Articles
The Neighborhood Game
When we were growing up, it was the Hathaway house that had the best basketball hoop in the neighborhood. This is where players would come from many blocks away to play. The backboard was an aged gray piece of plywood, and was firmly attached to a telephone pole. The black top court was shadowed a foot away from the garage the entire length of one sideline. The width of the court was probably half the size of a regulation court, but it made no difference to us. This is where we would become our favorite NBA player of the week creating, what we believed to be, the same jump shots and moves. We would call each other the name of the player by the move that we would be imitating. This court is where we learned some of our basic moves. Not by someone teaching us, but in our minds replaying the moves we would see on TV or live games and trying to duplicate them.
We had another backyard in the neighborhood that served as the football and baseball field. The fences were short and a homerun would only qualify if it would hit the neighbor’s barn on the fly. The Hathaway basketball court was centrally located in the neighborhood and the bounce of the ball would be a distant call and word would pass that someone was playing. Mr. Hathaway did fine woodworking for a living and spent most days in the shop that was the garage sidelining the court. We were welcome to play almost anytime. Occasionally, Mr. Hathaway would come out of his shop covered in wood shavings and join in our games. He chewed tobacco, was overweight, didn’t move much, but was known for his outside shot.
Today, basketball has become more than the neighborhood game. To keep in stride with the competition, one must venture outside the neighborhood to take part in organizations that are now available. There are camps, personal training, extra practice, select clubs, AAU teams and leagues for different skill levels. There are more players of yesterday, whose competitive playing days are behind them and are passing their knowledge along. If young players have the opportunities to learn from these veteran players, this is great, because they don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Providing the opportunities to have someone teach the skills is great, but the player cannot improve if the only time they are practicing the skills is during instruction time. The young player has to have more than a flickering flame to improve their skills they must have a burning desire to get better. Stoking the fire of a player to improve is good, however if someone else is providing the air to fuel that fire than the player will become stale over time. Without the self persistence to continually improve or not knowing deep within how to push past barriers, frustration can set in.
There is so much information about technique, positioning, movement, passing, screening, blocking out, cutting, defense and the list goes on. Players today, who want to reach the next level, cannot rely on athletic ability alone anymore. The athletic player needs as much technique, skills and basketball IQ as the next player. Being born with athletic ability is a gift - but basketball skills are built on hard work and continually worked on. It is in comparison to household projects – once one project is completed another is waiting to begin; it never ends.
Young players can sometimes get so overwhelmed with so much information that they forget to just let loose and play. Having a level of skill that will enable you to have that confidence and not worry about making mistakes helps a player play loose. But, how would one play if the accomplished skills do not match the competition yet? The answer is to be honest and know your areas of weakness and focus on what you do best. Take individual time to improve the weak areas of your game and keep in mind that it is a building process. Persistence, patience and hard work are the key ingredients that make the mixture of skills learned, a recipe that is a keeper.