Weekly Blog Tip...Control The Ball

Welcome to my Saturday weekly blog tip:

I want to talk about something we often take for granted and that is controlling the ball. I don't care if you are a soccer player, volleyball player, basketball player, or tennis player, if you can't control the ball and do with it what you want to do you will never be as successful as you can be.

Controlling the ball means doing something with the ball that allows you to go where you want to go, hit it where you want to hit, or pass it where you want to pass it so the play is in your favor. we often see young player not able to control the ball well therefore not able to make great players. This is common is volleyball. Most young players do not pass the ball well so the play never really turns out well- it all starts with controlling the ball. Have you ever seen the commercials where they show the Brazilian kids playing soccer in the field? It is like the ball is stuck to their foot. They can make great players because they can control the ball. Let me give you my tip...

What I feel all young athletes should do it practice controlling the ball (any game or any ball) with as many different challenging tasks as possible. Get so you can do things with either hand or foot and also in any position. If you are a basketball player you should be practicing dribbling, passing, shooting with all kinds of drills that challenge you to control the ball and accomplish the task at hand.

Pete Marovich was one of the greatest ball handlers of our time. But this was because he constantly put himself in situations that forced him to control the ball to pull of the task. The best volleyball players can dive after a ball and dig it up directly to a teammate so they can make a play.

My challenge to use is to create situations for young people to be creative but challenge so they can control the ball in any situation and make reactive plays with the ball. They should be able to pass the ball directly to a target even if they are in a challenging situation. They should be able to control the ball and make a shot no matter what the defense does to them. It is all about having control of the ball. Don't stray too far from fundamentals but it can be important to try trick shots or plays to develop challenges. Have fun.

Yours in Speed,

Lee

PS: If you are a basketball player and want to get non-stop information on how to build your game or program then you need to go to this brand new website www.BasketballSpeedInsiders.com. You will get weekly and monthly access so much great basketball information. Enjoy