Need to get ready for a basketball tryout in limited time? The reality is nothing compares to having a good preseason. The running and conditioning work forms a good solid foundation for a great season. Most teams here in Australia run preseason as a form of trial for new players. For example, preseason rolls into on court tryouts and then being selected to the squad. Europe does it a little different from my experience. They run on court tryouts, get a squad together and run preseason.
Another one of the many questions I get asked is how do I get ready for tryouts with limited time. I always ask the questions. How much time do you have? Most of the time the answer is a month. Face palm moment. Month really isn’t going to cut it, especially if you haven’t been ballin all that often. If you have been inactive for month, I’m sorry but you are not going to be ready in four weeks. I am writing this article with those in mind whom have a fairly good level of fitness. Eg can play a full game of domestic basketball without issue.
If you only have 4-8 weeks to get ready for tryouts I have only one formula that has worked for me. That is:
- One on one
- Shooting every day
One on one basketball is the only way I learnt how to play the game. Unfortunately when I was just starting to play basketball in Australia no coaches wanted to spend the time and train me. Instead I watched the way the pros trained and took away what I could from the under 20’s training sessions that I attended.
I remember struggling so much to improve; you see I was the really shit basketball player that was last to be picked and on most cases made the team as a default. What I did to improve was to schedule in time with the best basketball players on the under 20 first team. I don’t know what it is, but my competitiveness just willed me to play these guys because I wanted to beat them.
Soon I had a group of the top under 20 team players I used to work out with. We used to shoot for about an hour and then get into one on one games. Within a couple of months my game just blew up. My ability to dribble and shoot under pressure allowed me to have some massive games in domestic competition. Months later I was extremely competitive and in some cases beating players from the national league team. Pros! Getting beaten by the guy that was last to be picked. Could you believe that?
Now that I am older and the offers to go play in the Euro league summer competition is few and far between. I find that when I do get a call up I have very limited time to prepare. When I do get the call up my prep is always going down to the local stadium and getting in some one on one pick up ball. Please note playing one on one pick up ball shouldn’t be about ego use it as a tool to get sharper on court. Work on your weaknesses and concentrate on playing D. The aerobic exercise from live (not checking after every possession; missed shot can be rebounded and put back up) one on one full court or half court I believe is better than running sprints.
Shooting every day
Shooting every day is not shooting for hours and over training. When I was young this is what I used to do. Shoot for around 6 hours a day. I was always tired and when it came to games I was running on empty. It was very late in my basketball career that the advice I got from a former team mate all those years ago actually sunk in. It is not the quantity of training but the quality. It is better to shoot game pace shots for an hour than it is medium paced shots for 4 hours. This same bit of advice given to me by my friend was given to him from Magic Johnson.
If you plan on shooting every day keep the sessions to about an hour excluding warp up. Very important to keep the shooting close to game pace as possible. Want to practice the way you play the game, otherwise you are wasting time. Between sets of shots ensure that you are staying well hydrated and stretch if you have to. Keep the breaks down to a minimum ensuring they only run for 2-3 minutes, 5 minutes max.
Count your makes, not your misses. Make sure you are keeping track of how many shots you are making during the course of an hour. During your water breaks list it down on a piece of paper, try and stay away from entering it into your phone. This can break your concentration if you start reading text messages.
Keeping track of how many shots you are making in an hour will ensure you have a target or goal to work for. This gives you a target to ensure that every shot you are shooting is worth something. Much like playing a game when you are down.
During the week I will list down some shooting drills you can use. Most of which I still use to stay in touch.
Playing one on one and adding shooting for at least 45 minutes every day for four weeks will put you in good stead for a good run during a trial period. But remember, nothing beats starting early. Start early, get into a weight room, work on your cardio and ploys which build a great foundation to add the basketball skill work to. Nothing beats a fit basketball player with sharp skills.
Are you trying out for a team and have limited time? Why not try out my program and tell me how you went. Use the comment section below and I will send you a FREE plyometrics program.
