Archive for April, 2009
How Basketball Came To Be…
In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a minister on the faculty of a college for YMCA professionals (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto an 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track. In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, so balls scored into the basket had to be poked out with a long dowel each time. A soccer ball was used to shoot goals.
Dr. Naismith’s handwritten diaries of the time indicate that he was nervous about this invention, which incorporated rules from a Canadian children’s game called “Duck on a Rock”, as many had failed before it. Dr. Naismith himself was originally from Canada.
Naismith’s new game is quite similar to the game of team handball, which had already been invented in the early 1890s.
The first official basketball game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20, 1892 with nine players, on a court just half the size of a present-day National Basketball Association (NBA) court. “Basket ball”, the name suggested by one of Naismith’s students, was popular from the beginning.
Women’s basketball began in 1892 at Smith College when Senda Berenson, a physical education teacher, modified Naismith’s rules for women.
Basketball’s early adherents were dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, and it quickly spread through the USA and Canada. By 1895, it was well established at several women’s high schools. While the YMCA was responsible for initially developing and spreading the game, within a decade it discouraged the new sport, as rough play and rowdy crowds began to detract from the YMCA’s primary mission. However, other amateur sports clubs, colleges, and professional clubs quickly filled the void. In the years before World War I, the Amateur Athletic Union and the Intercollegiate Athletic Association (forerunner of the NCAA) vied for control over the rules for the game.
Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. The first balls made specifically for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use.
Dribbling, the bouncing of the ball up and down while moving, was not part of the original game except for the “bounce pass” to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a major part of the game around the 1950s as manufacturing improved the ball shape.
Basketball, netball, dodgeball, volleyball, and lacrosse are the only ball games which have been identified as being invented by North Americans. Other ball games, such as baseball and Canadian football, have Commonwealth of Nations, European, Asian or African connections.
Billy Bonds
http://www.articlesbase.com/basketball-articles/how-basketball-came-to-be-109711.html
Portable basketball hoops - Can someone help me find help find public indoor basketball courts in the sacramento area?
Any ideas on how to find open gyms at high schools or rec centers or anywhere indoors where me and some friends can shoot hoops on rainy days???
This is the best I can do… Try Sierra 2 Park or Land Park… Good luck. Did you mention ‘public’? I suppose you want to pay as little as possible. So hope the list will do.
Basketball Bags - Portable basketball hoops and goals
Whether you are a basketball player or just a fan, having a team bag is the coolest thing these days. During a time when physical fitness has become a big deal, it is very convenient to lug a team bag around where you could store everything you need either for playing an actual basketball game or for just working out in the gym at the end of a working day.
There are a lot of team bags available nowadays, most of which you could even have personalized with your own name or customized with your favorite basketball team’s colors and logo.
These team bags are durable because most are manufactured using PVC backed woven fabric making it water resistant. It also has high capacity because of its multiple pockets and compartments. Team bags could usually have ventilated shoe pockets to store your basketball shoes before the game and your work shoes while at the game. It has wide-zippered front pockets and expanded mesh pockets just about for anything and everything that you would want to put in your bags. A floor board with a large center compartment ensures that your things inside don’t get jumbled around.
To make sure that your thirst is quenched after a game, team bags usually come with a water bottle pocket. Inside pockets are even in place to store your keys or CD player. Wrap-around straps and adjustable shoulder straps give you a choice on how to carry your bag around. But, if you are not the one to lug the bigger team bag around, there are also other basketball bags that you could carry around. There are backpacks, canvass tote bags and even mesh sling bags that could hold your things as well as not stopping you from being trendy.
The backpacks are usually made of polyester with PVC coating and have compartments for just about anything that you might want to put inside although these are usually favored by those who don’t bring a lot of stuff around. The canvass tote bags and the mesh sling bags are more of storing just a change of clothing for after a game. It should not be said that these items could not be customized with your favorite team’s colors and logo though because they can also be seen as your statement of being a fan. There are a number of these different kinds of bags around that features team logos and even that special NBA season that you would want to have a memento of.
To make these bags even more your own especially if you belong to a basketball team, you could hang a personalized bag tag or buy for each of your teammates. These bag tags could be personalized with your team name, information and team colors. These special keepsakes will help remind you and your team of your bond or that unforgettable season where you won it big-time. The tags will not only promote team spirit, it is also a fun way for you to identify your backpack or team bag.
Daniel Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/basketball-articles/basketball-bags-126881.html
The History Of Basketball
In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith,a Canadian physical education professor from McGill University of Montraal and instructor at YMCA Training School (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at…
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Basketball Drills Secrets Of The Zone
Writer Glen C. Brown author of `Secrets Of The Zone Press` writes from this extraordinary coaching and basketball skilled book.
`In the writing of a text on a coaching system for a major competitive sport, the author is immediately under suspicion that he has withheld his own `secret formula` for success.
