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PAN AM Basketball Footwork

pan am basketball      From hoop to hoop, your eyes will swim back and forth admiring this game of balance, power and propulsion.  Opposing players demonstrate strength and coordination in every step. Their eyes focus on the ball while their minds anticipate several moves ahead.  Basketball is a fun game of fast footwork and fancy ‘kicks’.

Spot this Footwork on the Floor:

Ready Position:  able to move in any direction, including jumping up to block a shot or standing still to take a charge.

Heels Up:  putting weight on the area of the foot directly behind and across all of the toes along with the ball of the foot. Raising the heels off the floor automatically lowers the body into a slight squat.

Wide Base:  standing with feet shoulder-width apart, wider at times

Jump-Steps:  jumping far and fast off one foot, landing on the other foot while regaining and maintaining balance

Sprinting:  lifting opposite leg and knee high up toward chest, while alternately and aggressively pumping arms

Two-Foot Jump Stop:  getting both feet airborne, landing with both feet touching the floor simultaneously and immediately dropping into a ready position stance to help regain balance.

Tripod Lunge Step:  when approaching basket for a layup, player has outside leg and foot as one point of the tripod, and two hands stretched out, as the other two points of the tripod.

Pivoting:  anchoring one foot to the floor with heel up, turning and moving the other foot without a causing a traveling violation.

Jab Step:  combining a pivot and a fake jump-step. Keep heel up on pivot foot for balance, change direction before dribbling, then push off quickly.

Crossover Step:  pivoting while bringing opposite shoulder, hip and foot across body and in same direction. Pushing off pivot using a jump step, raising opposite knee high.

Drop Step:  pivoting using leg and hip to block and hold off the opposing player.

Inside Foot 1-2 Step:  shooter’s feet and shoulders facing the basket; right-hander’s footwork go in left–right order, allowing player to brake, stop and gain balance and control on dominant leg.

Go to – http://www.toronto2015.org/schedule

Resources: 

http://www.toronto2015.org/basketball

http://www.usab.com/youth/news/2011/06/10-fundamentals-for-proper-footwork.aspx

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.   1 Corinthians 9:25 (NIV)

TRAINING – COMPETITION – PODIUM

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“WINGS” Lyrics sung by Macklemore

Image

I was seven years old

When I got my first pair

And I stepped outside

And I was like, Momma

This air bubble right here

It’s gonna make me fly

I hit that court

And when I jumped, I jumped

I swear I got so high

I touched the net, Mom I touched the net

This is the best day of my life

Air Maxes were next

That air bubble, that mesh

The box, the smell, the stuffing, the tread

In school

I was so cool

I knew that I couldn’t crease em

My friends couldn’t afford em

Four stripes on their Adidas

On the court I wasn’t the best

But my kicks were like the pros

Yo, I stick out my tongue so everyone could see that logo

Nike Air Flight, book bag was so dope

And then my friend Carlos’ brother got murdered for his fours, whoa

See he just wanted a jump shot

But they wanted his Starter coat, though

Didn’t wanna get caught

From Genesee Park to Othello

You’d get clowned for those Pro Wings, with the velcro

Those were not tight

I was trying to fly without leaving the ground

Cause I wanted to be like Mike, right

Wanted to be him

I wanted to be that guy

I wanted to touch the rim

I wanted to be cool

And I wanted to fit in

I wanted what he had, America, it begins

 

[Hook]

I want to fly

Can you take me far away

Give me a star to reach for

Tell me what it takes

And I’ll go so high

I’ll go so high

My feet won’t touch the ground

Just stitch my wings

And pull the strings

I bought these dreams

That all fall down

 

[Verse 2]

We want what we can’t have

Commodity makes us want it

So expensive, damn

I just got to flaunt it

Got to show em

So exclusive, this that new shit

A hundred dollars for a pair of shoes

I would never hoop in

Look at me, look at me

I’m a cool kid

I’m an individual, yeah

But I’m part of a movement

My movement told me be a consumer and I consumed it

They told me to just do it

I listened to what that swoosh said

Look at what that swoosh did

See it consumed my thoughts

“Are you stupid?

Don’t crease ’em! Just leave ’em in that box!”

Strangled by these laces, laces I can barely talk

That’s my air bubble and I’m lost, if it pops

We are what we wear

We wear what we are

But see I look inside the mirror and think Phil Knight tricked us all

Will I stand for change

Or stay in my box

These Nikes help me define me

But I’m trying to take mine

Off

 

[Hook]

 

[Verse 3]

They started out

With what I wear to school

That first day

Like these are what make you cool

And this pair, this would be my parachute

So much more than just a pair of shoes

Nah, this is what I am

What I wore, this is the source of my youth

This dream that they sold to you

For a hundred dollars and some change

Consumption is in the veins

And now I see it’s just another pair of shoes

 

http://rapgenius.com/Macklemore-and-ryan-lewis-wing-lyrics

The song is a single released by Seattle rapper Macklemore and his producer, Ryan Lewis.

 

“The song “Wings” is about the pursuit of identity through the means of consumerism. The attempt is to dissect our infatuation and attachment to logos, labels, brands and the fleeting happiness that is intrinsically linked to the almighty power of the purchase. The subject I use in the song is shoes, but its aim is to paint a broader picture of being a consumer and tracing the lineage back to my first memory of retail infused desire.”

http://macklemore.com/post/43688861186/wings-the-nba-all-star-game-selling-out

 

Photo Source:  http://www.nicekicks.com/2011/07/28/wings-1-on-1-with-macklemore/