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How to make the freshman basketball team

Robert Griffee How to Make the Varsity Basketball Team at Your High...

Getting on the varsity basketball team can lead to many opportunities for your young career as a player. You get to compete against other high school teams, work on your game, experience high-level team play, learn from a coach and play in front of a crowd. If you’re really good and stand out by your senior year, you can get recruited by top colleges and receive a scholarship.

But everyone has to start from somewhere. Making the team alone takes a good bit of dedication and tenacity, and that work ethic then carries over to the rest of your life.

Here are eight key tips for becoming good enough to make it to your varsity basketball team.

1. Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses

What are you good at? Are you a good ball-handler, an accurate shooter, a strong rebounder, a tenacious defender, or so on? Your strengths are what make you stand out, so make the most of them and find a good way to use them to help your team win.

What are you not good at? While it may be tempting to just do what you do and ignore what you don’t do, you should put time into working on your weaknesses. That’s what practice and off-season are for. The more well-rounded you are as a player, the more useful you are as a teammate.

Of course, you should maximize your strengths. If those strengths help shore up your weaknesses, that’s a good thing as well. Working on your game is all about making your strengths even stronger and turning weaknesses into strengths.

For instance, your jump shot may not be that good. Improving it will surely make you a better scorer and a more valuable player, so you’ll have to look into what you’re doing wrong that may make your shot wonky. A lot of times, it’s using your guide hand wrong. You can correct it by using the Shoot Natural glove during practice to keep it straight. Your shot will improve and become a strength.

But there’s only so much you can do by yourself. When in doubt, ask yourself what will make you a better teammate. At the end of the day, that’s what separates mediocre players from good players. What matters most is what helps the team win.

2. Focus and Be Present

While athleticism, skill, and size are major factors for becoming a good basketball player, what sets apart good players from great players is focus. The one quality that the all-time greats share is the ability to be in the moment throughout each game.

Everyone gets nervous, even those who would go on to become hall-of-famers. But those great players are able to set their anxieties aside once the game starts. They’re able to be in the zone and focus entirely on the game, which lets them perform with the best of their abilities.

When you’re in a game, you may be distracted by many things, like the crowd, your personal problems, and so on. But when you’re there, nothing else matters other than helping your team win. Being present isn’t just about being physically there, but also being mentally focused on the game you’re playing in.

This is especially important during your tryouts. Once you’re in the game, focus entirely on the game itself. Don’t worry too much about messing up and just power through. Make the most of every opportunity, make opportunities for your teammates, and play your best. The coaches will notice whether you’re focused or not.

Hustle on both ends of the floor and play at a good pace. When you make a mistake, make a mental note of that mistake right there and do your best not to repeat it. If you ponder on that mistake, you will slow down and get anxious. That will make your performance suffer and result in even more mistakes.

3. Get to Practice Early and Stick Around

Coaches do their best to instill discipline into their players in various ways. Showing up in practice is the most important thing you can do to show that you have discipline. Every practice is an opportunity to improve your game, so you should relish every chance you have to get better.

Your attendance plays a big part in creating a good impression on your teammates and coaches. You can get there on time every time, which is good. But if you really want to go above and beyond, show up early and get work done before everyone else does. You can also stick around after practice and get more work done while everyone else is gone.

If you’re able to do that while you’re still young, it becomes much easier to do so when you get older. Discipline is a skill, just like everything else in basketball. You can practice being disciplined, and it’s a skill that will take you far both in basketball and in life.

4. Play to Win, Not to Stand Out

This may sound contradictory, being a good player isn’t just about making amazing plays and seemingly impossible shots. No one likes to play with a ball hog, and it can be detrimental to your prospects if you’re seen as someone who plays for oneself and not for the team.

When you play just to look amazing, coaches catch onto those habits as selfish and grandstanding. You may be a good player, but you may be labeled as a bad team-player, which can get you passed up for the team. When it comes down to it, coaches aren’t just looking for potential talents, but winners as well.

Playing to win means playing for the team, and that means getting everyone involved. Let your teammates have a reason to pass the ball to you, and pass the ball to your teammates if you have a reason to. It may be players that score baskets, but it’s teams that win games.

5. Take Nutrition Seriously

You’re still growing, so you want to make sure that you eat food that will make you grow. You’re still young, so you find it easy to eat junk and be fine for practice the next day. But if all you’re eating is junk, then the body doesn’t get anything that lets it grow and be strong.