So a coach, player or basketball fan who takes a serious interest in the game that was originated and has been perfected in the United States may greet this volume with some trepidation.
Such was my first reaction when asked by Glenn Brown to write an introduction to this volume on the art of basketball coaching.
This man has been a prep and college player, head coach of an outstanding U. S. Army team, coach at an Illinois high school of more than 2,000, coach at an Indiana high school with the largest high school field house in the world that seats 10,000. He is now a successful college coach and is far from leaving his chosen profession any time soon.
Likewise, he hasn`t changed his system or dropped it so he is willing to reveal the system he has been using all this time.
Here, the man who has compiled a 229-115 all-time basketball record as a coach of every age and type of player, has `bared` his basketball soul.
Most books of this type are highly technical, but Brown has, through careful diagrams and simple explanations, treated each phase of the game with simplicity.`
And what a book it is! Whether you are a coach, player or simply interested in basketball, this book is an absolute must have! There is not another more detailed script of game in any book on the planet! It is foundational, it is creative and genius! Yes, basketball players must be creative and genius in using feet, hands and brains! Please, don`t even question it! This is the manual you won`t want to share because it is so good that you want to keep it secret! Coaches, teachers, students, players and basketball lovers must get this book in their hands or downloaded onto their computers. Bar none, this book is diagramed, detailed and contains the works, study and experience that will `land you in the basketball zone`. You will feel like that 3-pointer ball that has just been `swished` and made by your favorite team in the last minute of the game.
If that isn`t exciting enough, then think of your `child` or `grandchild` receiving the book and excelling in an all time favorite sport! I love basketball, both playing and watching, but I especially enjoy learning about it and this book is a golden treasure for anyone to own! This book contains actual drills, in written words and diagrams and is easy to understand. I would not even hesitate, I would Jump up and grab this `basketball drill secret zone book`. You will be exceedingly ecstatic and on the court! I would recommend this book to my children, my children`s children and their children beyond! It`s a timelessly classic book that is universally effective!
Hoops anyone? `Got Game?`
You will now! Just get your hands on this incredible `Basketball Zone Book` and `Look out courts!`
The ball is about to hit the backstop! … Dunk!
Jimmy Cox
http://www.articlesbase.com/basketball-articles/basketball-drills-secrets-of-the-zone-54062.html
Coaching Basketball Is Not Always Fun And Games
I wound up volunteering to coach basketball, a game I new nearly nothing about. Shortly after I wound up with the job, a parent approached me and asked what sort of coaching style I was going to use. After I managed to clear up the blank look on my face and stammer out some lame answer, I drove quickly to the privacy of my own home to avoid any more questions, and thus, not let my inexperience be known, for I knew after that question that I was in way over my head.
At the time I was probably more suited to coach football, but basketball was what I was dealt. A buddy of mine who had played basketball in high school told me that his coach had used a hands-on coaching style. The coach played with the athletes, showing them the different techniques to use, and what situation to use them in, etc…However, he also pointed out that coaching basketball is more than just playing basketball with the kids like his coach did, but coaching is also about teaching fundamental skills that the players will use for life, as well as team work.
Feeling even more hopeless and confused after this conversation I set out to do heavy research on the topic of coaching basketball. I immediately realized that a large list of references existed to help me, which gave me a great feeling of relief. I had never thought of such concepts as team play, sportsmanship and sharing in regards to coaching sports before, but from my reading I began to get familiar with the topics and ideas. I quickly learned that basketball was about more than just putting a ball through a hoop.
As part of my research I began reading articles that focused on building skills and confidence level in young athletes while coaching. I did my best to absorb everything, but still felt that I might be a little out of my element coaching a basketball team. I had to constantly reassure myself that I could do it. The whole experience ultimately taught me that before you can coach other people you must be able to coach yourself, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
I’ve been coaching for six weeks now. I feel I’ve done a fair job of helping my players build skills and confidence levels they can use on the court and in the real world. This experience has taught me much about myself and about coaching. In regards to coaching, I have learned that it is not all fun and games, but a huge responsibility; however, I think I’ve prepared myself for the challenge. After all, my team is 5 and 1.
While coaching a team might seem a very attractive job to many a sports fan, it is not easy. I only coach at the Junior High level and it’s exhausting and stressful. I can’t imagine what it is like at the professional level, and I don’t want to. If you are interested in being a coach, make sure and give it some serious thought.
Joe Goertz
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/coaching-basketball-is-not-always-fun-and-games-74113.html
Where are the indoor basketball courts near the Stetson Hills area of Colorado Springs?
When I was growing up in North Carolina, the local public school's gym was open to the public in the evenings. This was awesome for working out and shooting hoops to stay in shape. Is this available in the Stetson Hills area - or what fitness centers/gyms have indoor courts?
Did you mean this?
Stetson, 4870 Jedediah Smith Rd
Or you can try this: it's near a school:
Van Diest, 1520 S. Chelton Rd. (Chelton Rd. and Verde Dr.)