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Yes it is winter. And it’s nasty outside, with lots of rain or slushy junk puddled in the driveway. There are only two things worse than yucky weather, though. One, to have a child’s birthday to celebrate during these nasty months. And two, to fear that energetic little guests will enter your home and track the muddy mess all over the carpet, right along with dripping ice cream on the end tables and smushing birthday cake all over the couch cushions. If you are a parent thinking about plans for a winter birthday, consider a basketball birthday. Check into renting… Read more »
Author: Grant Riley
Most parents can smile to themselves and immediately recall the year their child’s ears and front teeth outgrew his sweet little freckled face. That was also the year the boy’s hands got too big- in fact, those hands were oven mitts. And his legs were suddenly long and gangly like a colt’s. That little boy who was showing such love for sports, such natural ability and a strong competitive spirit is suddenly bonking into the door frames and tripping over the coffee table. Every move he makes is always awkward and clumsy. He is a baby giraffe with a ball… Read more »
Maybe the general public thinks that NBA players get their wallets out for charity because they are working on their image and hoping for a chunk of a tax write-off. That assumption could not be more wrong about David Maurice Robinson, retired Center for the San Antonio Spurs. Born in Key West, Florida, Robinson was the son of a Navy man. So the family moved frequently. By the time he was in middle school, Robinson was edging toward six feet. Surprisingly, he tried but quit the game of basketball and didn’t pick it up again until after high school, when… Read more »
Much to our chagrin, some of our favorite athletic activities of youth- such as track and field or a lively game of football or a rowdy round of racquetball- may sometimes have to be retired once we reach certain life phases. Like it or not, no matter how health conscious we might be, aging eventually brings on some physical challenges. After 50, lots of adults begin to cope with body changes such as osteoporosis and arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure. Certainly, we have to pay attention to diet and weight control and not over-exerting ourselves. We are well aware… Read more »
You know about this high-stress moment. Everybody’s eyes are on that one basketball player who is standing 19 feet from the base line and 15 feet from the basket. That player is very likely sweating bullets as he or she dribbles at the foul line. We are talking, of course, about the notorious free throw. Sometimes the shot can change the game. Sometimes it can actually even win the game. It’s the moment when fans are as quiet as they will usually ever be. And when the shot is a miss, it can be a big downer for the fans,… Read more »
Not everyone makes the team – there are only so many positions on the court. But putting forth the best skills and effort at try-outs is one of the reasons parents call the Basketball Goal Store. If your child is nursing a bruised ego because he didn’t make the team and he’ll be on the outside looking in, here’s something that will lift everyone’s spirits. This is a true story, too, by the way… which makes the message have even more meaning. Did you know that the famously talented Michael “Air” Jordan tried out as a high school sophomore for… Read more »
Female basketball players have a long list of talented women to thank for the opportunity to not only play the game, but to play it without swishing around in a floor-length dress or a cumbersome petticoat. Women started playing basketball in 1892, but their opportunity to actually embrace the game as an Olympic sport didn’t occur until the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Can you imagine how frustrating that must have been? Wanting so badly to play- yet being excluded because of your gender? Not any more. The number of girls spending hours on their home Goalrilla Basketball Goal courts is growing… Read more »
For so many years, basketball has been as American as some baseball games and apple pie- only much more lively. People tend to get highly excited about the game and some of the reasons why are all related to the pace- which is fast. And the fact that anything can change the entire outcome- even at the very last minute. It’s no surprise that basketball was taken out of the school gymnasiums and the field houses and plastered all over the big screen. Stories of the hardworking players who “made it” are priceless. Everybody loves to hear about the boy… Read more »
Participating in any fast-paced, high contact sport can result in physical injury. So it’s no surprise really, that nearly two million basketball-related injuries occur each year. The most prevalent injuries include ankle sprains, facial cuts and bruises, stress fractures to the foot and lower leg, knee injuries and jammed fingers. We want you to always enjoy your time under and around the hoop and all the times you dribble and dodge your way across the court and back. But at the same time, we are interested in Goalrilla Basketball Goal fans’ safety. So here are a few tips for how… Read more »
Most boys aren’t like my neighbor. This spunky 8-year-old is out on his driveway shoveling the snow away so he can shoot some hoops. Even in temperatures in the single digits, he’s out there. I don’t know if I would be happy about my son trying to play basketball outside in those conditions, but I don’t think if he was as determined as this kid, I could stop him. For less determined kids there is another option besides trolling the Basketball Goal Store website making a wishlist and leaving hints for mom and dad. One which parents (and teachers) will… Read more »
