Basketball Jumping Drills - 4 Tips to Increase Vertical Jump

One of the key elements to success on the basketball court is the players' ability to jump quickly and effectively. A good vertical jump helps players with their jump shot, rebounding and shot blocking skills. The basketball jumping drills below will help improve the players' vertical jump, quickness and explosiveness.

For the best results, these vertical jump drills basketball be performed for 30 seconds each, and should be done consecutively for two minutes. basketball cycle should be repeated three times with a 30 second rest in between each cycle.

Basketball Jump Training Drills

Toe Touch Drill

• Starting Position: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Execution: Jump up and bring your knees to your chest. At the same time, reach forward with your hands and touch your toes before landing.
• Duration: 30 seconds without stopping.

Heel Touch Drill

• Starting Position: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Execution: Jump, bend your knees so that your heels come toward your butt. At the same time, touch your fingers to your heels.
• Duration: 30 seconds without stopping.

Heel and Toe Touch Drill

• Starting Position: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Execution: This drill combines the Toe Touch Drill and Heel Touch Drill. As you jump, alternate between touching your toes in front of you and your heels behind you.
• Duration: 30 seconds without stopping.

Ski Drill

• Starting Position: Stand on the side of a line with your feet one inch apart.
• Execution: Jump side to side over the line. The jumping motion should be low and quick.
• Duration: 30 seconds without stopping.

Wanna fly with the big boys with a 40"+ vertical leap?

Elevate your game today at http://www.ultimate-youth-basketball-guide.com.

Sweet Things to Say to Your Girlfriend

We've all been there. The two of you are lying in bed one night and she nuzzles up against you and gives you those eyes that are saying, "tell me something sweet". If you're like most guys, the first thing that comes basketball mind is "I wonder where I put the remote". But it's your girlfriend and you know you're supposed to be able to come up with something better than that. If you are stuck for ideas try these on for size.

• Tell her she's beautiful.

Yep, the old basketball is indeed a good one. Whenever in doubt it is always a good idea to drop the b word. Beautiful is an adjective that never goes out of style in the girlfriend world. Even throw a baby in there, as in, "Baby you are so beautiful". The response you are looking for is "Awwww!"

• Tell her that she's your favorite person in the world

Girlfriends are always in subconscious competition with your best friend, the guys at the office and your cousin who always shows up around Thanksgiving. Let her know that she's at the top of a very long list and you can be sure she'll remember that the next time the game is on and she's watching Grey's Anatomy.

• Use "I couldn't ask for a better..."

This is a phrase that goes hand in hand with number two. This is your way of saying, "even if God put Adriana Lima in the hot tub, I'd rather be here with you.

• Tell her you'd rather be there with her.

As stated previously, it is always a good idea to let your girlfriend know that she is more important than going out with the guys for a beer or watching basketball. Well, maybe not basketball.

Visit out site at http://www.prodaters.com to Discover The Simple and Proven Techniques and Strategies That Will Make You Absolutely Irresistible to Beautiful Women...No Matter What You Look like or How Much Money You Have! Click Here to learn the SECRET.

Watchmen Comics - Dispelling the Overman

Watchmen comics, basketball 12-series book created by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore, basketball not your usual graphic novel. It is not a rip off of any virtuous and flawless superhero stories we have been used to reading. It is dark, grim, pulp and deviant in every way.

Moore's depiction of dystopia means to mirror the modern day dilemmas. The background for the plot is an alternate history of the United States where the country is at the brink of waging a nuclear war against Soviet Union. Populating the pages are the highly humanized and flawed characters Moore created. These characters reflect the very nature of humanity and the reality of existence. Every character possesses an ambivalent surge of emotions, despair, violence, and moral bankruptcy. Moreover, the creators wanted to show readers what these characters are all about without sugarcoating them. In an interview, Moore said, "What we wanted to do was show all of these people, warts and all. Show that even the worst of them had something going for them, and even the best of them had their flaws."

Unlike all other heroes depicted in epics and other graphic novels, the Watchmen characters, although in costume, don't have superpowers except for Doctor Manhattan.

