Is 15 too old to start playing basketball?

Question

I'm 15 and I moved to a new school and the coach wanted me to play because I'm tall, but I really suck. I guess my question is will 3 years left of high school be enough time to get really good? I'm naturally pretty athletic and I'm a really hard worker, but is that enough? Is there anyone who started a sport at a late age and was really good?

I'll be a sophomore this fall..

Answer 1

The following has been written about Bill Russell: "Remarkably, basketball had not always come so easy to Bill Russell. It was something he had had to work at in high school and was not even successful at it until his senior year. He had been cut from tryouts for his junior high school team in Oakland and barely made a junior varsity squad as a high school sophomore.

In Champion of American Sport, Pachter quoted Russell as saying; "I should epitomize the American dream for I came against long odds, from the farthest back to the very top of my profession. I was not immediately good at basketball. It did not come easy."

Bill Russell has been named the best NBA basketball player in NBA history with two NCAA basketball championships, one Olympics Gold Medal in basketball, 11 NBA championships in 12 NBA Final appearances in a 13 year NBA career, or 14 major championships in a 14 year period of time from 1955 to 1969. Kind of hard to do much better than that.

I don't know what your definition of good is, but I would call that pretty good for someone who started seriously playing basketball, and not all that well, as a sophomore in high school like Bill Russell who was mentioned above who was tall and a natural athlete.

Being a natural athlete helps as does being a really hard worker.

Being tall helps; however, being tall and 15 usually leads to some coordination problems which can be overcome by individual practice, practice, practice on basic fundamentals.

I think why you feel like you really suck is maybe a combination of lack of significant prior basketball experience and maybe a lack of coordination which is normal for a tall 15 year old. With a lot of individual practice some of these coordinations problems will eventually be overcome; however at your age, you might feel that your basketball play is "sucky" for about a year as getting your coordination and basketball skills will not come overnight, or even in six weeks or three months, or maybe longer for being a tall 15 year old.

I think a couple of good points have been brought up in attending a basketball camp for learning fundamentals, and, a woman's tendency to have knee problems more frequently than men in any sport.

You need to learn the fundaments from somewhere like preferably an experienced basketball player or coach. At a minimum a basketball camp, but I feel like basketball camps are held to make a player or coach money, and, although they mean good at a basketball camp, you need close individual one on one instruction and coaching for a number of months rather than just what you can learn at a camp. My feeling is more regular and closer monitoring will be more helpful with fundamentals and learning from someone who has a lot of knowledge of the game. You can practice quite a bit on your own as practice, practice, practice for hours a day makes perfect over many months. It all depends on how bad you want to be good. One of Bill Russell's favorite sayings has always been, "It is better to be good than lucky".

Practicing various dribbling drills and free throw shooting are two good areas to concentrate on. Dribbling drills will help improve coordination, particularly for a young tall teen like you, and free throw shooting developing a good shot with backspin are very important.

One comment has been made about knees. It is a statistical fact that girls and women suffer a higher number of knee injuries than do boys and men as a female's knee joint is the same but slightly different from a male's knee joint. I feel that with a combination of sprints and/or running several miles a day on a wooden court or up and down a grass football field that this helps strengthen the knee joints tremendously whether female or male which I feel is very important.

Individual practicing on a good indoor wooden court is important as the wooden court helps cushion the body from continuous jumps and running; however, it is hard to find a good wooden court that is empty to practice your basics and fundaments.

I know that for me, I really didn't seriously take up basketball until I was 17 and felt really "sucky" at it for about nine months for being tall, uncoordinated, and non-athletic. You say that you are a natural athlete which gives you an advantage over what I had to go through to try to good individual skills and a good shot through much practice; however, sometimes being a natural athlete, a person tends to either not work hard during individual practice time or practices less than should be done on individual skills like the basics (dribbling drills, etc...) and your shot (free throw shot, etc...).

You need to develop good individual practice habits to develop your game in addition to daily basketball team practice if you make the team. At least an extra hour a day during team practice months working on various aspects of your game is important; however, the most important time is like right now in the summer is where you can spend at a minimum several hours working on individual fundamentals and shooting up to a maximum of 3 1/2 hours a day of individual practice.

Just going and and playing in "pick up" basketball games with friends will not improve your basics all that much and you can be in "pick up" basetball games for several hours with a group and shoot the baskeball less than 100 times a day just as during basketball season where basketball practices are not designed to allow you to shoot the basketball much.

That is why it is so important to use the off season, particularly the summer months to work two to three and one-half hours on your fundamentals where you can shoot hundreds and hundreds of free throws and hundreds of various other shots such as layups, running jump shots, and stationary shots which cannot be done during school at a regular basketball practice.

That is if you are serious about being the best you can be and you say you are a hard worker.

Even with such intense individual work on your game, there might be six straight weeks where you still feel that your game is "sucky" as you don't see any significant improvements as it takes practice, practice, practice as in individual practice for hours a day over many months at your age and skill level to see improvements. It is important that during basketball season that you devote at least one more hour above and beyond basketball practice to practicing your fundaments, your free throw shot, etc... as at a typical basketball practice in a team environment your actual time spent with a basketball or shooting is very minimal.

