Many youth basketball players, especially those with weight and height disadvantage, have trouble boxing out opposing players to grab a rebound. The bigger and taller player might grab the rebound over you or push you so far underneath the basket that you cannot place yourself in a position to grab a rebound.
Here, I will give a few steps and pointers on how to box out and grab a rebound, especially for those who have a weight or height disadvantage.
1. Locate your opponent immediately. I witness a lot of youth basketball players, high school players, college players, and even NBA players make the error of ball-watching (watching the ball reach the basket) when the shooter shoots the ball. Watching the ball causes you to lose track of where your opponent is, giving them an advantage of placing themselves in a better position to grab a rebound than you. One way to prevent the person you are guarding from grabbing a rebound over you will be to react very quickly to an action on the court. Once the player shoots the ball, you have to react very quickly and locate your opponent, initiating the initial contact to possess more leverage.
2. Drive your opponent out. Now that you have located your opponent, you now need to keep him away from bullying you to grab the rebound. To do that, you need to make sure you stick your hips out and stay low facing the ball once you have blocked your opponent. In order to see where your opponent is without looking at them, keep your arms extended out to locate where your opponent is and to see whether or not you need to adjust your position.
3. Want it more than the others. Sounds very simple and cliché, but it’s really the most important part of grabbing a rebound. Rebounding takes an extraordinary amount of will and effort, so you simply have to want the ball more than your opponent. You do not have to be the tallest or biggest player to grab a rebound. Former NBA superstar and Hall-of-Fame inductee Charles Barkley, who was considerably shorter than anybody at his position, is widely regarded as one of the best rebounders in basketball history, due to his tenacity and aggressiveness towards grabbing the ball. He symbolizes that you do not have to be big in order to become a great rebounder.
