Introduction
There is a lot of speculation and talk on how to become a great player. To become a great player, a person needs to posses the right attitude, be fully committed and be of mind to work hard just to have the possibility of real development. I wish to present to you, in my experienced opinion, are the top 10 things you need to do in order to promote your development as a player.

1- Get up and go; start running
Cardiovascular fitness: Your hart and lungs are the power plant of your body and should be in top shape. Many players hate to run. If you find yourself tired during the game you will also find your shots hit clean air or the board, but what it wont hit is the net after going through the hoop, no matter your talent and skill. You need to run; run a mile.

2- Increase your natural growth
You can increase your natural growth with a good and organized strength program. You can gain benefits if you acquire good habits. If you join an organized and disciplined program while going through high school or through college, your possibilities are endless. Work your legs, jumps, shoulders and arms, with many repetitions and you will gain strength (use weights).

3- Be a competitor
You must play with or against good, serious and more experienced players. Every time you find yourself with an opportunity like that, take advantage of it. Observe these players; take notes of what and how they do things. Use the same their same movements against them. You must play year around to reach your maximum potential.

4- Be respectful and always show a good attitude
Be a gentleman both inside and outside the court. Keep bad habits out of the game. No one likes a loudmouth. The referee will be watching you. Basketball is a team sport. Dont do anything to attract attention. The game is already pretty intense as it is, try not to enter into rivalries. Give encouragement to your teammates. Respect and be responsive to your trainers. A player with a great attitude will gather great benefits from everyone. Dont present a good attitude arbitrarily.

5- Build the Game
Develop your offensive game. You must live the great dichotomy; develop and apply your own play system and use all your moves but at the same time play with and for the team. How can you achieve that impossible middle ground? Here are some tips:

Learn and play the institutional (coach promoted, designed) offensive game in order to be an active participant of most if not all plays. This will surely yield good open shot opportunities.

Learn each play and ever move, one by one and make use of these in every scheme or situation.

To learn all the moves and all the plays you will need first to be versed at dribbling the ball, receiving the ball, fast maneuvering, pace changing and screen setting; this is called coordination.

You have to develop basket facing shots as back to the basket shots.

Your coach will teach you the basics and the movements.


Some tips to help you offensively:

Observe a good team and how they execute their game. Picture yourself playing with them.

The best fake will receive the ball and look at the basket.

Practice your dribbling along the full length of the court, taking shots and do the same in a round about.

Shot from the 3-point line; concentrate on fast shooting from every angle of the court.


6- Develop your game, part II: Get into the defense
Here are a few tips to help you be a better defensive player

Never stand erect; always bend your knees.

Stand on your toes; dont spread your legs too far apart.

Always try to force your opponent to take uncomfortable shots.

Always try to block your opponent.

Always try to move in the way of the crossing opponents taking care not to incur in a penalty; just try to force a change of direction and pace.

Talk and promote defensive play among your teammates.


7- Never forget to expand your knowledge
Try to do good in school and to always try to be an excellent student. 20 years down the road, you might find yourself not playing basketball any more, but more than likely you will still be young in the game of life. A good education is the basis to an excellent life. Life is a series of decisions best taken with as much information as possible and good dash of judgment; information and judgment that only comes much more easily from a good education.

8- Learn the history of your sport
Read about the history of basketball; its great teams and star players of the past. We can not hope to understand the future if we do not know about our past. But remember that above all, practice makes perfect, so make sure to, not only read about the sport, but to practice the basics every day.

9- Know where you are heading; keep a record and establish your goals.
Be sure to clearly establish your goals both on the short and the long run. We can not know where we are heading if we dont know where we come from. Your free throw practice, your weight lifting training, etc.; make a record of where you are now, but also keep a record of your progress. Establish your own daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal schedule. Your progress will astonish and inspire you. This also applies to any endeavor you choose to practice in your life.

10- Learn to be a great shooter; never miss a free throw
A great player cannot afford to miss his free throws. Every free throw that a great player misses, then he is helping his own team to loose the game. This is especially so in later part of a game; towards the end of the regular season, but even worse on the championship games. Develop your ability early on; start now.

By Prof. Victor 'Vitito' Ojeda, Coach