I Want to Be a Pro B-Ball Star

So ya dig sports but need some help with your game? Don't understand some of the rules of football, basketball or soccer? Got a gripe about P.E. class, cheerleading, teammates or coaches, or anything? Why not ? The Kidzworld Coach can help ya work out team problems or give ya tips and advice to improve your game - all ya gotta do is ask!

Hey Coach,
I was wondering if you have to take P.E. for the whole time in high school to be a pro basketball player as a career. I love basketball and want to be a pro as a career but I suck. I practice but I never get anywhere and it doesn't help that my neighbors always tell me to stop playing. Please help me.
Charles Barkley

Hey Charles Barkley,
Sorry to tell you this - but it is very tough to become a pro basketball player - especially if you suck at basketball. To become a pro, you have to practice a lot, play ball in high school and usually college, have tons of talent and be pretty tall. There are millions of kids who play basketball but there are only a few hundred jobs up for grabs in the NBA and WNBA - so you're more likely to get a date with Britney Spears or Beyonce than get a job shooting hoops with Kobe Bryant.

But don't let that discourage you from playing ball. If you love the game, keep on practicing and playing and your game will improve. Ask other players, coaches and your P.E. teacher for advice as well. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school team and he went on to become a pretty decent player - so anything can happen, especially if you believe in yourself. As for your neighbors, tell them to shut their trap and get a life. If they have nothing better to do than tell some kid to stop shooting hoops, then you don't have to waste your time listening to them spew hot air.

Hey Coach,
I am on the cheerleading team already but I don't think I'm that good because I don't catch on to the cheers that fast. What should I do?
divagirl2006

Hey divagirl2006,
A cheerleader who doesn't know how to cheer? What's up with that? The cheers are a pretty important part of cheerleading - so you need to find a way to "catch on." Ask your coach or team captain for some help memorizing the cheers or to go over them a little bit slower during practices. You could also try practicing the cheers & moves at night while in your room or something. That way, they will slowly sink into your brain and become second nature. Once you remember the moves and words easily, you should still keep practicing to perfect 'em. Most of all - have a little confidence - they picked you for a reason right? You can't be THAT bad.

Do you have a question on sports, P.E. class, rules to sports, fitness or health? to the Kidzworld Coach. Keep in mind peeps, the Kidzworld Coach isn't a doctor or a professional athlete or anything like that. He's just a dude who digs sports, plays 'em and knows a lot about 'em. You should always talk to your 'rents, a doctor or your school gym teacher before starting a new sport or a new exercise.

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