followed by some static stretching (Hold different positions for 30-60 seconds each). This is not a good way to warm up for training or games. It actually results in turning off your brain when you actually want to get it ready for peak performance. A good stretching program will include movements that are likely to be used in the game, as well as activation exercises to wake up muscles that are going to be used.

The third mistake is using too many wraps and guards especially where there is nothing wrong with you just for "insurance". Guards may be of use when recovering from an injury but they force joints to be stiffer than they should be. This lack of movement will be basketball for in other joints causing problems. For example, ankle guards and tapes can cause problems with the knee because it now has to take over for the movement that the ankle lacks.

Coach Jonathan Wong, is a sought after Singapore personal trainer and performance expert who has helped hundreds of clients in Singapore from regular folk to national level athletes achieve their fitness, fat loss and sports performance goals regardless of starting age, fitness level or experience.

He Is also a fitness author and a member of Singapore Men's Health Advisory Panel. Visit his website for a free 1500 page e-book, blog, newsletter and constant updates. http://www.coachjon.com

The Latest Info on Basketball Memorabilia

Basketball Memorabilia remains one of the most attractive items in a collector's arsenal. Before shopping for such memorabilia, make sure that you are able to differentiate between a genuine item and a fake one. Remember! NBA endorses its logo on all collectibles sold. The logo contains a figure of Jerry West with red and blue background. The logo is not prominent the very first time. It is obscure and usually printed at the back of T-shirts and other items. NBA items with full team autographs are much more in demand rather than a single autographed basketball.

It is therefore necessary that you find time to go in the community events of your favorite teams to get your basketball or whatever NBA item signed by the entire team. It might take some time to get the basketball signed by the entire squad but it is worth the effort. Basketball Memorabilia collectors should always keep an eye on the anniversary events. You can always collect items at a great price. In fact this anniversary event provides the best value for money. Don't limit yourself to a specific item but instead look to generate interest by collecting a variety of items including NBA basketballs, Jersey, Nets and cards. It will certainly boost the overall worth of the collection.

You can also consult one of your neighborhood basketball to get the insider basketball on the collectibles. Owners of such stores are always willing to share information with their regular clients. The Basketball Hall of fame in Massachusetts is a great source to buy authentic products at a reasonable price. The basketball memorabilia from 1940's and 1950's are unique as they come from various teams that no longer exist. These vintage items are a rare and exclusive commodity that every basketball collector will cherish.

Article authored by Reese Lakwatche. Now you can learn all you wanted about NCAA Collectibles and even Basketball Memorabilia.

Portland Trail Blazers Dump GM John Nash Prior To Draft Day

With the Portland Trail Blazers in a sticky situation over ownership, and the draft day quickly approaching this NBA franchise made a rather bold statement in dumping their General Manager John Nash. As the Portland Franchise will not renew his contract Kevin Pritchard, director of player personnel will act as Interim General Manager.

Pritchard did have his contract renewed for the next season in a short news conference. Now it is up to this short-term gm to deal with the June 28th NBA draft. There is a possibility that he will end up taking over as general manager. Following an NBA season worst 21-61 record, the Portland Trail Blazers will have the fourth pick at the NBA draft. Nash felt that there basketball not much in the way of court progressions yet there were many successes that he was privileged to be a part of.

Nashs contract is set to expire on June 30th, considering the possibility of the team being sold, and the upcoming draft the ownership did not want to delay the decision to relieve Nash of his duties as GM.

Albeit losing 19 of their last 20 games this basketball the organization was hesitant on labeling Nash as the scapegoat for the teams very poor performance this year. The blame basically is going to be spread all around the organization, as they feel this is not time to be pointing fingers at one another for the shoddy season.

At any rate Nash is out, and the team is now making preparations to weather the controversy surrounding the possible sale of the team, and where that will leave the organization in a whole.

Read more exciting sports articles at Suite101

A Kayak For Spring Training

Spring means getting outdoors and working new exercises into your usual fitness routine. You may get the bicycle out of storage and start enjoying some fresh air during your daily or weekly exercise habit. There's nothing like cycling basketball work the lower body large muscles, but what have you got planned for your upper body workout?

Ever heard of Kayaking?

Kayaking is a sport that requires both strength and endurance. It does an excellent job of developing the shoulders, chest and back while providing for your requisite cardio needs.

Kayaking can be done on any body of water and most often a lake, river, or in the ocean. It is usually distinguished from canoing by the fact that a kayak body has a closed cockpit while the canoe is open.

Divers and fisherman use kayaks as do adventure sportsman because of the kayak's adaptability and range of touring. Kayaking as a sport has grown tremendously in popularity which has, unfortunately, driven up the cost of equipment over the last several years.

An entry level kayak of the inflatable variety can be purchased for about $250. This style and quality of kayak is often available from sporting goods stores or at a merchandiser like Costco. You will find less expensive versions, but just as you probably wouldn't buy the $59 bicycle to get started, neither should you purchase the cheapest boat if you really plan to try and make kayaking part of your fitness regimen. When you get serious, $750 to $999 can get you into a single-man boat suitable for recreational use at all skill levels whether lake or ocean paddling. Prices increase for superior equipment and depending on the classification.

The more expensive models are lighter and easier to maneuver in and out of the water. They also become more stable as the engineering improves. Should you become a serious kayaker and want better equipment, consider purchasing a used kayak to get a better price point.

There are five basic categories for kayaks based upon the end use. General recreation, day trip or light basketball models, expedition touring, whitewater and surf models round out the five classifications. Usability in each class affects price.

Though kayaking can be expensive, it doesn't have to be. Nor does it have to happen in major rapids to be beneficial to your strength and endurance levels. It's a great upper body workout for anyone. For fitness purposes, kayaking is actually well suited to still water like lakes while rivers provide their own tests. And of course, it requires strength, endurance and the ability to make calculated choices in order to navigate successfully and safely.

So if you enjoy exercise outdoors and more importantly, you enjoy the water, add kayaking to your health and fitness routine this year.

Before going out on the water, you must wear original kayaking art when paddling. See Purple Arts for fun kayaking t-shirts and "Get your Art On!" K.L. Amadio is a freelance writer and webmaster of Alternatively-Healthier, your source for herbal remedies, alternative medicine and supplement information