3 Elements Of A Successful Basketball Offseason

My daughters’ seasons both ended within the last couple of weeks. As they’ve been winding down, our family has been discussing plans for the offseason.

Of course, some of that entails rest. Some entail other sports and hobbies. But a good chunk of the conversations have centered on basketball.

Both of them love the sport and want to improve. As parents, my wife and I want to support them in that endeavor.

As we’ve been chatting, I’ve noticed that there are 3 main avenues we’ve been looking at to formulate our plan. Perhaps they can help you as well!

3 Paths To Becoming A Better Basketball Player

• Training 

Training can take a couple different forms. Basketball training is one type. Training generally involves working 1 on 1 or in a small group with a professional coach.

There are benefits to 1 on 1 training as well as small group. Both allow your child to get a lot of reps on the skills they need to improve as a player.

Beyond basketball training, athletic training is another avenue to be considered. All players benefit from being more athletic. Additionally, athletic training will benefit your child across every sport, not just basketball. 

• Camps

Camps are a great way to improve in a short period of time. Just as with training, you need to be sure to choose camps that are professional and well-run. Camps should use a curriculum that teaches attendees how to be better players and better teammates.

Our Breakthrough Basketball Camps do just that. Every camp has a detailed curriculum that progresses over the week.

Another great aspect of camps is that they are fun! Campers get to meet new kids and compete in various challenges. A quality camp is a great way to accelerate your child’s development.

• AAU - Some of you might cringe just seeing those 3 letters. However, hear me out. Training & camps are critical to skill development. That said, there is great value in being able to apply what you’re working on in a game setting.

AAU (or some other 5 on 5 league) allows your child to do that. Game reps are critical to improvement. (Hopefully, your child is getting 1-2 practices a week as part of the experience, as well.) While you don’t want to exclusively play 5v5, it should be part of your child’s improvement plan.

3 Complementary Puzzle Pieces

Does your child have to do all 3 of the elements listed above to get better? Of course not. Your schedule may not allow for that. If not, that’s fine. Choose which 1-2 you think will most benefit your child.

However, if you can do all 3, they all provide slightly different benefits. They will work in combination to help your child improve. For some, this time will be the “offseason.” For your child, it can be the “improvement” season!