MyBasketball

This article is part of the series “30 days to being a better basketball player“.

"lefty 74/365" by jek in the box, via flickr

If it’s true that two heads are better than one, then it’s even more true that two hands are better than one – and by that we mean being able to effectively use both hands when you play basketball.

This might seem obvious, but please bear with us as sometimes it’s the obvious things that we overlook. If you’re already comfortable with both your left and right hand no matter what you do on the court, then you don’t need to worry about this. But if you’re not, please read on.

Have you ever seen a basketball player who has a lot of talent and skill, but simply can’t make a left-handed layup? I don’t know about you, but when I see that I always get the feeling that they’re only half the player they could be.

To be the best player you can be, you need to focus on becoming ambidextrous!

That is – be able to use both hands for everything you do in basketball. To dribble. To pass. To shoot. Whatever. Just make sure your lefty and righty are both good to go. If you don’t, you can be sure that opponents will pick up on it as a weakness and exploit it as much as possible.

"his basketball" by clara-maya via flickr

Just watch any really good player, you’ll see how using both hands seems to come naturally to them, probably to the point where they take it for granted.

And when it comes to learning how to be like that, there’s only one answer – PRACTICE!

Make a point of it. Perhaps at one practice each week you’ll only use your weaker hand. Or whenever you’ve got a ball and you’re dribbling, make sure to spend equal time with both hands. Another really good (and challenging) exercise is practicing free-throw shooting with your weak hand. It’ll be very difficult and uncomfortable for a while, but once you’ve broken through the initial bit you’ll see what a difference it makes to your confidence in your weak hand overall.

However you prefer to do it, you need to consciously make a point of using both hands – mainly because it’s too easy to default to your stronger hand.

So good ahead, practice, practice, practice. Next thing you know you’ll be taking both your hands for granted in games just like the pro’s do.

Darren spent many years playing basketball in Pretoria, searching out every possible way to gain extra inches on his vertical in order to disprove the theory that white men can't jump. After being distracted by the corporate world for several years, Darren returned to the game he loves to contribute in some way to its' future. Darren firmly believes we will see basketball in its rightful place as one of the top sports in South Africa, and that one of the keys to doing so is seeing information about the game made easily accessible to everyone. This is why he is now part of the MyBasketball team.

Darren Gorton

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Other articles you might enjoy

• Day 30: Putting the lessons into practice
• Day 11: Practice matters
• Day 7: Get to know your team