Where Are All of the Girls Basketball Players?

As women’s basketball is on the growing rise in popularity in America, thanks in large part to Caitlin Clark, in Alaska there is an interesting contradiction to this trend. In the last decade there has been a palpable decline of girls basketball players in urban areas and, contrarily, a substantial increase in volleyball players.

A necessary disclaimer, this statement is based on a decade of experience as a basketball player development coach and strength and conditioning coach in Alaska. There currently is no research to support this claim that is not the opinion of myself or others; and with that I’m thinking this would make a great thesis for a University of Alaska Anchorage college senior.

We really need to identify if there is an actual exodus happening, and why.

As a basketball player development coach, I train athletes of all ages primarily in Anchorage and around ninety percent of the kids across all ages are boys.

I am also fortunate to be able to do basketball camps all across the state of Alaska. While the 90% trend does not apply in these cases, it does help highlight the reality that basketball is Alaska’s primary sport.

Many non-Alaskans think it’s hockey.

While we do play hockey here, it is an expensive sport to play and manage logistically. In poor rural areas across the state, the ability for a community to have a hockey team is less likely than you growing another big toe.

What is easy to play anywhere is basketball. You don’t even need shoes. I’ve been to several communities in Alaska where kids show up in socks because their family, for whatever reason, hasn’t been able to get them gym shoes, and after basketball camp, they’re at it again shooting outside on hoops at parks.

Ballet shoes and boots at basketball camp in Point Hope, Alaska.

Thus, in rural Alaska, basketball is alive and well for both genders and I don’t see that changing any time soon. But, in urban areas like Anchorage, there appears to be a significant downward trend in numbers, and here are my three main theories as to why:

Volleyball is the pretty girl, popular sport to play

In volleyball, you can sparkle not sweat, and for teenage girls this is a much more appealing reality than becoming a human swamp sprinting up and down a basketball court.

Being a great basketball players requires a level of ruthlessness and aggressiveness that isn’t ingrained in what we as society typically value for our young girls. Most of the time, when you meet a young girl who is unapologetically emboding these areas of toughness, a male role model in her life (and sometimes female) is not far away encouraging her to grow these qualities, and most often has a background in athletics.

Basketball is mentally and physically demanding

In the weight room I’ve trained collegiate volleyball players, and currently at the Sweat Lab we work with the high school level, and with all due respect to all the wonderful volleyball athletes out there, there tends to be a general lack of tolerance to intensity.

By design when comparing volleyball to other sports, it’s one of the least intense by nature. While it challenges athletes to have excellent hand eye coordination, vertical jump, hitting power, reaction time, and be excellent at volleyball skills, the need for a high aerobic threshold, muscular endurance, and ability to create and take physical contact, is not like it is in other sports.

This doesn’t mean volleyball players don’t have or need a level of toughness, my argument is that the toughness needed for volleyball is simply much different than that of basketball. And, different isn’t bad, but I am guessing that it’s a deterrent for a lot of young girls out there to continue with basketball as they get to a middle and high school age.

Her basketball experience was a bad one

The number of young ladies who have ended up at my skill development sessions because they need to, “rebuild their confidence” is very disheartening. I’m not trying to point fingers or offend anyone who takes on the responsibility of coaching a team because that’s certainly no easy task, but there are a few bad eggs out there who unfortunately have misguided priorities and are more focused on winning instead of building players love of, and character through, the game.

Having played volleyball and basketball myself in high school, I will say this, volleyball is an extremely fun and valuable sport, and this article is not intended to take anything away from that.

What it is intended for, is to bring awareness to the possibility that this is happening at an accelerated rate and my question remains:

Why is this actually happening?

What are your thoughts?

Ball Handling Warm Up & Workout

Ball handling is one of the easiest skills to work on because there are so many drills you can do and you can do them just about anywhere.

Some coaches aren’t fans of two ball ball handling because you aren’t practicing game-like moves; however, I personally think it’s a great way to warm up your body and mind! If you can handle two balls with ease, handling one is going to feel a lot easier.

Two ball drills shown in order:

• Dribble Elimination

• Juggling

• Behind the Back Juggling

• Pin & Counter

• Three Dribble Switch

Learning change of pace with one ball is essential to being an effective player, especially if the ball is in your hands often.

Change of pace drills shown in order:

• Rhythm Cross Between

• Glide Cross to Between the Legs Advance

• High Bounce to Low First Step Bounce Back

• Hesitation to Speed Stop

Time to put in the work! Happy sweat collecting.

Community Spotlight: Bethel, Alaska

The second of two daily flights decends into Bethel, Alaska. As far as the eye can see are patches of lakes, ponds, and rivers. This part of Alaska is characterized by a marshy tundra unique to northern coastal areas of the world.

The Bethel census area is the small red square on the left of the map.

