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. Itโ€™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 โ€œmade itโ€ are priceless. Everybody loves to hear about the boy… Read more »

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Participating in any fast-paced, high contact sport can result in physical injury. So itโ€™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 fansโ€™ safety. So here are a few tips for how… Read more »

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Most boys arenโ€™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, heโ€™s out there. I donโ€™t know if I would be happy about my son trying to play basketball outside in those conditions, but I donโ€™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 »

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Thereโ€™s a lot of hype out there about power drinks. We know this because itโ€™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, itโ€™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 »

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As we all know, music plays a huge role in setting a particular mood, whether itโ€™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 Americaโ€™s most loved sports, specific tunes, whether they were purposefully written or not for the game, somehow got adopted by basketball enthusiasts. Hereโ€™s our Basketball Goal Store top 10 basketball songs: Whoomp! There it is! Performed in 1993 by Tag Team, this tune wasnโ€™t… Read more »

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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, itโ€™s crucial to make a commitment to conditioning the body and building stamina. You probably donโ€™t need us here at the Basketball Goal Store to tell you that. No matter how hard you work, you canโ€™t completely develop and perfect your game skills, if your diet is composed of cheese curls, sodas and pizza. To be a serious athlete, youโ€™ve got… Read more »

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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 6โ€™ 7โ€ and a mom that is 6โ€™ 3โ€ 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 5โ€™ 5โ€. And he grew into a 7โ€™ 6โ€ giant of a… Read more »

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One of the greatest ways to celebrate a childโ€™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 doesnโ€™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 childโ€™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 »

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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 »

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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 isnโ€™t what anyone wants, least of all the coach. It isnโ€™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 โ€“ and everyone else โ€“ will be watching! Carefully schedule the… Read more »

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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 athleteโ€™s menstrual cycle may… Read more »

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Some people say itโ€™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 »

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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 didnโ€™t seem necessary. Although the newly created game of basketball was gaining fast popularity among men, it was only of interest on the womenโ€™s campus as a winter exercise option. An unladylike game involving a basketball and… Read more »

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Thereโ€™s rarely anything better than a group of friends getting together on the court to enjoy the fun and physical challenge of a great game of basketball. Boys and girls dream early about growing up to be a professional basketball player. They cut their teeth on youth leagues and tirelessly practice jump shots in the family driveway long after the other kids have gone home for the evening. The story of basketball is an amazing one to tell, actually. Dating back to 1891, the game was invented by James Naismith, a Canadian American physical education teacher. He crudely created the… Read more »

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The players and owners are taking the strike to a new level and it’s not all that funny – or fun for us basketball fans who are missing the games we love to watch! So what can we do? Well, I collected a few (pedestrian, g-rated) jokes to share with all your basketball buddies. Not all of them will tickle your fancy, but when the kids are getting unruly, you can at least pull them out for a few yuks … Question:ย ย  How do basketball players stay cool during a game? Answer: They stand near the fans! Question: What’s the… Read more »

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More than 20 years ago, a slightly more wrinkled but still interested basketball player stepped up to the proverbial free throw line to advocate for all the other wrinkled athletes. This basketball loverโ€™s name was John H. Morgan Jr. And he made history in 1987 by founding The Huntsman World Series Games for athletes over age 50. That first year, 500 athletes from around the United States happily packed a suitcase and made their way to St. George, Utah to participate. This much interest- especially during the very first gathering- convinced Morgan that he was on the right track. There… Read more »

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We hear a lot in the media about childhood obesity and we all understand the importance of watching our kidsโ€™ diets and controlling their junk food intake. (Sometimes that is easier said than done, isn’t it?) But we donโ€™t frequently hear about the fact that physical activity isnโ€™t valuable just to avoid excessive weight gain. Physical activity is directly related to the overall development of your child. Beginning around age two, when your child has mastered crawling and climbing and folding her hand around a favorite doll or grasping a spoon for meal time, she is beginning to develop muscles.… Read more »

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Athletes are not only devoted to their sports. They realize that a conditioning regiment is crucial. Sports is part of our weekly routine, we work it around our individual responsibilities and we understand that carving out a schedule for practice time is part of life. So it goes without saying that a healthy diet is also a must. But when we consider what an athlete should grab to drink when he needs hydration, we find some reason for confusion as well as alarm. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, when most athletes exercise longer than 45 minutes, they… Read more »

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Ok, so this was a new one on me – but it makes perfect sense. You know I am not a fan of the portable basketball goals – for me, there are several reasons: 1. They are not durable: two-piece poles erode and break and the plastic “weight” on the bottom cracks. 2. They are not cost-effective: as children grow and the elements take their toll on the materials from the goals are constructed, families have to spend moreย  money to replace the goals. 3. They are dangerous: The supposed “weight” of water filling the reservoir is not enough to… Read more »

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No matter if you are gearing up to shop for the holiday gift-giving season, a birthday or a general, “You’re a great kid” present, The Basketball Goal Store has some terrific ideas. Everyone likes big presents and parents like presents that kids will get a lot of use out of – which is why I think your basketball-loving kid would count the days to get outside on their Goalrilla Basketball Goal home court if they found a Goalrilla G Trainer under the tree with their name on it. Of course, one of the best things about the Goalrilla Trainer is… Read more »

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