Welcome to the Third Issue of
As The Planet Hoops

Issue #003-November 2005

Hello everyone and welcome to the third issue of "As The Planet Hoops" E-zine, brought to you by Planet Hoops and www.Hoop-Hype.net.
This is the third of many monthly E-Zine posts so stay tuned and please tell us what you think.

What we are going to do here is bring you the highest quality, most recent information about basketball from around the world. We know that basketball is a tremendous game and that it is played in almost every country of the world and it is growing all the time. I think this is so because basketball is so much fun to play yet challenging, almost like golf.

We will bring you coaching tips, playing tips, tips on how to get a basketball scholarship, information about basketball recruiting videos, basketball video games and much, much more. Please let us know what you want us to write about because this is your e-zine.

Hoop Handles

Every player, no matter what size, needs good handles. Good handles are ball skills or hoop handles, as I like to call them. But developing them takes time. I’ve never heard of anyone being born with good handles. There are some naturals in the game but not when it comes to ball handling.

Developing ball-handling skills takes time but it is one of the most fun yet challenging skill to develop. By practicing the ten drills I have outlines below, you can develop quick hands and great ball handling skills.

CIRCLES The first drill I want to talk about is called circles. This is simply a warm up drill to start your ball handling exercise. Simply take the ball and circle the ball from one hand around your back to the other and around in front. Keep circling the ball around your body for 15 to 20 seconds and then reverse direction. You can also circle the ball around both legs and up around your head. When you’ve completed this drill in one direction switch and circle the ball in the other direction

AROUND EACH LEG With one foot in front of the other, take the ball and make small circles around your front leg with the ball. Work on speed and efficiency with this drill and try not to drop the ball. After 15 to 20 seconds reverse direction. Change legs and repeat the process.

FIGURE OF EIGHTS With your feet shoulder width apart now weave the ball between your legs in a figure of eight motion. Concentrate on efficiency and speed. This one may be difficult at first but concentrate and you’ll get the hang of it. Reverse directions after 15 to 20 seconds.

BEHIND THE BACK TOSS This is one my favorites but takes a lot of practice. Take the ball in your right hand and take it behind your back and toss it over your left shoulder into your left hand. Now with the ball in your left hand, take the ball behind your back and toss it over your right shoulder. Keep doing this drill until the ball moves smoothly from one hand to the next. This is a great drill for developing dexterity and works on developing your catching skills as well as you cannot see the ball until it almost lands in your hand.

BEHIND THE BACK TOSS AGAINST THE WALL This challenging drill but incorporates ball handling catching and passing. Standing about four feet away from the wall, take the ball in your right hand go around your back and throw the ball against the wall. When the ball returns catch it in your left hand and using the momentum of the ball go around your back and throw it against the wall and catch it in your right hand. This is a difficult drill but practice and you’ll pick it up pretty quick. You should be able to make 10 to 20 passes in a row before moving on to another drill.

BEHIND THE BACK BOUNCE PASS This ball combines the circle drill with the bounce pass. Standing with your feet together take the ball around your body and bounce it to the other side. Catch the ball bring it around your body and bounce it behind your back again. Keep performing this drill for 15 to 20 seconds and then switch direction.

The following four drills are a little unconventional but fun and have helped me increase my ball handling and dribbling skills over the years. Try them in your workouts to see how they help with your handle.

TENNIS BALL DRILLS You’ve probably heard of this one but I recommend it highly. Practice dribbling with a tennis ball or any other ball for that matter to help you increase your skills. Obviously a tennis ball is much smaller than a baketball but dribbling a tennis ball will help you develop a better feel for the ball and you will quickly discover how using your fingertips is important for ball control.

STAIRS When I was growing up I never had a solid wall in my back yard to throw the ball against so I had to use the stairs. This is a difficult thing to do but it sure increased my ball handling skills. You have to pick one of the stairs, usually chest a little lower than chest height to throw the ball against. If you hit it right the ball comes back to you. If you don’t, it could go anywhere. That’s where the fun is. You will get a lot of crazy bounces but this will increase your passing and ball handling skills at the same time. Don’t limit this drill to just stairs, as your walking with the ball throw it off of various objects to see if it will come back to you. It’s a real test of accuracy.

UNDER INFLATED BALL You may at times end up with an under inflated ball. Rather than pump it up, try a few dribbling drills with this ball. It may not come up like a regular ball, which will be a little more challenging than a regular ball. It’s good for a change every once in a while, much the same way dribbling a tennis ball or volleyball is.

JUGGLING Take some time and learn how to juggle. What could be better for a would-be basketball player but to learn how to juggle? Even though we only use one ball in a game, the ability to keep two three or four balls in the air will eventually transfer over to your ball handling skills on the court. It’s easy to do and works on coordination hand quickness and concentration. If nothing else you’ll be able to impress your teammates when you can juggle three basketballs at once.

These drills, if you practice them, will definitely increase your ball handling skills. You may develop quick hands, a keen sense of touch and sic handles. If you have any drills, conventional or otherwise, that you would like to add to our HOOP Handles page let us know.

Until then KEEP HOOPIN

Hoop Hopz

This article can also be found at our Free Report Page of our web site and is devoted to HOOP HOPZ. Crazy Hopz. Hopz that get you out of your seat. Stoudemire Hops or Josh Smith Hops. We can all admit that we want to jump. But not just jump we all want to sky. We all want to develop that explosive jumping technique where you can rise above your opponent and throw down a hard jam.

There are techniques, proven techniques, that can help you add several inches to your vertical and make you an explosive jumper at the same time. There is no quick solution to becoming a great jumper. All exercises take hard work, training and discipline. But if you stick to them, the following exercises can help you become a quick explosive high flyer on the court.