Take your nutrition seriously early on. After all, you are what you eat. If you want to be the best, you’ll have to eat the best food possible. This may be difficult if you’re not doing well financially, so you’ll have to find ways to get good food from reliable sources.

But it’s also bad if you tend to gorge and put on too much weight. Many pro careers have been derailed due to weight issues, which then make injuries more likely to occur. If you have contact with a nutritionist, take advantage of it and listen to that expert advice.

If you eat right and live right, you will play right.

6. Become a Good Communicator

Communication is the one skill that elevates all other skills. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an artist, an engineer, a doctor, or a basketball player, you can do a lot better if you can communicate with other people.

In basketball, you have to talk to your coach and your teammates. Being able to converse with them properly lets you say what you need to say and listen to what they have to say clearly. This lets you make a good impression and be a good team member.

Good communication as a basketball player means maintaining eye contact with whoever you’re talking to, listening to your coaches and teammates, and making yourself understood.

7. Do Well in School

This isn’t just about keeping your grades up to make it and stay on the team. Cultivating a work ethic in your academics develops the discipline necessary for both college and the professional league. Also, doing well in high school can get you a better chance to enroll in a major university.

If you’re not doing well with your studies now, that gives coaches a reason to doubt your availability for the varsity team and your reliability down the line. Don’t give them any reason to doubt by having good grades and being ahead of the curve.

8. Have Fun and Be Fun

If you don’t love the game, it’s going to affect how you play it. Every game will be a slog and every practice will feel tedious. If you’re into basketball in the first place, then it’s most likely because you love the game.

But it will be hard to keep loving it once it becomes like work. There will be times you won’t find it fun for various reasons, like playing against a vastly superior team, your coach and teammates giving you a hard time, or so on.

It’s up to you to find ways to keep it fun. Understand why you love the game in the first place and what things about it make it fun for you. If you’re having fun, you’ll be more fun to play with, and you’ll be a better player. It’s a feedback loop that’ll make you want to keep playing.

Conclusion

A lot of the things that will get you picked up by the varsity basketball team are also things that will carry you through for the rest of your life. While it’s great to be good at basketball while you’re still young, the qualities that will make you better as you grow are what will truly define you. Now, go out there and show them what you’re made of!

8 Tryout Tips Guaranteed to Get You Noticed (And What To Avoid So You Don't Get Cut)

Do you know exactly what the coach is looking for in tryouts? Do you know everything you need to do?

You may think that you do, but its highly unlikely.

Actually, what you think would help with tryouts may be the exact reason you get cut from the team. Sad thing is that Ive seen players like you make these critical mistakes over and over and over again.

Ive been fortunate to conduct tryouts for youth clubs with over 400 kids. Ive also been part of high school varsity tryouts with 100 kids for a state championship caliber team at the high school level.

Im able to give you the critical tips that can help you make the team and avoid those mistakes that get you cut.

Like this article? Download it as a free PDF! (Download Now!)

1. Do what you do well.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is trying to impress the coach by doing things that are outside your skill set. This often results in a disaster for you.

If you are a good rebounder, grab every rebound.

If you are a good shooter, shoot when you are open.

If you are a good finisher, attack the basket when a lane is open.

If you are a good ball handler, make the simple passes, the simple moves.

If you are not a good 3-point shooter, dont step out and shoot one during tryouts. Ive seen kids literally hit the side of the backboard trying to do this.

The coach will instantly think, Wow. This kid does not know a thing about shot selection. Maybe hes a low IQ kid.

Trust me... with the limited time that a coach can see you... this is not the impression you want to make. Even if you play great the rest of the time, the coach already has impression about you and thats hard to change.

Here is a good measure... can you make 7 out of 10 shots unguarded from a spot. Maybe 6 out of 10 for youth players. If not, dont take the shot at tryouts.

2. Hustle! Hustle! Hustle!

There is no excuse for any player on this one. You just have to commit and develop that mentality.

When the ball is on the floor, dive on the floor. Box out on every shot. Sprint on the fast break. Sprint to spots on the floor on defense.

Communicate on defense and offense. Be loud and do it often.

These are things that every player can do and every player should do.

This is why you see players who arent skilled make the team. Theyre willing to do the little things that make teams good or great.

3. Dont be just one of the guys in the crowd - Make a great first impression.

Here is a great way to make a first impression.

When the coach calls everybody in at the beginning of the first tryout...

Instead of walking out there or jogging out there like every other kid.

Sprint! Sprint directly to the coach and stand right in front of him. Stand tall and keep eye contact on the coach during the entire talk.

