Basketball Skills: Five Essential Tips For Becoming A Great Rebounder

Another crucial skill for being a well-rounded basketball player is knowing how to rebound well—or how to recover the ball quickest after someone misses their shot. While rebounds are typically thought of as a defensive tactic, it is also an offensive play that allows you to keep the ball in your team's hands and get set up for another shot—defenders are just typically more prepared to get the ball. Either way, it is a great place to focus your energy if you are determined to become a winning player for your team.

Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Get Stronger

Tall, strong players are good rebounders. You cannot increase your height, but strength can be developed with a proper training program over the long term. Many younger basketball players don't bother with strength training but it can do a lot for your game.

2. Think Positioning First

You cannot get the rebound if you're not in position for it. Always think ahead of the shot when you see someone getting set up to go for the goal. If you are not in the position to block, make sure you are near the basket and ready to grab it out of the air if they do not make it.

3. Keep Your Eye on the Ball

Keep close watch of the ball as it is in flight and try to visually calculate where it is most likely to end up should it miss. This takes time and experience, but the better you get at it the more likely you will be able to move your body where the ball is most likely to go.

To get you started, short-distance shots will have a weaker rebound and long-distance shots, which have more momentum and require more power, will bounce further away from the basket should they brick.

4. Bring it To Your Chest

As soon as you catch a rebound, do the most you can to hold on to it. After all, it doesn't help your team to catch it if you just drop it or let another flailing rebounder take it away.

Bring it down close to your chest immediately and put out your elbows to make it harder for others to get at it—start thinking immediately of your next course of action, the best of which will often be to deliver the ball to another player away from the basket.

5. Fight for Your Ball

Getting the ball and holding onto it in rebound takes being an aggressive player who can't handle themselves under the pressure of other aggressive players. Don't back down, and be ready to throw your weight with tenacity. It is your ball. Rebounders cannot wait around for the ball to bounce into their hands—they must decide it is theirs and go get it.

Are you ready to go get your ball? If you want to be a good rebounder, reread these tips and think about them seriously. And put them into action.

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