How important is it to stretch before physical activity, like basketball? It’s important!

We’re going to spend some time here going over key stretches to keep you and your child ready for your best basketball possible! Once a month we’ll go over a specific stretch designed to warm up your muscles before you play, as well as cooling down after you’re done. We’ll go through it all so stay tuned!

Here’s why it matters — stretching before you play helps you warm up and increases muscle flexibility so that you are quicker, have more stamina and keeps you free from injury. Stretching after you play helps with muscle fatigue.

Here’s how to do it — make sure you stretch for 30 seconds to 1 minute per stretch. Some reports show that 15-30 total minutes dedicated to stretch is a sufficient amount of time to prepare your body for maximum performance.

Shoulder Stretch

Shoulders are important to the game of basketball, it’ important to stretch them before you play.

One stretch that works for youth basketball players is to have players grab their right elbow with their left hand and pull the right arm to the right side of his or her body. The exercise should be repeated with the other arm and elbow. Hold for 30 seconds; repeat one time for each side of the body.