HANDLE…YOUR BUSINESS!

This morning Christina Antonakakis texted me to remind me she would be attending the Ball Handling /Shooting camp. Now this is not a surprise to me because Christiana is one of the hardest workers not just in the shore…BUT IN THE ENTIRE STATE. But what some may be asking; is why one of the best Ball Handlers in the state would need a ball handling camp? It simple because ball handling is never something anyone masters and most don’t understand what ball handling is…Most people don’t consider passing, catching, finishing at the rim and vision along with decision making part of ball handling. This gets to may blog today…TAKING CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

When I tell a young lady or man that they must improve their ball handling. They do one of two things, accept this criticism of their game or ignore the advice. But one thing I know to be a fact, when a player has poor ball handling skills it shows ups immediately when playing against top competition. When a college coach tells me a talented player’s ball handling skills are weak. I ask myself two things, first was that player told their basketball skills were not up to par and did that player address the weakness. If they have been told, it’s always on the kid. If they have not been told, then you must step up and give that player the truth …LIKE IT NOT!

Many kids believe getting a ball and dribbling around, using cones or tennis balls translates into ball handling. In the words of the most powerful man in grassroots basketball Rob Kennedy when watching a player working on ball handling in the gym. “He is going to be the best ball handler against cones in the country” Now that was joke but there was a level of truth to this statement. While we need to use cones as dribbling aids at times….PLAYERS MUST UNDERSTAND THERE ARE NO CONES ON THE FLOOR DURING GAMES.

“I believe playing one on one, playing against trapping defense are a must for developing ball handling skills. Show me a good one on one player and I will show you a good ball handler. Show me a bad one on one player and I will show you a bad ball handler. Show me a player that can’t beat traps in the back court off the dribble and I PROMISE YOU THAT PLAYER IS A POOR DECSION MAKER”.

Ball handling takes work and a true of understanding of the skill set. Knowing how to use your fighting hand, understanding foot deception, head deception and hand deception are skill sets all great ball handlers have. Hand speed and the ability to play at any pace are vital to any Ball Handler.

So on Monday we will start the first of the Ball handling/Shooting camp of the summer. I like to start and end the summer with these camps. It gives a player a catalog of REAL DRILLS to use all summer. I like to end the summer with the camp so a young person can have another set of drills to use going into the fall.

So who should attend Ball handling school? EVERYONE because while the camp does not play games. It is a concentrated week of developing a very important skill set. 3 hours a day of ball handling for a week is a chance to get a few months’ worth of work done in only 5 days. Post players you may feel this camp is for guards. But the post players today are asked to handle the ball more and more. You know of NO great post player that cannot handle the basketball. The usually suspects will be at the ball handling camp, they are dedicated and hungry but it’s never too late for any player to IMPROVE THIS SKILL SET….TIME IS ON YOUR SIDE BUT YOU MUST ADDRESS YOUR WEAKNESS AND ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE….TO DO MORE AND GET BETTER.

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FUN FACTS– What do these sisters all below have in common?