The Importance of Stretching in Basketball

Michael Eugene Goldak is pursuing a master’s degree in accounting at the College of William and Mary. At the same time, he serves as an accounting assistant intern for Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. A former Division 1 baseball player, Michael E. Goldak enjoys football and watches and plays basketball in his free time.

In basketball, many players focus on spending time in the gym or weight room to maximize their speed and strength on the court. Yet they forgo stretching, even though it reduces the risk of injury and lets players jump higher and run faster.

There are two basic types of stretches that benefit basketball players: static and dynamic stretches. Dynamic stretching is best done before a workout session and involves movement. Some examples are hip stretches that incorporate a core trist as well as quad pull walks, which involve walking in a straight line and then pulling the foot behind the body to stretch the hamstring. Both of these stretches prepare the muscles and body for moving fluidly during a game.

Meanwhile, static stretches include standing calf stretches and triceps stretches. These stretches do not incorporate any movement and instead focus on holding a specific stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. Although static stretches do not involve movement, they still help the muscles loosen up and are essential in a basketball player’s stretching routine.