How to Be a Confident Basketball Player

Go to the park a lot and practice your dribbling, shooting and passing . These will all help you once you have totally controlled these important parts of basketball. Improving your basic skills will help you gain more confidence in the game.

Start your self improvement at practice. Try getting the ball, and shoot. Either with a lay-up or outside shot. Although, remember to not be a ball hog and force up a shoot, pass the ball around, too! Pay attention to what's going on with your team, like who's open and where you should be on the court.

Don't worry about what everyone says to you. At the beginning, they will only notice your misses, but as you improve they will only notice what goes in! And that's what you want don't you?

Play like it doesn't matter, as if you are playing a video game and you are free to do what you want. You can shoot and do anything else when you feel necessary. The worst that can happen is that you will be taken out of the game or be yelled at.

Be confident in yourself! That is the most important part of it all! Don't let people step all over your confidence, because sadly we live in that kind of a world. Block out your teammates bad words and change them with good words. Also,remember that it's normal to get nervous during a game—it means you really care about the outcome.

Know that if you are considering yourself as a three (one is the lowest) try to get to five, and then ten! You will eventually get there. Take what Brian Scalabrine said after the Celtics kicked Laker butt: "In five years you won't remember my misses, in ten years I'll be an MVP of the league, in 15 years I'll lead my team to an NBA championship and in 60 years I'll be telling my grand kids about all my accomplishments." You may want to have written these words on my wall and read them to yourself every morning. These words are very meaningful and you should really think about them.

Try to hang out with the "better" kids on your team or in your class. Being with them and playing with them will really influence you.

Be willing to take constructive criticism, remember that it is only going to make you better.