What is Traveling in Basketball?

Traveling in basketball might seem a confusing word that can surely confuse anyone who watches sport. Like what is traveling in basketball and how does it work? If you are a regular basketball watcher, then I bet you don’t even remember all of its rules and regulations that the players have to follow. There are just so many that it can be tough to keep track of all of them. Not only keeping track but consider how hard it would be for the players on the court to play their hearts out along with remembering all the essential rules and regulations. Traveling is also a similar kind of rule in basketball that every player has to follow.

Traveling can be described as the violation of keeping the ball in hand without dribbling when running on the court or moving forward. A player can be penalized for the travel rule because of not dribbling the ball and taking too many steps without doing anything.

It is unquestionably and undeniably one of the most critical aspects for the players to keep in mind because every player has to move around the court. They cannot just keep committing violations on the court for not dribbling and adequately controlling the ball.

But to understand how travel works a little briefly, we will also have to take a look at the other aspects too. So let’s check what those aspects are!

Also Read: What is a Double Dribble in Basketball?

How a travel violation occurs in basketball?

Having possession in basketball is undoubtedly a great thing, but keeping it in possession is the real challenge. First of all, you have to defend the ball against all the players from the opposing team. You have to make the right passes and take the right shots so that your team won’t lose possession. Not only that, but you surely have to keep your mind open to not commit anything that could change the game for your team. One of those penalties or violations you can call is the traveling violation.

A referee can immediately call it a traveling violation if a player is found to control the ball without dribbling on the court. It is one of the basic rules in basketball to keep dribbling the ball with constant motion in order to proceed to score or pass. If anyone fails to do so, a penalty will be given that can be a game-changer in specific scenarios.

Once a player gets actual possession of the ball, he is allowed to control the ball without dribbling for just a few steps and not more than that. If he violates this rule, it will simply be a violation that will benefit the other team. You cannot imagine a game of basketball without dribbling, so how can anyone expect the players to not dribble on the court. If you are enthusiastic enough to score or pass the ball without violating anything, you will have to enhance some of your skills for the best results.

How many steps can a player take to not violate the travel rule?

It is one of the most asked questions that how many actual steps a player can take without dribbling the ball to avoid the violation of the travel rule. Well, the answer to this question can surely disappoint, so it is better not to have high hopes for it.

A player may only take two actual steps without dribbling, and if he takes the third step without doing anything, it will be called a travel violation. That is why most of the players avoid traveling without dribbling the ball because you cannot keep track of every step you take on the court. But if you are great at keeping track of your steps, you can count how many steps you have taken on the court to avoid the travel violation. But still, the penalty will haunt you if you take only one extra step on the court.

Why is it called traveling?

If a stranger who does not know anything about basketball hears the term “Traveling” or “Travel” in basketball, it will indeed not seem right. It is because there is no point in traveling in a sport which is played on a small court. But well, traveling is referred to the steps that a player takes on the court.

Even a little distance covered by the player is counted as traveling. In the actual world, traveling is counted as moving from one place to another, so isn’t it the same that is happening on the basketball court? This is what justifies this term to be even used in basketball without any problems.

What does pivot foot have to do with traveling?

When you think a rule is straightforward to follow in basketball, a new thing appears that makes it really weird and hard to understand in most cases. We have learned until now that a travel call can be made if a player travels around the court without dribbling the ball. But it can be avoided, and a player can remain on the court without dribbling in only one scenario. And that scenario is related to the pivot foot!

Pivot foot is usually the foot that remains intact with the court floor and does not even move an inch. If you want to hold the ball without dribbling on the court, you will have to make one of your feet a pivot foot. If you have decided to make one of your feet a pivot, you will not be allowed to move it in any case as long as you pass it to your teammate or take a direct shot.

One critical and vital thing to note here is that the second foot can move anywhere, or you can even spin around in the same direction. It can help you confuse the opposing players, and it will also be beneficial to hold the ball for longer.

In most cases, the pivot foot plays a crucial role in deciding if a player has committed a travel violation during the game. For that reason, players also have to keep in check which feet they have to move on the court and which ones they really can’t.

How can you make your pivot foot sturdy?

If you are willing to avoid the traveling violation during any basketball game, you will have to make your pivot foot sturdy. You cannot lose your balance; neither can you move an inch, nor else you know what can happen during the game. So the real and actual question is, how can you make your pivot foot sturdy? The only way to make your pivot foot sturdy is to practice all day long on the court with your teammate trying to defend and steal the ball from your hands.

Your teammate will have to act real so that you can move and dodge him with the help of your second foot and maintain your pivot foot in a single place. This will really help you to make your pivot foot sturdier, and you will see significant improvement in the games. So what are you waiting for? Get on to training right now!

What is the penalty of travel in basketball?

If you have committed a travel violation during any basketball game, you might now be thinking that what type of penalty will be given to you that can benefit the other team. Well, the penalty for a travel violation in basketball is a turnover. Your team losses the possession, and the other team get the possession to start the game and implement their techniques without any hassles.

This is one of the reasons travel violations can be dangerous during the crucial time, and players try to avoid it all costs to lose their possession. And yes, the possession given to the opposing team is started from the out of the bonds, which is near to the place where the travel rule was violated. That is where the game resumes, and the team starts to charge to score as many points as possible.

How to make your dribbling better to avoid traveling violation as a whole?

If you want to exterminate all the possibilities about committing a traveling violation, you will have to keep dribbling on the court without stopping or taking further steps. But we all know, dribbling is not a child’s play. It can take many months and practice to get yourself better at it, especially when you are playing against professional things.

Aside from learning the dribbling, you will also have to dodge and keep yourself from losing the ball through stealing. The best way to make your dribbling better is to play with as many defenders as you can and then practice with them. The intense pressure and the fear of losing the ball will make you learn different techniques and moves that you will follow to avoid losing the ball. Aside from that, you will also get better efficiently without losing much of your practicing time.

The conclusion

If your mind is still processing that what you have just learned, it is better to go through all the details again so you won’t have to face difficulties in a basketball game. Also, do not forget to implement all the techniques to avoid the travel violation and also remember the things that can force you to get into the violation.