Right or Left Handed?
One of the best compliments that I ever received about my daughter Morgan was when a coach came up to me and said “I’ve watched your daughter play for two years now and I just now figured out she is right handed, I really thought that she was left handed.” She handled the ball equally with both her right and left hands so it was difficult to tell if she was right or left handed until she was taking a jump shot (as she could also do a left handed lay up with ease). She worked very hard on her ball handling skills and it showed on the court. The main reason for this post is to communicate to coaches and players (both guards, post players) that ball handling is the most critical of all the basketball skills. If you can handle the ball with either hand – it will open all kinds of doors for you in your basketball career. Ball handling is just as critical to a post player as it is to a point guard. The more players on your team that can handle the ball well – the more success your team will have. Ball handling is the first skill that a coach will notice when players walk into the gym at tryouts. I have seen many a coach “pencil in” a player on the roster just by watching them handle the ball (and can’t tell if they are right or left handed). Never seen them play defense, shoot, or pass – ball handling was all they needed to secure them a spot on the team. Why? A player that can handle the ball well had to put in a lot of time to develop those skills. Good ball handling skills encompasses hard work and dedication to the sport. Check out our page on Ball Handling that will help your players learn the basics – make ball handling a priority! Can you tell if your players are right or left handed?
