Day 10: Two hands are better than one

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

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.

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.

Tags: 30 Days, ambidextrous, Basketball, hands, practice, tips