I guarantee youll have the coachs attention. Ive conducted tryouts. Ive been in rooms with coaches discussing who to cut. This makes a difference.

Your buddies may give you some crap, but youll be the one laughing when you make the team or get more playing time than them.

4. Avoid the amazing play mentality. Do something that makes you stand out in a positive way.

This is not what you think. This is not making an amazing play. Remember... do what you do well.

Flashy doesnt impress coaches. It may look cool on the playground, but thats why you dont see NBA guys doing streetball moves during games. Its flash. Its hype. Its not effective against good players.

You should do something with substance that coaches will notice in a positive way.

Earlier, I mentioned communicate on defense.

One time when I was conducting a tryout for 3rd to 8th graders, we were with the 4th grader session.

All of the sudden, across the gym, I hear a blaring yell Screen! Screen! Screen! It was from this little guy named Tommy.

Ten seconds later, I hear Tommy yell again, I got ball!

This continued the whole day. He communicated early. He communicated loud. He communicated often. (ELO Early Loud Often. Kevin Eastman would have been proud.)

There may have been 30 other kids communicating in the gym, but he is the only one I remembered. I didnt know him before the tryouts, but I sure know him now. Guess what... he made the first team.

5. Dont be shy Talk to the coaches before tryouts.

Too many make the big mistake of being too shy to talk to the coach. And this can make a huge difference with making the team.

Sometimes, this simple act will elevate you in the eyes of the coaches because they know that you care and youll do whatever it takes to help the team.

Be specific. Tell the coach that you really want to make the team. Ask them what they need on their team.

6. Be a great teammate Great attitude and sportsmanship

Every coach wants a player who is a great teammate and makes the players better around them.

You can do this by...

Being a great practice player and challenging your teammates during practice to make the team better.
By putting everybody in a better mood with your positive attitude. Lets face it... were all humans and its more enjoyable to have a little fun in life. Nobody wants to be around a person with a poor attitude.
Display great sportsmanship. When a coach sees you helping players off the floor and playing hard but clean basketball, they know that they can count on you not to lose your cool and hurt your team in a negative way at an important time.

7. Get there early / warm up properly.

Getting there early shows the coach that you care and that he can depend on you to show up on time to practices and games.

Also, make sure to warm up prior to playing, so you are playing your best as soon as the whistle blows. First impressions are very important.

8. Who cares if you screw up Next play!

If you make a mistake... oh well, it happens. Everybody makes mistakes.

Always go on to the next play.

The best players react in a positive way to those mistakes and dont let them snowball into a bunch of mistakes.

There are no guarantees in life. However, if you use the tips mentioned above, you will dramatically increase your chances to make the team and earning more playing time.

If you are serious about becoming a better player, we offer Basketball Camps throughout the country during the spring, summer, and fall.

To check out the different camps, Click Here.

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Basketball team of Krasnoyarsk students defeated the Olympic team at the tournament in memory of V. I. Dolgikh

April 22 13:05

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Siberian State University M. F. Reshetneva: the future is today!

April 22 13:05

After several years of a break, Reshetnev University revived the once popular basketball tournament in Krasnoyarsk, dedicated to the memory of an outstanding countryman, twice Hero of Socialist Labor Vladimir Dolgikh. The day before, on April 21, the grand opening of the tournament took place, the semi-final games were held.

Veterans of Krasnoyarsk sports, famous Krasnoyarsk athletes, such as Alexander Tretyakov, one of the most famous graduates of Reshetnev University, regional sports leaders represented by the new Krasnoyarsk sports minister Denis Petrovsky, took part in the opening ceremony. In addition, the star of domestic and world basketball Sergey Tarakanov took part in the sports festival.

“Krasnoyarsk is my youth. Yesterday I was walking along the street and caught myself thinking that almost 50 years ago I left this city. How quickly time flies, and it's sad... But how nice it is to see young people on the streets of Krasnoyarsk, they are no different from Moscow youth - in habits, clothes, headphones in their ears. I am friends with the student basketball association, I am their ambassador in many competitions, I respond to such proposals with pleasure, I promote this sport. I think this is important when students play. It's great when such club games are organized, when students cheer for their own, they worry, it's very emotional, I just welcome the tournament organized by the Reshetnev team!" Tarakanov shared.

It is no coincidence that the initiative to hold a basketball tournament belongs to Reshetnev University, which successfully cooperates with the regional basketball federation. On the basis of the sports complex of the university on the street. Lenina, 80, it was decided to intensify work with talented guys who are interested in basketball.

