Strapping course
The course we did in basketball that I enjoyed the most was the course on strapping by Gabby Curran from Sports Medicine.
The purpose of strapping ankles or wrists is to help with injuries like strains and sprains.
It can also help support, if you have weak ankles, wrists, fingers or other body parts. The support it provides can give the athlete more confidence both on the basketball court and other sports as well. I have weak ankles and usually strap them for my dance, I usually get my Mum or my dance instructors to do this for me. Gabby has given me the confidence to strap my ankles by myself.
The equipments you need are scissors and athletic tape or strapping tape ( sometimes it can be specialized depending on which body part you are strapping). Athletic tape is very common due to its strength and adhesive qualities. It needs to allow some flexibility in the strapped body part and then you still need to have movement. These two items are found in most first aid kits.
The specific technique for strapping your ankle or wrists can vary depending on your needs and the type of injury. I will use an ankle as my example but first you must make sure the area is clean and dry. Pre wrap can be used to protect the skin but it not a requirement.
The process of strapping an ankle starts by placing the tape horizontally just above the ankle bone this will create an anchor point to support the ankle, this needs to be done twice. Then you put the first strip diagonally from the anchor point then take the tape down to under the arch of the foot, pulling it up to the other side of the ankle, then repeat from that side. While doing this apply pressure firmly. Once both sides of the ankle have been applied with adhesive tapes, put more tape cross them over the front of the ankle and then with pressure wrap them around the back of the ankle. Continue wrapping around the ankle in a figure-eight pattern to provide steadiness. To finish the ankle and to keep strength, apply another anchor, wrapping around twice.
It’s important not to make the strapping too tight as this may stop the circulation and can also be very uncomfortable.
I really appreciated this course and all that I learned from it.
Important skill
I have developed and learnt many basketball skills in this unit, but one of the most effective ones for me has been the individual defence. This pushed me and made me realise how to do effective defence and get in front of my offensive player, so l can make them move and change direction. I also learnt how to change my direction quicker as well, so l can stay on my player and prevent them from shooting and passing. This exercise we did, with a partner, when one player was on offence and the other was on defence, helped my gameplay. l was able to work on staying in front of the player and watching the offence and predicting whether they are going to change direction and/or when they are.
I found that utilising the techniques I learnt, along with communication and teamwork has really improved my defensive skills, making it more challenging for the offense to change direction and find scoring opportunities.
In this unit, individual defence, there were some parts l found easier than others. What I found hard was to get in front of the offence to stop them and change their direction. When l practised and repeated it in the lesson it got easier as l became more confident in my choices of what l needed to do to get in front of the offence, and to be more assertive. What l found easy in this unit was to move my feet quickly, as l need to do this with my dance moves, this definitely enabled me to move more confidently around the basketball court.
I will include this in my basketball games as defence is not my strongest part of my game but now I know what I need to do to beat the offence in a game situation. My confidence has improved and this has reflected on my basketball game as I am more confident with the new skills I have learnt.
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