How to Handle a Basketball Better

Imagine being able to break down your defender with an arsenal of moves that you can perform effortlessly. Every time you touch the basketball you strike fear into the hearts of your defenders because they know you can literally break their ankles at will. Sorry to say this kind of ability can take years to develop without the right training and guidance. Allow me to accelerate your ball handling improvement at a much faster pace by giving you a few tips to help you handle the basketball better.

Being confident in your abilities is a quick way to improve your ball handling. Picture yourself blowing by your defender with a quick move or a deadly crossover and believe in yourself. This will help you to limit your mistakes and handle the ball with confidence. One thing that every great ball handler has in common is confidence in their ability, so if you want to be a great ball handler you have to be confident. Confidence alone will not transform you into a ball handling magician but it will help you handle the basketball better and pull off moves you never thought you could do.

 If you're having problems with controlling the basketball a good tip would be to use your body to protect the ball. Great ball handlers know that sometimes it's best to just shield the ball with their bodies rather than dribble right in front of the defender. You can eliminate careless turnovers just by using your body to protect the basketball in situations where your defender is attempting to steal the basketball. Even the best ball handlers use their bodies to protect the ball, because it is an effective way to keep your defender from reaching for the basketball.

Now this is a simple but a very valuable tip you may want to use, and it involves keeping your eyes in the opposite direction of where you want to go with the basketball. You may have seen someone get crossed so bad that they either stumble or fall, and part of the reason this happens is because the defender was tricked by the ball handler's eyes. If you look one way and go the other way, this confuses your defender and can lead to them stumbling or falling. Your eyes are what your defender looks at to help predict where you're going, so if you're looking in the opposite direction of where you're going, this will make you a nightmare for defenders. As simple as this may sound, it is hard to look in the opposite direction of where you're going and this will take some practice. You don't want to abuse this concept or else your defender will catch on, so once in awhile look directly in the direction you're going to keep your defender on their toes. The best time to look in the opposite direction is when you're doing a crossover move. When you do a crossover don't look in the direction you want to go, look in the opposite direction to confuse your defender.

 Simply by applying these tips to your ball handling, you will handle the basketball better. These tips will work for you whether you're a beginner or an advanced ball handler. These are great tips for instant results but if you want to take your ball handling to the next level you need the right step by step program. Fortunately, there is a program that I've found with a step by step system that will transform you into an elite ball handler.