Feeling Good

What it do fellow ballers! Since my last post I've completed an enjoyable and successful 20 Time workout, read helpful articles on improving my game, and had plenty of chances to use what I learned. I've really enjoyed fully focusing on becoming a better basketball player and honing my skills, and it's really encouraging to see even little improvements in real-world application.

My 20 Time workout was probably the best application of the project thus far. Due to the other school's gym being used for physical education class, my 20 Time group found its way to the Green Gym, where the Team Sports class was coincidentally playing basketball that week. To start things off, our group took all kinds of layups to not only warm ourselves up, but to work on one of the most important aspects of the game of basketball: fundamentals. Thereafter, my group of three was able to gather three other players, and we all played a 3 on 3 game of pickup basketball. This was really fun, and it served the purposed of testing whether each player in our group had improved toward their goal (I played rather well, I think).

Within the time between my last post and the one I am currently writing, I've had to put my skills to the test in two real, organized games in the Community Center League. Each and every successive weekend that I have played CCL basketball since starting my 20 Time, I have felt more confident and skilled when dribbling, shooting, and making quick, basketball decisions. Overall, I have loved the new found ability and improvements, and it's very encouraging to actually have noticeable progress (however small); I'm really starting to see that the game of basketball still has a lot of rewarding challenges to offer.

The picture above was part of an article that I read over several of my class's SSR time. Like last week's post (from a different source), Stephen Curry's shot is analyzed and broken down to show how he is able to make the amazing shots he does. Overall, this week's theme has been less about what the proper technique is to shoot (despite the diagram above), and more on how you can practice to be a better shooter. More recently, I've been looking at how some of the game's greats (Michael Jordan for example) have been able to reach that level of success, and what kind of mindset a player must have in order to get there. So far, I've learned that to truly be a good player you have to sacrifice and put aside your own bodily complaints to push yourself harder than the rest; the more you put into improving your game the more you get out of it.

Link to the article: http://www.ecbahoops.com/how-to-shoot-a-basketball-steph-curry/

I hope that my 20 Time project is the beginning of the steps that I must take in order to improve to my game, especially to the point of excelling and standing out among the rest. I am still unsure of who exactly will be my group's mentor; many names have crossed my mind, but each one has subsequently been crossed out due to the level of commitment it seems they will have to take in this project. Although that has slightly upset me, I have a positive outlook on the rest of the project, and I look forward to making more gains!

Ballin' up this week and many more,

Brad

Improvement

Yo yo yo, whaddup fellow ballers! Since my last post I've been lucky enough to participate in a 20-Time "workout", and an actual basketball game at the Community Center. Additionally, we've started reading choice selections that are related to our 20-Time project, and I've been reading a handful of helpful articles giving simple tips of how to better your game.

My 20-Time "workout" was supposed to consist of just one, simple goal: shooting better free throws. Our group of three had planned that it would be best if we were to begin with the manageable goal of 10 out of 10 free throws, and gradually deepen our goal into more difficult challenges. Overall, after a short period of time had passed within the hour, our group begin to lose interest (despite shooting more accurately) in shooting free throws, until the last 20 minutes of class where my group and I played a game of pick-up basketball. While it was useful to work on foul-shooting for most of the hour, I was glad that the work was supplemented with a game, so that it became more exciting and real. Overall, I felt that the time prepared me for my CCL contest, and that it was beneficial to work on free throws for 20-Time.

This brings me to my CCL game, where I felt that I played a bit better last week, following my 20-Time, then any other game this year. In fact, at one point in the game I actually had a chance to shoot free throws. I had not made any of the few attempts I had taken before that point this year, so I was pleasantly surprised by making one of the shots, while narrowly missing the other. The 20-Time workout definitely improved my confidence and free throw shooting muscle memory, and it made my foul shots much more accurate.

The school week after that game, we began to read books related to our topic for SSR, where I learned to improve other aspects of my game. This picture is one that was studied and analyzed in a specific article I read that gave 3-point shooting tips from Stephen Curry (left) and Steve Novak (right) - two of the best shooters in all of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Both of these amazing shooters expressed the need for holding the "follow-through" on your shot (the hand motion that shoots the ball) and to attempt to commit your shot to muscle memory in order to shoot consistently. They stressed that the best shooters are those who shoot the same, great shot time and time again, regardless of the defense, pressure, or unfamiliarity. Great shooters have the same foot placement, jump, and follow through each and every shot they take.

Link to that article: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/21716576/3-point-shooting-tips-from-stephen-curry-and-steve-novak

While the question of "who is my mentor?" still remains, I was glad to be able to secure Mr. Schulte as our adult supervisor so that we could use the gym every week for our 20-Time workouts. I'm optimistic that someone will be willing to sacrifice a little of their time so that our group can all get better, or that Alec Marty will finally be cleared to be that person.


Ballin' up this week and many more,

Brad