“We want to develop basketball,” emphasizes Rector Edkham Akbulatov. “Basketball is a sport that is accessible to many, democratic. There is a basketball school in Krasnoyarsk. Today, a memorial plaque to V.V. Repita, the coach who brought up many famous basketball players, the same Sergey Tarakanov, many Russian figures, including Viktor Tomenko, Governor of the Altai Territory, Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation.

Edkham Akbulatov also noted that if a training ground and regular competitions are created in the center of Krasnoyarsk, the university will contribute to the popularization of basketball: “We agreed with Sergey Tarakanov that he will help us create open grounds for street basketball, for streetball, as they say now. I think it will be interesting for both the university and the city. One site will be on the left bank next to the university dormitory No. 5, another site could appear near the gym on the street. Youth, 18".

Denis Petrovsky, Minister of Sports of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, also spoke about the popularization and promotion of sports among the youth of the region at the opening of the tournament. He announced an event addressed to Krasnoyarsk students. Petrovsky noted that student sports are a priority in modern reality. The day before, there was a discussion of work plans for implementation in the region with representatives of the student basketball association.

“There are a lot of interesting projects, and a cool project is coming up, not even completely about sports, but from the “event” category - an eventful event with the participation of students. Follow the information,” the minister intrigued the audience.

School and student teams take part in the competition - ten teams in total. Plus another unique team formed from Olympians.

Related materials

FC Enisey from Krasnoyarsk won at home and reached the semi-finals of the Russian Cup for the first time

“Today I am in the basketball team, like our guys, the winter sports team. We played basketball, we have experience, but we'll see how we play today! Anything is possible!”, — said Nikita Tregubov, Russian skeletonist, silver medalist of the 2018 Olympic Games, multiple medalist of the world and European championships, junior world champion.

The game of Olympionists with the team of Krasnoyarsk students opened the tournament. The game ended with a score of 36:27 in favor of the student team.

The final games of the competition are taking place today, 22 April. At 6:40 p.m., the basketball festival will end with a closing parade and an awards ceremony.

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History of world basketball and history of basketball in Russia

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Basketball (English basket - basket, ball - ball) is one of the most popular team sports in the world. Basketball is played by two teams, each consisting of five players. The goal of each team is to throw the ball with their hands into the opponent's net ring (basket) and prevent the other team from taking possession of the ball and throwing it into their own basket. The basket is at a height of 3.05 meters (10 feet) from the floor. There are 5 people from each team on the court, in total there are 12 people in the team, substitutions are not limited. For a ball thrown from close and medium distances, 2 points are counted, (because of the three-point line) - 3 points. A free throw is worth one point. The standard size of a basketball court is 28 meters long and 15 meters wide. Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world.

Basketball around the world

In the winter of 1891, students at the Youth Christian Association College in Springfield, Massachusetts, forced to perform endless gymnastic exercises, considered at that time almost the only means of introducing young people to sports, were very bored in physical education classes. It was necessary to put an end to the monotony of such activities, to introduce a fresh stream into them, which would be able to satisfy the competitive needs of strong and healthy young people.

College teacher James Naismith found a way out of a seemingly dead-end situation. On December 1, 1891, he tied two peach baskets to the railing of the balcony of the sports hall and, dividing eighteen students into two teams, offered them a game, the meaning of which was to throw more balls into the opponents' basket.

The idea of this game originated in his school years, when children played the old game "duck-on-a-rock". The meaning of this game, popular at that time, was as follows: throwing a small stone, it was necessary to hit the top of another stone, larger in size, with it.

Quite pragmatically called "basketball" game only remotely resembled modern basketball. There was no dribbling, the players only threw it to each other, standing still, and then tried to throw it into the basket, and only with both hands from below or from the chest, and after a successful throw, one of the players climbed onto a ladder attached to the wall and removed the ball from the basket . From a modern point of view, the actions of the teams would seem to us sluggish and inhibited, but the goal of Dr. Naismith was to create a team game in which a large number of participants could be involved at the same time, and his invention fully met this task.

Very quickly, starting in 1895, basketball from the USA penetrated first to the East - to Japan, China, the Philippines, as well as to Europe and South America.

In 1904, at the Olympic Games in St. Louis (USA), the Americans organized an exhibition tournament between teams from several cities. Similar demonstration tournaments were held at the 1924 (Paris) and 1928 (Amsterdam) Olympics.

