The "GUIDE HAND" is now called the "BALANCE HAND"

Yes, YES, YES - you can continue to call it “The GUIDE Hand” for it is your choice, but hear us out! 

We would admit changing a name of a tried and true phrase might seem sacrilegious coming from us, but after a great deal of studying the term “guide hand” we are 100% convinced we, in the basketball world, have used the phrase incorrectly since it’s inception. 

Not sure who invented the phrase nor who popularized it, but we must change it for the phrase is VERY misleading. 

According to it’s definition, the word GUIDE means to “have an influence on the course of action of (someone or something)”. 

SIMILAR WORDS: Direct , Steer 

WORD USED IN A SENTENCE: "He guided her team to the championship bracket of one of the most competitive tournaments in the country". 

In the world of shooting a basketball, it is known fact that we essential shoot with one hand and the other hand sometimes referred as “the off hand” does very little in actually shooting the basketball particularly as a player matures physically. 

With that we suggest rebranding “The Guide Hand” to the “The Balance Hand” and according to actual definition of the word and from our vantage point it is an accurate depiction of “the off hand”. 

As per a quick google search, balance means “an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.” 

SIMILAR WORDS: Stability , Steadiness 

WORD USED IN A SENTENCE: “She lost his balance and fell while trying to tackle the offensive player.” 

Obviously, as a coach, parent, player, trainer etc - you are entitled to your opinion and we are not here to change your mind, but we hope by you reading our rationale you are more equipped to understand our point of view. 

 #carryon