What is Pickup basketball?
Pickup basketball is when a group of people come together to play five on five basketball for fun. Pickup basketball is a way for people who love basketball to play, have fun together and improve their skills, even if they don’t play high school, collegiate or professional basketball. The point of pickup basketball is to duplicate games that are played on a higher organized level within a group of people who share a love for the game.
Format of pickup basketball
The way pickup basketball works is two randomly assembled teams of five play to a selected score and the winner stays on the court and continues to play and the losers have to wait for the next game while the next five people in line play the winners. In some pickup basketball communities the format is very loose, and in others it's very strict. Scoring is usually by ones and twos, one point for a basket inside the three point like and two for a basket outside the three point line.
Sudi's take on ...
Pickup Basketball...
My name is Saahur Torres and I Attend the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Every weekday at around 6 PM, I put some basketball shorts on, grab my gym bag and some Air Jordan’s, and head over to the Johnson Gymnasium. When I arrive I put my stuff on, grab a ball, and start warming up with a few shots. Sometimes when I’m observing a game on the sideline, I think about how cool it is that all of these people come together to play basketball together just because they have fun playing the game and love it. The fact of the matter is that the pickup basketball community is just a very small bubble within a huge community of basketball that is played and watched around the world.
Social Value of Pickup Basketball...
The pickup basketball community is important to many people because it is associated with a lot of positive relationships, experiences, and a love for the sport that have been accumulated through time participating within the community. The community is an outlet to joy and satisfaction for a lot of people; basketball has significant importance in lives all across the globe. It is a great way for people to be social and develop new social skills, communication skills, and friendships. It has an effect on your social interaction off the court because basketball requires a lot of teamwork and communication on the court.
Relationships and Interactions within the Community...
Being that there are small pickup basketball communities scattered everywhere, once a community is formed, friendships, roles, interactions, and personalities come to the surface. Friendships are easily formed through consistent exposure to one another when playing. Players begin to take on certain roles within the team once people become familiar with each other’s habits, play styles, and strengths. To me, the development of these interactions, roles and relationships ultimately result in more competitive play, more fun games, and better overall environment within the community.
Characters and Attitudes...
Within the community, many different types of characters and attitudes exist, some thriving more than others. In my personal experience, people who are competitive, skillful, have good attitude and sportsmanship, value teamwork, and don’t take it too seriously are the ones who enjoy themselves the most, make everyone around them better, and improve the overall atmosphere. There are some people who play dirty, talk trash, and are always instigating conflict with others on the court. Some players aren’t honest about calls and don’t play the game by the rules. Others don’t pass the ball and hog the ball. These are the type of people who, at times, create negative environments. The beauty of this gigantic community is that it’s there to suit all types of personalities and individuals, and everyone finds a place to fit in.
My Personal Experience with the Community...
During the time I have spent participating in the community, I have learned so much, and it has had a profound impact in my life. The community has provided me with a few acquaintances that have developed into great friendships. Through these friendships and simple interactions within the pickup basketball community I have learned meaningful life lessons that have helped me approach situations in a different way and have ultimately helped shape the person that I am today. The pickup basketball community never fails to push me in my skills and basketball IQ and it continuously provides me with lessons that are easily applied to everyday life. The main impact that the community has had on my life is that it has essentially made me into a basketball player. Once I began to increase my love for basketball, take an obsession in the sport, and play everyday is when I began to increase my participation in the community. Through my increased participation in the pickup basketball community and increased exposure to basketball in my life, basketball has easily become my favorite sport of all. Pickup basketball has had a large role in making basketball my life.
My name is Saahur Torres and I Attend the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Every weekday at around 6 PM, I put some basketball shorts on, grab my gym bag and some Air Jordan’s, and head over to the Johnson Gymnasium. When I arrive I put my stuff on, grab a ball, and start warming up with a few shots. Sometimes when I’m observing a game on the sideline, I think about how cool it is that all of these people come together to play basketball together just because they have fun playing the game and love it. The fact of the matter is that the pickup basketball community is just a very small bubble within a huge community of basketball that is played and watched around the world.
Social Value of Pickup Basketball...
The pickup basketball community is important to many people because it is associated with a lot of positive relationships, experiences, and a love for the sport that have been accumulated through time participating within the community. The community is an outlet to joy and satisfaction for a lot of people; basketball has significant importance in lives all across the globe. It is a great way for people to be social and develop new social skills, communication skills, and friendships. It has an effect on your social interaction off the court because basketball requires a lot of teamwork and communication on the court.
Relationships and Interactions within the Community...
Being that there are small pickup basketball communities scattered everywhere, once a community is formed, friendships, roles, interactions, and personalities come to the surface. Friendships are easily formed through consistent exposure to one another when playing. Players begin to take on certain roles within the team once people become familiar with each other’s habits, play styles, and strengths. To me, the development of these interactions, roles and relationships ultimately result in more competitive play, more fun games, and better overall environment within the community.
Characters and Attitudes...
Within the community, many different types of characters and attitudes exist, some thriving more than others. In my personal experience, people who are competitive, skillful, have good attitude and sportsmanship, value teamwork, and don’t take it too seriously are the ones who enjoy themselves the most, make everyone around them better, and improve the overall atmosphere. There are some people who play dirty, talk trash, and are always instigating conflict with others on the court. Some players aren’t honest about calls and don’t play the game by the rules. Others don’t pass the ball and hog the ball. These are the type of people who, at times, create negative environments. The beauty of this gigantic community is that it’s there to suit all types of personalities and individuals, and everyone finds a place to fit in.
My Personal Experience with the Community...
During the time I have spent participating in the community, I have learned so much, and it has had a profound impact in my life. The community has provided me with a few acquaintances that have developed into great friendships. Through these friendships and simple interactions within the pickup basketball community I have learned meaningful life lessons that have helped me approach situations in a different way and have ultimately helped shape the person that I am today. The pickup basketball community never fails to push me in my skills and basketball IQ and it continuously provides me with lessons that are easily applied to everyday life. The main impact that the community has had on my life is that it has essentially made me into a basketball player. Once I began to increase my love for basketball, take an obsession in the sport, and play everyday is when I began to increase my participation in the community. Through my increased participation in the pickup basketball community and increased exposure to basketball in my life, basketball has easily become my favorite sport of all. Pickup basketball has had a large role in making basketball my life.