Point your feet forwards and place them just wider than your knees, which should be comfortably shoulder-width apart. This stance will already start to lower your center of gravity and give you a strong base. Shift your weight into the balls of your feet and lift your heels just slightly off the ground. Bend your knees and lower your body into a strong squat position. A good rule of thumb is that if you think you're low enough, try to get lower. Focus on keeping your weight in the balls of your feet, but not in your toes, which will throw you off balance. To test how low your stance is, reach down with one hand. You should be able to touch the ground with your fingers. You should still be able to move easily; if you can't, ease up on your squat just a bit. Keeping your weight low and centered on the balls of your feet will help you stop quickly, accelerate faster, and react better to the ball. Your back should be level from your shoulders to your hips and slightly arched, but not totally straight. To help you get a feel for the posture, reach your hands down to the ground while sticking your chest up. Your upper body will lean forward a bit, but keep your weight balanced. This stance might seem uncomfortable at first, but it will feel more natural with practice. Making sure your back is flat will protect it from injury while keeping you balanced. Experiment with placing your hands out to the sides, or placing one hand wide while keeping the other at the offensive player's hip or using it to dig for the ball. Whatever you do, don't let your hands fall to your sides. Your coach might have a specific hand placement they want you to use depending on how aggressive your defense is. If not, just focus on keeping your hands up and active. Try different positions and see what feels natural and effective.

Summary: Set your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Put your weight in the balls of your feet and bend your knees. Keep your back flat, but not totally straight. Raise your hands and keep them loose and active.

Think about why your boyfriend wants to break up and have empathy for him. Is his dealing with a stressful situation with family or having a hard time with work or school? Try to be there for him instead of nagging him about being with you or spending time together. Try having dinner ready when he gets home a few nights a week. Offer to help him with any projects he might have. Placing yourself in his shoes may help you figure out why he's behaving the way he is. It may also help you find a solution. If your relationship is good, there shouldn't be issues every day. But, good relationships also mean that you have the space to talk about the issues you do have in a healthy way. When these problems arise, speak to your partner about them calmly and with love. You can say something like, "It bothers me that you won't go to my cousin's wedding with me. I love you and want you to spend more time with me and my family." Urge your partner to do the same, and to speak up when issues arise so that you want work on them. Neither of you should bottle up frustrations. If you've been doing things that bother your boyfriend, consider stopping them. You might find that convincing him to stay with you is simple if you make some changes to your behavior. Work to be a better partner for him everyday. For instance, always be honest with him. Honesty is fundamental to any relationship. If you are a bit selfish, stop to think from his perspective before asking for things. Don't give in if he is asking for unreasonable things. For instance, if he doesn't like your friends and wants you to stop seeing them, he's being controlling. Consider your boyfriend's behavior. Does he break up with you often? Does he refuse to compromise even in small ways? He might be manipulating you by asking to break up just so he can control you. Get out of this relationship now so he can't continue this behavior. If he really cared about the relationship, he would try to find solutions to problems, rather than threaten to break up in order to get his way. Maybe you and your boyfriend have been together for so long that things feel really routine and boring. Spice it up a bit! Surprise him with a date night and come looking your best. Flirt with him and lean in for a long kiss when you're in the movies or watching TV. Try doing something new with him, such as taking a dance class or a painting class. Anything that gets the two of you working together would help. Space is crucial to any relationship's success. Even if he's still on the fence about breaking up with you, create some distance. Don't always answer his calls and don't respond immediately to his texts. Plan nights out with your friends and take up a new hobby to occupy some of your time. Don't use this as a means to manipulate him or control him. There are some instances where answering that call would be necessary. Rather than spending every day together, try spending every weekend together instead. You don't need to be together 24/7 in order to be a couple. Giving each other space might help you miss each other and grow closer as a result. If you spend too much time together, you might get bored of each other.
Summary: Put yourself in his shoes. Check-in when there are issues. Adjust any behaviors you agree are bad. Break up with him if he threatens to break up with you all the time. Reignite the spark. Give each other some space.