Baseball Opinion

An intelligent athlete must always consider all the demands that are placed on his or her body, both at the present time and over the course of a year. There are limits to what the body can recover from, so it is important to find the correct amount and type of training and sports participation throughout the year.

Your sports season is the time when it is most important to have your athletic abilities maximized. Thus, it is necessary to schedule your training around your season. The general rule to follow is at the beginning of the off season, focus is put on strength training. Improvements in squats, deadlift, etc. lay the foundation for improvements in athletic movements. As the season grows nearer, the focus progresses toward the speed and of the spectrum, exercises like hang power snatch and plyometrics. Sport-specific skill work is also increased. Obviously, planning should be different for different sports. For example, a sprinter only needs one skill, a skill that never changes. A couple months is enough time to fine tune sprinting technique and reach a high level again, so not much sprinting is necessary in the early off-season. On the other hand, a basketball player needs to develop hundreds of different skills. Much more time is required for basketball skill development, and extended time away from the sport is generally detrimental to performance.

Is vertical leap ability genetic? This is a very common question and it’s not a fun one to answer. The truth is genetics do play a significant role in the vertical jump and athletic ability in general. Look at 12-year old kids. Some are athletic. Some are not. Obviously their varying genetic gifts make a difference. This is a painful realization, because those who are naturally gifted have to admit they did not have to work as much as other people for their abilities, and those who are not gifted have to accept that they can never be the best leaper or sprinter in the world.

There are a number of physical traits that contribute to athletic ability and are influenced by genetics. I’ll discuss them in no particular order.

1. Body type. A long, thin body with long limbs is great for jumping and running. Because the tallest people are often not the most athletic, people tend to be unaware of this advantage. When a longer body segment is rotated with the same speed as a shorter segment, the end of that segment covers more distance, meaning that more velocity is generated. In a jump or a sprint, this means that more height is achieved or more ground is covered. As for a thin body, that’s just a matter of weight. The less weight on your body per inch of height, the better off you are, at least from a physics standpoint. Obviously, you need muscle mass to be able to generate powerful movements, so you don’t want to be as thin as a rail. Unfortunately, your body’s build is not something you can do anything about. You can be muscular and lean, but you may still be short and stocky.

2011 NBA playoffs were highly entertaining! The final game broke the previous record for the most watched NBA finals game. In my opinion, spectator interest was due to the fact that the finals consisted of two top NBA teams. Many basketball fans tuned in to see Lebron James, or King James, come up short at his first attempt to win his first championship ring with the Miami Heat. It has been well documented that since James left his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers last summer to join his friends in Miami, his positive image of NBA icon changed from one of the most beloved players of all time to one of the most hated and despised superstars in NBA history. I believe many basketball fans feel this way not because he decided to leave Cleveland, but the way he went about it.

Last summer was the Lebron Show with the media analyzing and predicting what James’s next move would be. After the 2010 NBA series ended, it seemed that Sport Center was continuously discussing the future of superstar, Lebron James. In James home town of Cleveland, where he played high school basketball, he was then drafted from high school straight to the NBA with the first pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers. For James, it was a dream come true for him and his home town fans. But after several seasons of the Cavaliers failing to make it out of the first round of the playoffs, Lebron’s contract was up. James decided to test the free agent market. Many teams throughout the league hoped to sign James and there was much speculation to where he would finally sign. In retrospect, Cleveland fans remained optimistic and believed that there was no chance that James would turn his back on his beloved home town and sign with another team. James withheld his decision and waited until he finally provided the media his answer.

Learning how to dunk at a young age can be very beneficial to a young athlete. Learning how to dunk should be taught at an early age to give the athlete the chance to grow into the best player they can possibly be without over training.

These steps to learning how to dunk may seem simple or even childish, but if you start simple, you will be less likely to get frustrated and quit. Plus there’s an old saying, “Sometimes you’ve got start at the bottom and work your way to the top.”

Step One: Palm the Ball

You need to learn how to use inertia to control the basketball. Sometimes, even people who can palm the ball may lose it. A helpful tip is to try starting out with a smaller ball, like a baseball and then working your way through ball sizes. This can help get a person get comfortable with the movement of making a dunk without getting frustrated by losing the ball every time.

Step Two: Dribble the Ball

Now, dribble toward the basket, then take the allowed two steps while palming the ball in your dunking hand. On the second step, jump as high as you possibly can, extend your arm to the rim and drive the ball through the net. Now, some people feel more comfortable and successful driving off one foot (opposite foot that you are using to dunk), but some people feel that they can get more by driving off of both feet. Practice both and see what feels more comfortable and seems more successful to you.

Step Three: Get a Hoop That You Can Adjust