Basketball is a very involved sport. In order to play you be in good physical shape. That is because the court is very long and very wide. A high school basketball court is about fifty feet wide and about eighty-four feet long. In college the court is even bigger. The length of a college basketball court is about ninety-four feet long and fifty feet wide. Running up and down that court the entire game will not be fun unless you are in shape. There are many parts to a basketball court. There is the baseline, free throw lane, free throw line, the three point line, the jump circle, and the side line. You can see where all the names are located at the picture on the side.

                   In a basketball game there are many players. In order to have a real game there must be a total of ten players, five on each team. Each player gets a different position. The positions are the center, two forwards, and the guards. The center is usually the tallest person on the team. The center is the one who stays closer to the basket. Then the forwards are the ones who are down on each block, always ready for the rebound. Finally, you have the guards, who are set up furthest from the basket. They are the ones with the ball handling skills.

               To become a great basketball player, you need to know how to handle the ball, and you have to be able to handle it well. That is where ball handling comes in. There are many types of drills you can do but you should defiantly if you want to play basketball. Some of the drills you could do is the figure eight drill. That is when you pass the ball threw your legs in a figure eight motion, hence the name figure eight. Another drill you could do is the drill where you just slap the side of the ball. When you practice slapping the ball you are getting used to the feeling when someone snaps the ball to you (hard pass). The last type of drill you could do is the finger tip control. That drill is made to adjust you hands to catching a pass.

              Stretching is a major part of all sports. In basketball you must stretch or you could get physically hurt. There are many ways to stretch. The main parts of your body that you need to stretch are your arms and your legs. You need to stretch your arms so that you can shoot correctly and snap passes as a high speed. You need to stretch you legs because, in basketball you run almost the entire game. You should also stretch you calf because you use the muscle constantly when shooting and runny. When you stretch you need to hold each position for at the least thirty seconds, to get the full stretch.

       When you play basketball the only way to make any points is by putting the ball into the basketball hoop. So to win, besides having good offence and defense, you need to be able to shoot. There are many parts to shooting. First you get your balance. Then you put the ball into you hand and bring it up to right below you eyes. Then you put one hand on the side and the other hand close to the bottom. Align you elbow with your shoulder. Next, you bend your knees and snap the ball in a rainbow motion and make sure you let it roll right off you finger tips.