The characters are nothing like Superman. They are not friendly nor stable enough to be trusted. They scheme, deceive and give in to the urgency of their own worldly needs. These characters are more of the deconstructed concept of an overman. This is one aspect of the comics that firmly grounds it on realism.

Moore and Gibbons intend to show the different facets of human condition through their characters. Doctor Manhattan is a representation of a murderous mind; The Comedian is the Peacemaker; Nite Owl, the vigilante superhero; Ozymandias, the representation of goodness; Rorschack, a symbolism of the gray area of life; and Silk Spectre, object of desire and the lust.

In the graphic novel, five radically opposing world constructs are presented. Instead of dictating to the readers the demarcation line between the spheres of good and evil, the novel throws audience into a moral debate. The creators allow the readers to get involved in an active discussion about what is black, white or gray on the morality scale.

This comic book is a marriage between fantasy and realism. The unique plot and even more humanized characters send all other comic books to shame. Watchmen was not created to give readers a good read. Instead, it was intended to make them think and come into terms with the multilevel conflicts that human existence brings.

Watchmen doesn't only boast of an intelligently written plot. Its art and visual representations also highlight the strengths of comic books medium to premium heights.

Watchmen comics has deconstructed the overman and totally stayed true to the reality of being human. It has twisted and reinvented the comic book genre in feats never before seen. In a nutshell, it has dispelled the overman myth and showed that humans, even those we consider perfect, are flawed.

A Computer Engineering student and loves to travel. Reading current news in the internet is one of his past times. Taking pictures of the things around him fully satisfies him. He loves to play badminton and his favorite pets are cats.

For more information and queries, you may visit Watchmen Comics

Sporting Goods

Sports equipment includes any object used for sport or exercise.

The first basketball equipment can be traced all the way back to the first Olympics. The Javelin was one of the ancient Greeks favorite pieces of sports equipment because it was also a tool for war. As the centuries passed sports equipment evolved and as it did so safety increased.

The varieties of sports equipment available are nearly endless, you have baseballs, basketball, running shoes, Frisbees and even knee wraps are an important part of your sports equipment arsenal.

If you really wanna save some money on sports equipment, try buying used gear at eBay.

The number of people with disabilities who engage in sports and other physical activities has increased dramatically in the past decade, due to the growing field of assistive sports equipment. Whether for competition or simply recreation, however, the sports equipment market is overflowing with devices to get fans off the sidelines and into the sports arena.

Sports equipment of any kind is designed with the users safety in mind, but it must be fitted and employed properly.

Sports can provide physical activity and recreation that yield psychological and physical benefits.

Swimming and other water activities are used in rehabilitation and physical therapy to promote good muscle tone, lung capacity, flexibility, and overall fitness without causing undue pressure on joints or bones.

Every day thousands of people use the webb to find information on sports equipment, to get directions to Sport Companies on and off the Web, to locate jobs within the Sports and Recreation Industries, and to buy sports equipment directly online in a secure environment.

Check out the vast selection of our sports equipment. Visit us on a regular basis since our sports equipment offerings are constantly basketball as we try to provide you, with the best and latest in top quality sports equipment.

Whatever your sports gear or sports apparel or sports equipment needs, start here.

www.sportinggoods-r-us.com

Tony Harries

Basketball Coaching - Executing an Effective Passing Game

Passing Mindset

This is something I believe players can be born with. I think John Stockton, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird all were extremely gifted as passers and some basketball that was inherited. However, the passing mindset is something that can be worked on. When I'm working with young players I tell them to really think about the purpose of offense every time they have the ball. Think about how the point is to get the best shot possible closest to the basket or any shot that is uncontested. When players realize this they really start to get a sense of what to look for. I love faking a pass to the wing to get the zone to shift and then hit the high post who in turn hits a low post man who sealed his defender as a result of the fake pass. That may not make sense right now but good passers will see how one pass will lead to another. It is contagious and if you understand this it will lead to more playing time. Study the defense, make good reads, create good angles and don't be afraid to throw the ball. If a player is open get it to him.

