The Hooper's Resource Library: Training, Youth Guidelines, Leagues & Community

A note before the links: these are external sites we don't control, and none of them pay to be here. Where something costs money, we say so.

Getting better (without wrecking your tendons)

• ILoveBasketballTV — the biggest training channel in the game: handles, shooting form, and footwork with clear progressions. Treat its jumping programs as what they are — a load spike to ramp into.
• BBallBreakdown — film study and the why behind the game; the thinking player's channel, and easy on the tendons.

The youth guidelines every AAU parent should know exist

• Jr. NBA and USA Basketball — the NBA and USA Basketball jointly publish youth participation guidelines: age-based recommendations on games per week, rest days, and avoiding single-sport specialization too early. They exist because the year-round youth circuit outran kids' growth plates — the same story our parents' guide covers from the injury side.

Bay Area courts and leagues

• SF Rec & Park adult leagues — the city's rec basketball machine, with seasons at every level.
• Kezar Pavilion — the city's storied old gym and the home of its league culture; if you play organized ball in SF, you'll end up here eventually.
• The pickup map changes block by block — Panhandle and Mission playground runs in the city, lit courts across the East Bay and Peninsula — and every regular knows the schedule beats any website. Wherever you run: the warm-up travels with you.