Spokane Stars Basketball

Archive for September, 2009

Tony Newton asked:




Tattoo sleeve art has always had a negative connotation with society. This sleeve art has been totally made infamous by gangs and mobs, like the Yakuza, and other gangs who just expressed their angst and identities through the use of tattoos.

However, because of the growing fashion of the tattoo sleeve art, these negative connotations are slowly disappearing and are instead becoming more of a fashion statement. Tattoos are so very common that it has let its presence felt in both sports and entertainment. Basketball stars show off their shooting, streaking arms decorated with these cool sleeve tattoos. Even wrestling superstars, or entertainers have one time or another, been showcasing their charisma and talent together with these tattoo designs.

Like all other tattoo arts range from varieties of design – tribal, Japanese, Chinese, Irish and many more. However, very common designs are the Japanese sleeve tattoos, and the tribal art designs.

Japanese sleeve tattoo arts are usually the more colorful designs. They range from symbols of Japanese mythology (deities, nature, Buddha and Shinto symbols), animals (the mystic Dragon, the Koi or Japanese carp, phoenix and other mythological animals), sometimes even kanji (Japanese lettering). Figures of Japanese folklore, like samurais and geishas, also appear as tattoo sleeve art.

Tribal designs of tattoos lie on the basic colors – Black. They are the more free-flowing and abstract designs of tattoo art. In this art you can test an artist’s ingenuity and uniqueness as the tribal art is more abstract, thus, is more open to original and reinvented designs.

If you want to try a tattoo sleeve art, browse the internet for good tattoo designs. You can always try a temporary tattoo first before the real thing, and see if it will really match your taste.

Dave Lemanczyk asked:




Basketball training needs to be carefully designed based the movement patterns that exist within the game. This understanding allows players to train using dynamic movements that promote function. For example; an exercise that includes a movement application is favored over one that is stationary. In addition, movement training primarily increases a human beings capacity for functional strength and conditioning.

* Are individual basketball skills important in training?

Yes and all individual skills must be mastered or in the progress of mastery for completion as a player. Individual basketball skills include but are not limited to shooting, passing, cutting, rebounding, defending, awareness, and helping.

Daily practice requirement for the pursuit of skill mastery is to the point of execution failure. For example; chest pass to a partner as explosive as you can. Have the partner throw the ball back quickly and then repeat the rapid chest pass. Once you are no longer accurate to your partner, the passing fundamental is over.

It is very important to develop correct habits so that the motor patterns can be remembered properly when you need them the most. At the end of a game when you are exhausted, you will not have to worry about a pass getting to a teammate. You know it will since you practiced diligently in your training.

* Should basketball players concentrate on flexibility before training?

Attaining an optimal level of flexibility is a precursor to lifting with weighted resistance of any kind. This is because dynamic movements greatly reduce the possibilities of injuries and safely increase maximum strength. A fine example of a dynamic stretch is jogging. Within a few minutes of jogging, the soft tissues (muscles) within the body become fuller due to their usage. This is that general feeling of being warm or what most coaches call a warm up. At this point, it is time to divulge into sensible physical training.

Movement stretches or dynamic stretches allow an athlete to develop flexibility without attempting to force flexibility. Improper stretching techniques can lead to sports injury and adequate health is the ticket to achieving true athletic potential and more importantly, reaching it.

* Do basketball players need to lift weights?

No they do not. Basketball players are advanced movers and need to condition themselves as such. The human body is comprised of a unique blend of levers (bones/joints) that have differential properties containing mechanical advantage and disadvantage. The primary goal of a player is to increase his entire bodily leverage to ensure performance during a rapid, high pressure, reactive based environment such as the basketball court. All players have natural weakness and those need to be assessed, and tended to through adequate training. In time and with patience, a player improves. Prior to lifting with weighted resistance a player must master his own bodily movement.

* What should basketball players focus on to get results?

First, layers need to focus on developing their peripheral vision to the highest possible level. This ability greatly enhances awareness and leads to prowess. In the early days of basketball, coaches would put their players in a circle and have them pass balls to each other without looking. Each player would look straight ahead yet still see the ball quickly approaching them with there peripheral vision. This is the type of basketball training that represents similar anxiety to that of an actual game.

In addition to visionary development each basketball player needs to improve wrist and ankle strength. Both joints hold an overwhelming responsibility to our movement and manipulative capability. Properly training the wrists and ankles reduces the possibilities of strains, sprains, and pain all together.

Wrist training benefits include but are not limited to longer shooting range, explosive passing, ball control, shock absorption, etc. Ankle training benefits increase speed, movement, acceleration, vertical leaping, bounding, running, stopping, changing direction, shock absorption, etc.

Thirdly, a basketball player needs to concentrate on developing a perfect core balance. Sometimes trainees have abdominal muscles that are much stronger than their back muscles. This is due to basic overwork and neglect and it creates muscular imbalance which may lead to future injury.

Additionally postural strength is paramount and serves as a primary injury preventive attribute. Improved core strength allows a player to move his body quicker, faster, and stronger in unpredictable environments where any movement may occur. This type of conditioning is developed through unique dynamic functional tasks that require concentration and mental toughness.

* What is basketball strength?

Basketball Strength is the power to score, dominate, and defend anyone at anytime on the basketball court. It is a no fear demonstration of skill mastery and ability. Consider this a honed skill set that can not and will not be denied.