We naturally associate basketball, as a sport, with the US. When you hear the word basketball, you typically think of the NBA, LeBron and 7-foot+ Americans sinking shots from half-court like it's nothing.
Well, believe it or not, participation levels in the UK are actually on the up, particularly at a university level. We're always keeping an eye on rising British athletes and who's playing what sport and there certainly are more and more people heading to the court, rather than the pitch.
And that's what's brought us to Jenna Hoschouer. One of Cardiff Met's Archer's finest spoke to us about how she uses tape to keep her body feeling 100% for each and every game.
TAPING FOR BASKETBALL:
WHO IS JENNA HOSCHOUER?
Born and bred in Ohio, Jenna (@jennahoschouer) has been a big basketball fan for years. Following the 2023 champions, Las Vegas Aces, in the WNBA and South Carolina in the NCAA, you could say she lives and breathes the sport...
She made the move to South Wales to begin her studies at Cardiff Met Uni and typically, it didn't take her long to get set-up with the 'Archers'.
The team itself has gone from 'strength to strength' over the past 25 years or so and back in 2023, they announced the signing of their brand new point guard in Jenna. And for anybody that doesn't know, a point guard is arguably the most important position on the basketball court. Acting as the general in many respects.
Playing as often as she does can be pretty demanding on the body and, like that long lingering moment in a romance movie, that's when we found each other.
HOW DOES JENNA USE TAPE FOR BASKETBALL?
After interacting with her online, we travelled down to Cardiff Met to sit down with Jenna, watch her play and ask her some questions to try and work out how tape benefits her when she's playing basketball.
On a normal week she could be playing as many as two full games and have four training sessions in that time too. Her pre-game routine includes an iced coffee, a sports drink, her get-hyped mix and a great deal of stretching.
"I LIKE THE SUPPORT IT GIVES MY KNEE"
Another way that she makes sure she's feeling her best is with tape. In her own words, "I’ve been using SPORTTAPE since I started in uni. During basketball, it’s a lot of hard cuts, so the extra support definitely makes my knee feel a lot better".
Jenna's uses K Tape to keep her knee from causing her problems. This is how she applies the tape to anybody that is wondering:
"I cut half a piece to put across my patellar tendon, and then I make two anchor spots to do a cross under my knee. I like the support that it gives to my knee, particularly when I’m playing basketball." Check out the image below to see how it should look.
"I like using K Tape because I’m able to easily apply it by myself."
As well strapping her knee up, Jenna told us that she also regularly uses Zinc Oxide Tape to keep her fingers and thumbs secure, but said that a lot of her teammates also use it for the same purpose, but on their ankles.
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON BASKETBALL INJURIES?
Flying across a basketball court for multiple games a week definitely invites a few more injuries than you would like, but these are typically the most common:
There are a lot more applications that could be really helpful for anybody that plays basketball. Sometimes you may just need a few strips of K Tape, but it could be that you need to be strapped up. You can check them all out on our learn page now!
A big thank you to Jenna for her time and explaining how she uses tape when she plays basketball. If you'd like to ask her, or us, any other questions about basketball or general taping tips, get in touch. We're happy to help.
