Playing college basketball can be a wonderful experience during which you can learn and grow in a variety of ways, but getting onto a college basketball team is challenging. If you want to prepare yourself and increase your chances of getting into a great school and onto a great team, start by searching for more information on athletic scholarships and what it takes to receive one. Then read the tips below to gain even more insight.
Start Preparing While You’re in High School
If you want to play college basketball, you need to start preparing while you’re in high school. Join your high school team and work closely with your coach to improve. Practice a lot, participate in as many games as possible, and begin to learn what’s necessary to balance your athletic career with your academics so you can keep your GPA up while doing great in sports. With a combination of high grades and stellar skills on the court, you’ll dramatically increase your odds of being noticed by the best colleges.
Set Goals, Practice, and Improve
In order to increase your odds of being recognized by a college recruiter, you’ll need to start by setting goals and then following through until you’ve achieved those goals. The same will hold true once you’re in college, as you’ll always need to improve, especially if you want to move on to the NBA someday.
In addition to playing basketball games for your school, you should also be sure to practice on your own in order to refine your shooting. Practice with friends and teammates to refine your offensive and defensive moves, as well as your passing. And exercise several days a week so you can keep your strength and endurance up.
Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses
As a player, you’ll always be evolving, so you need to constantly re-evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Working with a coach or a mentor is a great way to identify what those strengths and weaknesses are, as well as what you need to do to improve. After all, they’ll serve as an objective point of view that will open your eyes to things about yourself that you may not notice on your own.
Study your weaknesses, as well as your strengths, and learn from them. Have self-discipline and understand that no one is perfect and there’s always room for growth, especially when it comes to competitive sports.
Take Care of Your Body
To succeed at anything, but especially anything physical, you have to take care of your body. So ditch the excessively sugary, salty, and fatty foods and opt to eat a balanced, healthy diet filled with natural foods instead. Also be sure to get plenty of rest to allow your muscles to recuperate after a day at practice, a session at the gym, or a game.
These are just some of the steps that you should consider taking if you wish to play college basketball, particularly if you want to get a scholarship and you want to continue playing basketball until you reach the pro level.