Originally a Yup’ik settlement called “Mumtrekhlogamute,” meaning “smokehouse people,” this area has belonged to Native Alaskans for thousands of years. Now, home to 6,270 people and considered a large community in Alaska, it is a hub for the many surrounding small villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region.

Like many rural Alaskan communities, the people of Bethel practice traditional ways to this day. In fact, while we were there, many people were out on their annual fall moose hunt, which is a small window of time that opens for about a week so residents can go out and hunt in order to fill their freezers for the winter.

Given that the grocery store in town has astronomical prices for food, this time of year is important not only as a cultural practice, but critical for feeding families without going bankrupt.

For the most part, the ground in Bethel is made up of this sandy mud.

A modern cultural component to Bethel, and the vast majority of communities in Alaska, is the love for basketball. This simple game is a lifeline for youth in these communities. It is a healthy outlet not only mentally and physically, but from a developmental standpoint as well. Kids have the opportunity to learn how to fight through adversity, work together, communicate better, grow as leaders, and so much more. Furthermore, basketball and other sports, provides a major source of pride, excitement, and happiness for the entire community.

“Even on the darkest days, no matter what, you have basketball. Basketball’s there always, no matter if it’s outside your house, at your friend’s house, or in the gym. It’s always right there, and I believe that has just really guided me and helped me through life.”

— Gus E., Junior at Bethel High School

As someone who also grew up in a town of similar size and remoteness in Alaska, I understand to a very personal level the immense impact basketball can have on a persons life. I have the privilege to have had my journey with basketball bring me to be in a place educationally and experientially where I am able go to communities in Alaska and put on basketball camps with other amazing coaches. It’s a unique gift I’m grateful for daily.

It’s hard to understand what life is like in these communities unless you’ve been - shared laughs, suffering, meals, conversations - with the people. It is an honor to be able to share a snapshot of that with you in this Bethel Community Spotlight

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The middle schoolers.

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The high schoolers.

3 Move: Solo Shooting Workout

Working out isn’t as fun as with other people, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil. When you can’t drag anyone else with you to the gym, here’s a great workout for you to get in solo.

The three moves broken down in this short video increase in difficulty, and there is a point system so that you can make your workout more challenging and play a mini-game with yourself.

Ways to Level Up your workout even more

• Set a time goal to score the 11pts in.

• Mix up the 3 moves at random.

Didn’t make your goal? Hold yourself accountable by working on your weaknesses:

• Down and backs

• Push ups

• Wall sits

• Core

• Defensive slides

• Squats

• Lunges

Find this workout helpful? Leave a comment!

3 Common Mistakes Players Make With Their Shooting Mechanics

As the third hardest skill to learn in sports, learning to shoot the basketball takes hours of time, refinement, repetition, and disciplined habits in order to get good at it. That said, it's very easy to develop bad habits!

Mistake #1: Awkward Stance

Players most often have a stance that is too wide (vs too narrow). This can cause a valgus stress on your knees which can eventually lead to knee pain. It is also inefficient because when your stance is wider than your hips on any vertical movement (jumping on a rebound, shot, etc.), your body leaks power horizontally and you aren’t able to get as much power from your legs into your shot. This can in turn lead to weird compensations with your upper body!

Thus, start refining your shot by first tackling the broken parts of your stance instead of starting from the top down.

Focus on

• Hip width stance

• Toes slightly angled away from your shooting hand

• Legs bent in an athletic position

• Ball straight out from your belly button

Drill: Line (or) Cone Hop Overs

Drill: 180 Degree Shots

Mistake #2: Pausing on Your Shot

Some coaches or players refer to this is having a “hitch”. It’s kind of like when you’re listening to your favorite song and your friend in the backseat starts singing along off key and the entire song is now ruined. Simply put, pauses in your shot destroy the rhythm.

As a strength and conditioning specialist as well as a player development coach, I often relate this in my mind to a hang clean or hang snatch.

In a hang snatch, for someone to lift a significant amount of weight over their head safely and efficiently, the entire body must work together synergistically. Weight lifters refer to this as “triple extension”, but this same term can be applied to a basketball players shot. If a part of the chain (ankles, knees, hips) or also in our case, arms, moves independently of the other moving parts, it’s just not as efficient.

Focus on

• Your legs and the ball moving up at the exact same time

• Pretend the ball and your hips are connected by a string

Drill: Tap & Shoot

Mistake #3: Too Low of a Follow Through

Having too low of a follow through results in a flat shot. If you’re shooting in the gym alone, you’ll know your shot is flat if it’s constantly hitting the front of the rim. Before fixing this, make sure you have worked on the other two mistakes first! A high, perfect follow through is a result of the rest of the process being on point.

Focus on

• Bringing the ball directly above your forehead

• Extending your elbow under then through the ball

• Keep the ball off your palm

• Freeze your guide hand at your release point (right above your forehead)

Drill: Extension Shots