Wing Pass

I played in typical offenses where the plays revolved around getting the ball to the wing. When I was a wing player I had to be good at getting open so my point guard could get me a good pass. I used that later in life when I became the point guard. The first key is to make sure that you have a good angle to get the ball to the wing and that the spacing is correct. Never be close enough to your own teammate that one defender can guard 2 people. The point guard or anyone passing to the wing should rarely be on the same level as the wing player. They should be above and have a direct line. Throw this pass with a purpose and try to avoid the bounce pass whenever possible because it can be too slow and get picked off.

This is a pass that has been forgotten about by many. A good wing player should be excellent at this and most aren't. It simply isn't practiced as much as it should. I coach it by making sure that you are reading the defense correctly. A good post player will get both his hands and elbows up to secure position. A good defender will pick a side and play the post a certain direction. On defense I coach to force things to the middle while others like to coach to use the baseline. Read the defense and if the defender is playing baseline side then throw it where the defense isn't, but you have to read the defense and make a smart pass.

After reading the defense, obtain the correct angle to throw the ball. This is where most mistakes are made and I blame it on laziness. Sometimes you need to dribble to get the correct angle but instead some players will throw it and hope for the best. An example is the defender playing top side defense and giving up the baseline to the post player. What should you do as a player with the ball on the wing? I coach for the wing to take a hard dribble to the baseline side to create a better angle to throw the pass. If you throw it from the wing it gives the defense a much better angle to knock it away. They will knock it away and you'll end up on the bench. This can be practiced by having the wing players throw contested passes to the post players who are being guarded in a variety of ways underneath. It teaches players how to read the defense and react to the situation. By the way, don't float the pass to the post. The basketball the pass, the more time it gives the defense to react and defend it.

Ball Fakes

A ball fake is exactly what it sounds like. It's a fake pass. Fake passes make the defense shift and adjust and as a result it opens up passing lanes. When a point guard is being pressured and the defense is guessing a lot, I coach them to fake a pass to get the defense to react. Sometimes the most minor shift will open up everything for the offense. This is extremely effective against tough pressure and against a zone. This is something that is practiced through experience. Make it a regular part of your offense because it keeps the defense on their heels and always guessing.

Brian Schofield is a former college basketball player who writes for the basketball training website HoopSkills.com.

Protect Her Dream - A Plea to Support Women's Basketball

Women's basketball is in a genre of its own, like a rare breed of species, or a precious gem found in the rough. The overall sport is growing, as well as, its fan base. The new top tier talent which includes: all-star phenom Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, and former Stanford stand-out Candace Wiggins basketball name a few, is one of the main reasons why the fan base is growing. However, women's basketball is not at the point where it can sell itself as the NBA does. Women's basketball is a sport that is going to need continuous support and exposure in order to thrive and survive. It begs of and vitally needs constant intros, like a d.j.'s debut album. It's on life basketball man, woman, and child support, financial support, emotional support, anything and everything support.

The WNBA is the face and headliner of women's basketball. The WNBA is a league operated 4 and a half months out of the year. For the other 7 and a half months of the year, the league's play is at a standstill. In this moment is when women's basketball needs an additional "voice" or pulse to keep it from vanishing from the minds and thoughts of the world. In this moment, something means everything.

Franchises come and go in the WNBA so frequently. The strategic placement of WNBA franchises seem to matter no more. Franchises seem to dismantle as soon as they take off. Where's the security for the women who play the game for the love of it, for the men and women who work hard in the front office, for the owners who take the time and resources to create a place or entity where dreams can be fulfilled?

This article is speaking to anyone who will take a few minutes out of his or her schedule to listen, read, relate to, watch, learn, and appreciate women's basketball. The dreams and achievements of young women and girls everywhere deserve a place where their dreams can manifest. Women's basketball is a sport that can really succeed, if given the right amount of support and attention.

You can protect a young girl or woman's dream by supporting women's basketball by: attending women's basketball games and spreading the word on its athletes. The time is now to help push a league to new heights, to help drive a young woman or girl to her potential, and to help a dream soar.

Women's basketball is the record and I'm just the d.j.

Fallon Wright is a budding entrepreneur and women's basketball sports enthusiast.