Six tips for being a great wheelchair basketball player

In everything we do we want to be the best. We want to be the best at work, school, parenting, and being a great friend. What if you want to become a great wheelchair basketball player? What does it take to win a championship? If you master these skills your name will be forever known in the hall of fame (yes there is a hall of fame for the NWBA).

   Wheelchair basketball is a tough sport. Many try and fail. The first step to becoming a great player in any sport is to fix your mind set. A lot of people say they want to be the best, but later settle to be average. If you want to be the best you have got to work hard everyday for it, not go a couple weeks and quit. If you want to be the best, you have to work like the best. That means getting up early, putting the work in the weight room, and go 110% in practice no matter how boring or hard some days may seem. 

     Everyone wants to score a basket and be the hero, but to be a good wheelchair basketball player you have to be well rounded. So tip number two is know how to play the whole game. I notice sometimes that players sit around looking confused when they don’t have the ball in their hands. You’ve got to know how to play with your teammates and help them score. That means setting picks and screens to get them close enough for that basket. It’s about the team not about you! It won’t matter if you score 50 points, but lose the game.

     This brings me up to tip number three. Which is know your teammates. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. You have to adjust your play style to whoever is on the court with you. Especially since your a wheelchair basketball player. Everyone has different disabilities. Some can catch some have a harder time catching lower passes. Some can shoot a three pointer with ease, while others can’t. Get to know your teammates and learn what their strengths and weaknesses are. It will help you in not turning the ball over so much and scoring more baskets.

Speaking of strengths and weaknesses you have to learn your own. So put time outside of practice. Get better yourself. If you’re a bad ball handler practice handling the ball. I know most people like to practice the things they are good at to feel better about their abilities. That’s not the point of practice. The point of practice is to get better at the things you’re bad at. If you have a terrible shot. Practice missing the shot until you don’t. If you want to shoot farther then put time in the weight room to get stronger. So tip number four is practice your weaknesses.

     Tip number five. I know we all get frustrated in life. If you learn how to control your emotions it will not only make you a better basketball player, but a better person in general. So stop yelling at yourself and your teammates and move on to the next play. To be a good basketball player you have to have a short term memory. You missed a basket or threw a bad pass, forget about it! You can’t dwell on it or you’ll mess up on the next drive. You can’t change the past. That bad shot or throw is over with. You have to let it go and focus on what you can do the next play. 

The final and most important tip I can give you is to be patient. You’re not going to master all the skills in one day. It will take years of practice, hard work, and self discipline. Don’t get frustrated and quit. The greatest achievements in life take years to get. In the end when you’re giving your speech when your inducted into the hall of fame you’ll look back to all the hours and hard work and realize it was all worth it.