“Jumping Rope is for Girls!”

by | Jul 28, 2020 | basketball, Latest News | 0 comments

My Town Tutors is a great resource for parents & teachers.

Jumping Rope is for girls……. and great athletes regardless of gender!

I would like to share with you a story about a former high school basketball captain, 3 year-starter, 2 year league all-star, and Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic.

This player was a forward who was probably as slow as any player I have every coached. He attended and worked several of my basketball camps. During his freshman year I asked him, “Do you ever jump rope?” His reply “Jumping rope is for girls.” I replied “For girl athletes, boxers, basketball players and anyone who considers themselves an athlete.”

As a freshman, this player had no idea what it would take to be a great high school basketball player. I called the player up in front of the camp and had him jump rope for a minute. He scored an impressive 43. (A good high school athlete can complete 175 – 190 repetitions in a minute with hard work.)

The player committed himself to improving his quickness by jumping rope regularly. With hard work, he started his first varsity game as a sophomore. He replaced a player who did not start because of receiving a technical foul.* He played a tremendous game and ended up starting every game for the remainder of his career.

This player understood the importance of improving each day. I never will let him forget the comment, “jumping rope is for girls.” Throughout his entire career, he continued to improve. He improved so much, he had the highest score for jumping rope in a minute. 175 repetitions.

Improving from 43 reps to 175 took a great deal of hard work and dedication!

This player worked his tail off to became a complete basketball player. He was 6’4 and could complete 19-20 Mikans regularly in 30 seconds. He also was able to dribble 2 balls going full speed. Lastly, he was a 3-point threat.He scored several 3-pointers during his career because he completed the 1 and 2 hand form shooting almost daily.

This player had a great high school career. His teams did well because he was a triple Impact player. You will be hearing more about this over the next few blogs. His example of  individual improvement is illustrates the first part of being a “Triple Threat Competitor” “Making Myself Better.” (Taken from Elevating Your Game by Jim Thompson of the Positive Coaching Alliance.)

That is every athlete’s goal this off-season – to make yourself better.

Be quicker – Take 10 minutes to jump rope several times a week. Do 3 – 5 sets of 1 minute. Record your score. Jump rope until you can improve on your score from the previous day. Being quicker will help you in any sport you play.

Be a Better Shooter – Complete the Barros Drill. Start in very close to the basket. Make 5 shots in a row from one spot. Take a step back and repeat the drill. Continue until you cannot hit 5 in a row. When completing this drill use only ONE HAND one day, then the next day use TWO HANDS.
If you do this every day you will be a great shoot. Focus on the correct form (BEEF)

Be a Better All-Around Player – To improve you must PLAY. Basketball players are made in the off-season. Play as much as you can up the courts. Play 1 on 1, 2 on 2, or full court. As always play the right way. Play hard and focus on the fundamentals. Play great team defense.

* There is absolutely no place for a player receiving a technical foul. Under no circumstances should a player receive a technical foul.