There’s a lot of hype out there about power drinks. We know this because it’s a kabillion-dollar industry, with marketing trends often targeting young athletes. Understandably, serious athletes want to pay attention to what they should guzzle while shooting hoops at home under the Goalrilla Basketball Goal on a hot summer day or playing an intense championship game. No one wants to end up weak-kneed and wobbly from over-exertion. It not only affects your game, it’s also hard on your body. Because more than 70% of the human body is composed of water, the dangers of dehydration are very real.… Read more »
As we all know, music plays a huge role in setting a particular mood, whether it’s the gushy stuff played on prom night, some heavy metal blasting in the gym while you lift weights or the pump-you-up tunes to get your adrenalin going on the basketball court. Through the many years of basketball being one of America’s most loved sports, specific tunes, whether they were purposefully written or not for the game, somehow got adopted by basketball enthusiasts. Here’s our Basketball Goal Store top 10 basketball songs: Whoomp! There it is! Performed in 1993 by Tag Team, this tune wasn’t… Read more »
Basketball is a strenuous activity. Perfecting all the necessary skills- from guarding the opposing team and shooting free throws to controlled dribbling while sprinting down the Goalrilla Basketball Goal court- takes a toll on the body. As an athlete, it’s crucial to make a commitment to conditioning the body and building stamina. You probably don’t need us here at the Basketball Goal Store to tell you that. No matter how hard you work, you can’t completely develop and perfect your game skills, if your diet is composed of cheese curls, sodas and pizza. To be a serious athlete, you’ve got… Read more »
Have you ever wondered who the tallest NBA player might be? Let me tell you the story of China-born Yao Ming, whose American basketball career was spent as a team member for the Houston Rockets. As an only child, he was born to a father who stands 6’ 7” and a mom that is 6’ 3” tall. It was no surprise that Ming weighed a whopping 11 pounds at birth- that is more than double the average weight of a newborn in China. By age 10, he stood 5’ 5”. And he grew into a 7’ 6” giant of a… Read more »
One of the greatest ways to celebrate a child’s birthday is to incorporate what your child loves best into the party. If you have a basketball lover with a birthday coming and your family doesn’t yet have a Goalrilla Goal, contact us at the Basketball Goal Store for what will be the best surprise gift. If your family already enjoys the very versatile Goalrilla Basketball Goal, you can plan your child’s birthday party around the basketball goal! Here are some cost-friendly ideas to get the party started: Make party invitations that look like oversized NBA game tickets. Request that all… Read more »
There are lots of rather quirky beliefs floating around in our history. Some people take them very seriously while others just roll their eyes. Lots of people believe, for example, that breaking a mirror, walking under a ladder or seeing a black cat are longtime bad luck makers. These are examples of how, in our culture, we can find superstition threaded into every age group and every generation. Basketballers are no different. Besides you and your buddies who congregate under the Gorilla Basketball Goal in your yard. You may even know some of the quirks and superstitions each of you… Read more »
We all know that coaching is a wonderful way to interact and leave a positive impact on children of any age. But a bad coach tramples on the self-esteem of impressionable kids while also stealing away the joy of playing the game. That isn’t what anyone wants, least of all the coach. It isn’t uncommon for us to be asked questions about coaching when parents contact the Basketball Goal Store. So here are 4 more tips to consider when taking on that role for the first time. Your kids – and everyone else – will be watching! Carefully schedule the… Read more »
Everyone knows exercise for all people of all ages is very important for physical, emotional and mental health. When we focus specifically on female athletes, we see that regular physical activity is important because it: helps build and maintain bone strength, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, decreases the development of depression and anxiety, avoids unhealthy weight gain and helps to build lean muscle. These are all positives, of course. But when strenuous exercise– especially the type of strenuous exercise associated with professional female athletes- is combined with poor diet, serious health issues may develop: A female athlete’s menstrual cycle may… Read more »
Some people say it’s an epidemic. There is still no known cause for why it strikes one child but not another, and there is no cure. To make things even more frightening, current statistics show that 2 to 6 children of every 1,000 will be diagnosed with it. And males are 4 times more likely to be diagnosed with it than females. We’re talking about autism. Children born with this serious, life-altering neurological disorder will often exhibit symptoms of autism by age 3. Often they do not respond normally to verbal cues, they avoid eye contact, their verbal skills may… Read more »
Once upon a time, smack-dab in the middle of the Victorian Era, a female physical education teacher named Senda Berenson introduced the game of basketball to a group of students at Smith College for girls in Northampton. This new game was invented a year earlier (1891) by James Naismith, a Canadian-American physical education teacher and coach. Teaching the 13 official rules of basketball didn’t seem necessary. Although the newly created game of basketball was gaining fast popularity among men, it was only of interest on the women’s campus as a winter exercise option. An unladylike game involving a basketball and… Read more »
