The proper basketball position is important to master when you first start playing. A proper base position is like the foundation of a house — it holds everything up. A bad base position will cause you problems defending, shooting, and scoring.

What to Do with Your Legs

To get into the proper basketball position, bend your knees, place feet about shoulder-width apart, and raise your hands to about chest or shoulder level. Getting in this position keeps you balanced. If you are standing straight up, you won't be able to react quickly, whether it's to catch or intercept a pass, break toward a basket, get open, or move to cover an opponent. Having your knees slightly bent allows you to spring into action.

Keeping your feet apart allows you the best balance. You are also ready to take off running. You generally want to have one foot slightly in front of the other foot. This staggered stance allows you a better reaction time.

Your feet are just as important as your arms in basketball. When you are playing defense, you never want to cross one foot over the other when guarding a player. If you do, your opponent can catch you off-stride and change direction on you. For example, if you are moving to your right and you use your left foot to step over your right foot, your opponent will cut to your left and leave you in the dust. By moving your feet in a shuffling manner and never crossing over, you can keep your opponent in front of you and make it harder for her to escape you.

What to Do with Your Arms

Keep your arms close to your chest. This allows your wrists and hands to be in the proper position to catch the ball. You also want to keep your head neither too far forward nor too far backward. Think of it as a line running down your head through the middle of your body to the floor. That's the proper basketball position. If your hands are on your hips or by your side, you will be caught off guard if a pass or a rebound comes toward you.

Basketball Speed

It's funny, but track stars aren't often great basketball players. You don't have to be a fast runner to be a basketball player. It is more important to be a good player and be quick than to be really fast. You need to move to the right place on the floor rather than just sprint up and down. Knowing where you need to be and staying in the proper basketball position will usually allow you to get to the right place more quickly than someone who is a faster runner than you are. You need to work on your starts and stops, your pivots, and changing direction. These are not difficult things to master, but they take a lot of practice.

First things first: When you change direction, you want to be low and turn your head in the direction you want to go. If you are heading left, take that first step with your left foot; if you are going right, take off with your right foot first.

You need to be able to change direction and stop immediately. The ball doesn't simply go up and down the court, back and forth. Drills that boost your agility will help your balance. If you lose your balance, you are likely to stumble, commit a foul, double dribble, or be out of position. A big part of the game is practicing how to stop quickly and change direction.

When you pivot, you have one foot planted. This is called your pivot foot. You want to be on the ball of your pivot foot to allow you to move around to find a person to pass to or position yourself for a shot. You should learn to pivot on both feet.