Why is the off-season so important in the game of basketball? Basketball season is the time when the team improves, off-season is the time when the individual improves.

Basketball is a sport that requires a special set of skills. Skills that don’t improve without commitment to that end. A game of pick-up basketball alone will not improve those skills. You must spend time working on every area of your game.

Spending 30 minutes a day working on the various aspects of the game is all that is needed to make noteable improvements. Then, that game of pick-up ball will benefit you as you put those skills into action. Thirty minutes is ideal because it is manageable. There is less likely to be a chance of burnout or boredom. Breaking it up into 5 – 10 minute increments can go a long way. The areas to cover are for example, 5 minutes of ball handling, 10 minutes of shooting without the dribble, (so you can spin the ball to bounce back to you resembling a pass received), 5 – 10 minutes doing 1 and 2 dribble moves to the basket. Always alternate with left and right hands for drills so that you can comfortably go both ways. In otherwords, “Be hard to guard”.

Between each drill shoot 10 free throws. You always want to shoot free-throws when you are fatigued. It most resembles a game situation.