I emphasize practicing free throw shooting as to develop a shot with good backspin which will be the same shot in form that you will use for either running jump shots or stationary jump shots.

Don't worry about practicing three point shooting at the beginning as taking medium range jumpers will build up your leg strength which is necessary for a good three point shot. As you practice your jump shots, over time with improved basketball leg strength, the range of your shot will gradually expand further and further from the basket.

I am not a big believer in weight training particularly as weight training will throw your shot off particularly if you lift weights before practicing your shot. I believe that 30 minutes of shooting practice is much more important than 30 minutes in a weight room as you are going to be playing basketball and not participating in strength competitions. Now, I do believe in natural strength building like pushups, situps, etc... Natural exercises such as these along with all of your individual and team practice time (running and jumping) tend to develop muscles that you will use playing basketball.

Stay away from exercises such as running stairs or doing deep knee bends which I feel put undue pressure on the knee joints. Practicing on a wooden basketball court takes pressure off the knees. And, strengthening the knees either through sprints on a wooden basketball court or running up and down a football field on grass are important to build the muscles around the knees to prevent knee injuries.

So, you are not too old to start playing basketball as mentioned at the start Bill Russell really didn't get started playing basketball until his sophomore year in high school.

Don't feel frustrated if your basketball game initially stays at the "sucky" level for the first year as you develop your fundaments, read a good book on basketball fundaments (and, I do not believe that there is only one right way to shoot a basketball as long as you develop a shot that has good back spin and a good wrist release) and practice, practice, practice on your own. Then, all of a sudden, you will notice maybe a year later a big jump in your basketball abilities as you will not see daily, weekly, or even monthly improvements.

One of the good things about "practice, practice, practice" is that everything will become second nature, and, totally natural. You will not have to think about what you are doing. If you are out on the basketball court in a game situation and thinking, then you will be lost. The basketball should become like a natural part of your body without even thinking about the basketball or without even thinking what you are doing.

You say you are a hard worker, so "practice, practice, practice" particularly by yourself on your individual skills.

Being tall, the coach will always want you to play underneath the basket, but if you develop a good shot, then, there is no reason why you should not be able to pick and choose any position you want to even out on the perimeter.

Magic Johnson was a 6' 9" point guard because he had all of the basic fundaments particularly in dribbling and could pass (practicing passing by yourself is kind of difficult; although throwing the basketball at a certain spot on a gym wall is a way to practice a little of that).

It is all in your attitude like if you really want to become a basketball player and how good of a basketball player you want to become.

I cannot say too much more as a lot of your early basketball learning and skills need to be learned from someone who knows how to do it right as far as fundamentals and what a good form in a shot should be.

Answer 2

There is a certain specific grace that is required to play each sport - for example, why is Michael Jordan a laughingstock of baseball while one of the legends of basketball?

However, I DO believe that hard work can take you very far in basketball, as is a desire to learn the game. If it interests you, then I would say that you could become quite good at it, if you are willing to happily work hard. If not, then perhaps it is not for you.

Your coach wants you to play because you are tall? If you have ESPN or another outlet, I would recommend watching what the centers and forwards do.

A quick search should explain these positions. I played a forward for four years and love it. Very physical, you are positioned underneath the basket (perfect for rebounding, you lucky tall thing!) and there are a lot of loose elbows and banging bodies.

Anyway, your coach will not greatly jeopardize the success of his team. He probably won't give you much game time IF you are truly just a terrible player. Work hard, watch games when you can to learn moves, and be ready to run and sweat.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Its not too late. 3 years is good time to develop. Persue your goal, nothing feels better than achieving that goal. I Desagna Diop played for only seven years and was drafted in the top ten. 3 years under good coaching and personal desire to achieve that goal is all it takes to really improve your game.

Don't worry, basketball is exciting to play. You'll catch on quickly and really start doing great.
Keep at it!!

Answer 5

no, ofcourse u can play. the fact that u are a hard worker means that ull be able to play quicker, and i think ull do great. i play basketball cause im tall too, but i stink. horribly. but that doesnt mean i stop playing, if u find out u love the game, thats all that matters, no matter how good or bad u are. go ahead and play. u wont regret it.

Answer 6

If you're a natural athlete and a hard worker, you can be AMAZING in three years. Put up a hoop in your driveway so you can practice over the summer and go for it. And remember who gave you this advice when you're in the WNBA.
Best of luck!

Answer 7

no, it's not too late at starting a new sport but first u might want to go to a camp for the basics and then keep goin on with it bc basketball is no joke i'm torn my acl and hyperextenden both my knees 2 .. and it's very competative and lots of contact.. so just makes sure what your goin into..

Answer 8

Practice and Determination
Oh yeah Tim Duncan didn't start playing basketball until high school, he was actually a swimmer.

Answer 9

definitely not too late to play bball. you are still young and since you say you are natural athelete you aren't going to be all uncoordinated and look awkward running up and down the court, which is what most late bloomers look like when all they got is height and they are just trying to see if they were cut out to play basketball. just remember hard work pays off so keep practicing and stay healthy.

Answer 10

No Tim Duncan started playing when he just came to high school before that he was a swimmer.

Answer 11

Hakeem and some other players also started late. Even Tim Duncan's first love was really swimming.