Basketball associations were created in a number of countries, but organizational disunity hindered international contacts and hindered the further development of basketball. June 18 1932 in Geneva, the first international conference of national basketball associations took place. The meeting decided to establish the International Federation of Basketball Associations (FIBA). The first international rules of the game were adopted in 1932 at the first FIBA Congress, after which they were repeatedly adjusted and changed, the last significant changes were made in 1998 and 2004.

In 1935, the International Olympic Committee decided to recognize basketball as an Olympic sport.

Basketball made its Olympic debut at the XI Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936. Men's teams from 21 countries took part in the tournament. Competitions were held in open areas, all subsequent Olympic tournaments were held indoors. The USA team became the first Olympic champion.

The debut of women's basketball at the Olympic Games took place in 1976 in Montreal. Six teams participated in the tournament. The first Olympic champions were the basketball players of the USSR national team, who became champions twice more. The first European Championship among men was held at 1935 in Geneva. Latvian basketball players won. The first European Women's Championship was held in Rome in 1938, which was won by Italian basketball players.

The decision to hold the world championships among men was taken at the FIBA congress during the 1948 Olympics. in London. The first World Basketball Championship took place in 1950. in Buenos Aires (Argentina). 10 teams took part in the championship. The first world champion was the team of Argentina, who defeated the 1948 Olympic champion team of the United States.

At the FIBA congress in Helsinki, in 1952 (during the Olympic Games), it was decided to hold the Women's World Championships. The first championship was held in 1953 in Santiago (Chile), and the first champions were American basketball players.

Thus, the game, which was once invented just for the sake of diversifying the physical education lessons of students, has become one of the most popular and massive sports games in the world. With the development of the Game, its rules were changed and supplemented, as well as the equipment and layout of the site (for example, the introduction of a time limit (24 seconds) for an attack by the team of the opponent's basket, or the appearance of a line, for hitting due to which the team is awarded 3 points (1984)).

Basketball in Russia

Basketball in Russia was born in 1906. Place of birth - St. Petersburg, sports society "Mayak".

The gymnasts of this society created the first basketball teams, then the teams appeared in the "Bogatyr" society, and some others. But before the October Revolution of 1917. this game was cultivated practically only in the capital of Russia - Petersburg. The new life of basketball in Russia begins in the early twenties. As an independent subject, basketball is introduced first at the Main Military School of Physical Education of Workers, and a little later at the Moscow Institute of Physical Culture.

Graduates of these educational institutions became the first specialists in basketball in our country.

The first championship of the country is considered to be a basketball tournament, held in 1923. at the first All-Union Physical Culture Festival. In the same 1923 appeared in the USSR and the first official rules.

In 1947, the All-Union Basketball Section became a member of the International Basketball Federation. Soviet basketball players received the right to participate in all competitions organized by FIBA. In the same year, the USSR national men's team took part in the European Championship. Our basketball players defeated the teams of Yugoslavia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Egypt, Poland and met in the final with the European champion - the team of Czechoslovakia. Having won with a score of 56:37, the USSR national team won the title of European champion.

The USSR men's team was one of the strongest teams in the world during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

In total, in the final stages of 39 tournaments (9 Olympiads, 9 World Championships and 21 Europeans) from 1947 to 1990, in which the USSR team took part, only at the very first World Cup in 1959, the Soviet team failed to get into the number winners, and even then only for political reasons, the team was deprived of gold, since despite the fact that the USSR team won all its matches, it refused to play with the Taiwanese team. Such a unique achievement has not been conquered by any other basketball team.

Here is a complete list of historical achievements of the USSR men's team:

Olympic champion (2): 1972, 1988.

Olympic silver medalist (4): 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968

Olympic bronze medalist (3): 1968, 1976, 1980

World Champion (3): 1967, 1974, 1982

Vice World Champion (3): 1978, 1986, 1990

European Champion (14): 1947, 1951, 1953, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1979, 1981, 1985 (From 1957 to 1971, the USSR national team won 8 European Championships in a row).

The performance of the USSR women's team on the international arena looks no less impressive:

The USSR national team - 21 times became the champion of Europe (1950-1956, 1960-1991)

6 times the USSR national team held the title of World Champion (19649, , 1967, 1971, 1975 and 1983) and twice became the bronze medalist (1957 and 1986)

Three times the team became the Champion of the Olympic Games (1976, 1980, 1992 (under the flag of the united team)), in 1988 the USSR women's team became the bronze medalist of the Seoul Olympics.