Sure wish I had known John Wooden.

He applied what he knew about life to basketball – and had it right because the “Wizard of Westwood” was the winning-est coach in NCAA history.

We all tell our kids that practice pays off and if you want to be really good at something – sports, academics, painting – whatever – you need to put in the time.

It’s not just practice – there’s really more to it if you want to be top-notch.

You have to learn more and try more. You have to have a great big, giant thirst for “more.” And then you have to practice it properly.

Wooden said it this way:

“I discovered early on that the player who learned the fundamentals of basketball is going to have a much better chance of succeeding and rising through the levels of competition than the player who was content to do things his own way.  A player should be interested in learning why things are done a certain way.  The reasons behind the teaching often go a long way to helping develop the skill.”

The proper equipment encourages proper form in practice

I saw five boys scrambling around each other, pushing, shoving and shooting baskets in the neighbor’s driveway. The shortest boy would bend down and with both hands thrust the ball up and into the air from between his knees.

Ohh, I wish I could just see coaches cringing at the form and technique on display.

Then a dad approached and showed them how to hold the ball properly and how to hold off an opponent without shoving him or grabbing his arms.

But since the basketball goal was affixed to a pole and not adjustable, once the dad left, the boys were back to their original form – straining and flinging – to get the ball to the basketball hoop.

Without question, that’s one of the greatest features of the Goalrilla Goal Basketball systems – they are adjustable from 7.5 to 10-feet. The height can be set so youngsters can learn proper form – and find success –so they continue practicing with the correct technique.

Goalrilla Goals (available at the Basketball Goal Store) provide the opportunity to teach a life lesson with basketball at your house – have a basketball goal designed so people of all ages can learn and practice properly.

Then introduce them to John Wooden.

-Pat of the Basketball Goal Store Blog Team