The first concept I would like to talk about is called plyometrics. While it doesn’t sound like that fun, it is an interesting concept when it comes to jumping. There are technical explanations of plyometrics but I like to think of it as a tightly coiled spring in your calf which when tightened provides a quicker release mechanism which allows you to spring higher and faster.

Essentially when you’re jumping and landing in a basketball game, your using these quick fibre muscles to gather explosive energy to jump higher and faster. The way which we do this is to mimic the jumping movements performing a game or practice into an individual exercise.

Below are listed several plyometric type exercises that will help you increase your vertical.

But before you do this, you may want to bench mark your vertical jump. It helps if you have a starting point to measure your vertical jump so you can measure your progress and assess your level of training.

First off, stand against a wall flat footed with your hand outstretched on the wall. Use a piece of chalk if necessary, but mark the wall where the tip of you hand is. Now with that point marked, perform a standing jump and mark the wall at the highest point of your jump. This may take a few attempts but accurately mark the height of your jump.

The distance between the two marks on the wall is your vertical jump. This is your starting point. Once you apply the drills listed below, you can periodically measure your jumps in the same way to get your increasing vertical.

Now here are the drills:

Bench Jumps Place a bench on the court or your area of practice. Standing parallel to the bench take a two footed jump over the bench and land on the other side. When your feet hit, quickly spring back over the other side and back again. Repeat this process jumping over the bench for a period of 20 to 30 seconds depending on your ability and conditioning. The key is quick repetitions from one side to the other. Maintain your balance and speed until the drill is over. Repeat this exercise 3 to 5 times in a row with rests of up to a minute or two between sets. Train with a buddy if possible this also adds to motivation and encourages teamwork.

Step Ups Step Ups are similar to bench jumps. Place the bench against a wall and face the bench. Begin to step up on the bench with one foot, then the other and down again. When your feet hit, step up on the bench again. Continue the step-ups for thirty seconds and stop. Repeat this drill 3 to five times in a row. The key to this drill is quick repetitions; make sure your feet are moving fast. This drill encourages quick feet on the court and quickly eliminates those tires and heavy feet so many players a burdened with.

Box Hopz This exercise involves a series of jumps from boxes of similar or varying heights to encourage quick explosive jumping. The boxes (usually 3) are spaced out in a row and the player proceeds to jump up on one and down and quickly onto the next and down and onto the third box and down. The player wants to jump quick and high, land on the box and jump high and land on the floor back onto the next box. Repeat these exercises ten to fifteen times as desired. Ensure the boxes are of proper construction to support your weight adequately when performing the drills.

Rims Taps or Backboard Taps This drill is a simple one too. On the court, without a ball, jump up and tap the backboard with one or both hands 10 times in a row. If you are not able to touch the backboard or the rim, find a place along a wall that will enable you to touch it 10 times in a row. You will find that as you perform this drill it will get tougher to touch the rim or backboard on each successive jump. But keep trying and make sure you are using quick explosive jumps. Repeat this drill 3 to five times.

Ball Dunks This drill is similar to rim taps in that you take the ball and from a standing jump dunk the ball through the rim 10 times in a row. This is a very tiring drill but very motivating if you want to be a high flyer. Similarly to Rim taps you will get tired on each successive dunk but keep trying. Repeat this drill 3 to 5 times.

Hills This drill is as simple as it sounds. Running hills. If you are lucky enough to live near a hill, use it as a training tool to increase your vertical. I recommend a hill about 30 to 40 yards with a grade that is not too steep. Start at the bottom of the hill and sprint up as hard as you can till you get to the top. Jog back down to the bottom and when sufficiently rested sprint up again. Repeat 10 times. Working with a buddy is great when running hills as you will be pushed harder and challenged to win the race. This exercise is great as it mimics explosive running up the court and encourages excellent conditioning practices.

Skipping Skipping is another great exercise to encourage quick feet and great hops. There are a variety of skipping exercises that can be added to your jumping program. Make sure you have a good rope to perform any skipping drill you complete.

Hurdle Jumps This is a great drill for increasing your vertical. Place six hurdles of similar height in a row approximately three feet apart. With your feet together jump over the first hurdle and land, quickly spring up and jump over the next hurdle, land and jump over the next. Complete the jumps until all the hurdles are cleared. Repeat this drill five to ten times. You may have to first measure out the space between the hurdles to coordinate your jumps. At first make sure the hurdles are not too high to create a problem. Most are adjustable and can be raised as your vertical increases.

Sprints A good part of jumping is speed. If you can get to a hole on the court before your opponent there is a good chance you can jump quicker that him too. That’s why we encourage sprinting as part of our jumping program. A forty-yard dash is sufficient to replicate court speed on the track. At the start line go into a quick sprint and extend it to the finish line. When you done jog back to the start line and sprint again. Repeat this exercise 5 to ten times as necessary in your workout.

Suicides Need I say more? Suicides, unfortunately, are a part of a good jumping program. For those of you that don’t know suicides is running a set of lines in basketball. Simply put a player stands on the baseline of the court and run to the closest free throw line and back, then run to the center line and back, to the farthest free throw line and back, and finally to the other end line and back. After the player has done this he has completed a suicide. A player should push hard all the way and try to get under 30 seconds for this drill. If that not possible on the first try, keep trying or mark your time and try to beat it the next time.

These are 10 great exercises designed to increase your vertical leap and develop quick feet. Incorporate these exercises in your training plan, 5 to seven of them on a repeated basis. You should be able to see the improvement over the next month or two. Ideally you want to keep performing these drills over a longer period of time to keep up your vertical. Once you stop you may lose your increased hops

These are some of my favorites. If you have suggestions or drills to help other players increase their verticals and develop mad hops write us and let us know at Planet hoops.

See you at the summit.

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