There are many techniques and long hard hours of training used by basketball players to attain the ability to be able to throw the ball and basket it.
All these players who are so easily able to basket the ball despite being far away from the basket use some tricks in practice to be better at their game. One of those methods is weighted basketball. That is what we will be discussing in this article.
Any basketball player has to go through strenuous hours of training and to make the game easy these sorts of tactics are used to ensure that the players can easily play the game.
It is a common training practice; hence; there is a good chance that the casual or even the avid fans may not have heard of this term. But to watch the game, it is important to acquaint yourself with the terms used in the basketball games. Let’s take a closer look at it!
What is weighted in basketball?
A weighted basketball weighs twice as much as a normal basketball weighs, that is 3 lbs. You may be thinking that is not much at all. However, from the perspective of a basketball player who has to dribble, pass, and shoot it makes a huge difference.
It helps build the upper body strength in the players as they get used to the weighted basketball. Along with that, it helps in building hand and eye coordination. Allowing players to maneuver the ball around the court much easy.
Since it weighs twice as much as a normal basketball the players get used to the idea of a heavy basketball and their bodies adapt to throwing high shoots and dribbling with a heavy basketball. This helps them get control of the light basketball easily and they can maneuver the normal basketball with much ease.
Strength benefit:
When you play with a regular basketball you do get accustomed to the playing and shooting tactics. However, if you train with a weighted basketball your whole strength will improve and you will learn to carry the regular basketball with much ease and comfort.
The benefit of a weighted basketball is that you will gain strength in your upper body. Your arms and shoulders muscles will grow to and provide you the strength you need to throw those high shoots and dribble easily with a light basketball.
In turn, the use of a weighted basketball will give you the strength to dribble, shoot, and pass with a lot of ease and comfort, while you are on the basketball court.
Shooting practice:
When you use a weighted basketball for shooting you learn to shoot with a much heavier ball. This intends to provide you with the range that will help you shoot in your regular games well.
The weighted basketball makes it difficult for the player to shoot from a distance, which makes perfect sense when it comes to normal basketball. With a lighter basketball, you can make those shoots much easier as well.
It all depends on your ability to maintain form when shooting with a heavy basketball or shooting with a light one. In either case, your shooting improves and becomes much better if you keep practicing with a weighted basketball.
Powerful Dribbling:
Being able to dribble with a weighted basketball will give you strength in your forearms, shoulders, wrists, and fingers. Especially when you are able to dribble with a heavy basketball, your game changes a lot when you switch back to the normal ball in games.
Your range has improved a lot with several other benefits. Not only that when you move to a lighter ball your confidence goes up as well and that can be seen in the way players behave.
Players do not even need to do extensive upper arms or shoulders workouts such as weight lifting. All they need to do is work with their weighted basketball to gain the extra strength.
There are many different dribbling drills that can be performed with the help of the weighted ball. And all these drills will help you enhance your hand-to-eye coordination and your control of the ball.
Along with that, you will have to apply double the power that you need with a regular basketball and that is what is going to enhance your game and bring it to a new level.
Weighted Passing:
Passing drills with a weighted basketball will help the team players learn how to pass the ball in the right form. The weighted ball passing drill is essential for players who are on the defensive side.
This will teach them to pass the ball with accuracy when playing with the regular ball and it will make the passing easier. Hence it is important for all the players to go through the passing drill with the weighted ball.
Weighted Rebounding:
Rebounding is another one of the things that small-framed players do not practice a lot and leave it up to the large-framed players, which should not be the case.
If you practice rebounding with a weighted basketball you will learn to play in the paint and score as well when in the paint. Rebounding with a weighted ball will help strengthen your defense while facing the opposing team and ensure that you can basket the ball in time.
Conclusion:
Playing with a weighted ball will help you gain the strength and the confidence to play in any kind of scenario. It builds your upper body strength to face the opposing team head-on while your own game improves by miles.
The best approach would be to gain strength and expertise with the weighted ball and demonstrate some high-class gaming when on the field. Your rebounds and dribbling will be effortless as you play with the regular ball.