Spinning a basketball on your finger is a simple trick that, once mastered, is really impressive! This activity develops concentration, hand-eye coordination and balance and can be played indoors or out. Challenge your kids to spin the ball for 30 seconds or more, just like the pros. Give it a whirl!
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The first thing to do is find where all of the grooves in the basketball join up. This is, ideally, where you’ll be balancing the ball on your finger because it’ll be steadier. Before you start, have this area pointing downwards as you’ll be spinning the ball horizontally around this axis. It creates a cleaner spin this way, too!
Hold the basketball in your dominant hand, fingers splayed and with it balanced on your fingertips not your palm. Start with the ends of your fingers pointing towards your body, throw the ball into the air with a 180-degree twist so that your fingers end up facing away from your body. You can guide the spin with your other hand when you’re starting out.
When you catch the ball you want your index finger to be at the point where all of the grooves meet. This will help the ball balance on your finger and keep it in a steady position. The ball should be around face height as you catch it. The faster the spin the steadier the ball.
The hard part, is keeping the spin going once it’s on your finger. Use the fingertips of your non-dominant hand to guide the ball in the direction that it is spinning. At first this will probably cause the ball to fall, you need to experiment and find the perfect pressure to guide the ball and keep it spinning!
