How to Be a Good High School Basketball Player

Only 3 percent of all high school basketball players will play the sport collegiately and an even tinier fraction of them will ever play professionally, according to the College Sports Scholarships Web site. That is something that high school athletes and their parents must remember during the teen years. It's fun to think about becoming a superstar, but the reality is high school is the highest level of competition most basketball players will experience. So, it is wise to make the best of it and be as good a player as you can be.

Things You'll Need

  • Basketball
  • Basketball goal
  • Basketball DVDs
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Instructions

    • 1

      Listen to the coaches. These are the people who will decide if a player starts, sits on the bench or watches from the bleachers. Learn from them and listen to them. If they want a defensive player, become a defensive player. If they need a dribbler, work on dribbling. They key is knowing the coaches. Ask questions of them.

    • 2

      Practice hard each time out with your teammates. There is a propensity to take it easy during practices, as they often are after school when a young student may want to be at home relaxing. However, this is the time to improve. Listen to the coaches and learn. Make sure every second counts.

    • 3

      Practice at home. This could be as simple as watching video of games for ideas or watching instructional videos. Shoot hoops in the spare time. Remember to work on the things that are troublesome for you and not just on the things that are easy. For example, if a player is a good free-throw shooter but a bad dribbler it's tempting to continue honing free throws and experience success at that again and again. Instead, work on something that's harder for you so you can eventually be successful in many facets of the game.

    • 4

      Build up your stamina. Basketball is a speed game that requires endurance. Take up a running program to strengthen the body for long games. That extra stamina will help once the season starts. Also work on speed and agility drills.