Dunk like the Pros: Basketball Training Tips

Because buckets come from patience, practice, and persistence!

There are a lot of competitive sports out there for our kids to choose from, but let’s be honest: there’s something about basketball. It’s inclusive. It’s fun. It allows all the players on the court to get a good workout in. And these are all reasons why we don’t want to get our kids involved without really preparing them for what’s at stake.

Keep in mind that, when it comes to basketball, there are certain workouts that are helpful in activating certain muscles throughout training. Whether you’re looking for ways to help your kicks excel in the sport of basketball, or you want to improve your game for yourself, we’ve got the most demanded, simple training tips to impress on the court:

1. Build stamina

Basketball is one of those sports where stamina really matters. Like we mentioned before, lots of players are actively moving across the court at one time, and it takes a lot to stay on the go for such a long period of time before heading to the bench.

Plus, the ball often gets turned over to the opposite side of the court, meaning players have got to get there as soon as humanely possible—before the other team, and before the ball goes out of bounds if their teammate was the last to touch the ball. The pressure is on! A good way to build stamina is to continuously make repetitive movements on a stamina-building instrument, like a outdoor trampoline. All that jumping takes a lot of work!

While we’re at it, let’s talk about speed on the court. Like we said, it’s important to get from one end of the court to the other in a flash! Sprints are both stamina-building and a good speed-training activity to prep players for the game.

2. Build skill

Once you’ve got the stamina, it’s time to work on the technique. Because you can be fast, strong, and ready to play—but if you don’t have the skill, it’s not going to get you anywhere. And it’s nothing personal. After all, is Michael Phelps strong and fast? Definitely! But does he have the basketball skills to match that? We’re not so sure he can hit up the court without a little training under his belt.

One of the first stops in skill building is vertical jumps. Do slam dunks just happen on their own? Absolutely not! A trampoline is a great tool for practicing vertical jumps before taking them out to the court.

3. Keep the focus

Another thing to work on is hand-eye coordination. It’s important to feel and see where the ball is, and where it’s going to be once you make a move—since getting the ball where you want it to go is a pretty important concept in any ball game.

Combining both your vertical jump and hand-eye coordination is the next step. We like to advance our skills with both of these things right on our outdoor trampoline. Adding the AlleyOOP Proflex basketball hoop attachment is the final piece to the puzzle to really work up those skills.

Get ready to shine on the court? Get started!

A trampoline is a great tool for training to excel in basketball. Ready to start shining out there? Check out our selection of sports trampolines to help build endurance and strength — along with our hoop attachments, which build skill. Here’s to happy training!