Kenneth Faried teaches the next generation of "Mini-mals" to rebound

When it comes to ripping rebounds away from the 7-foot-tall monsters of the National Basketball Association, there is no more tenacious and aggressive a player than the Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried. The guy is nicknamed “Manimal” for a reason.

But Faried isn’t all “wild beast.” As his smile denotes, there’s a softer side to the guy who holds the modern-era record for most rebounds in NCAA Division I basketball. In fact, Faried regularly gives back to his community and was even recognized in 2013 with the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his work with Athlete Ally, an organization that works to encourage acceptance of others and end homophobia in sports, and with athletes in Special Olympics. He received the Kia Community Assist Award the same year.

This year he’s giving back in the form of knowledge, offering up some tips for succeeding in the game to youngsters via Junior NBA as part of their “Skills and Drills” series. Faried, understandably, teaches proper rebounding technique (video below), while other NBA stars are featured for their areas of expertise.

Chris Paul is the expert on ball handling and Joakim Noah teaches about defense.

The Jr. NBA is the league’s youth basketball participation program that teaches the fundamentals and values of the game at the grassroots level to help grow and improve the youth basketball experience for all.

So for all you “Mini-mals” out there, keep working hard and check out Manimal’s tips for being effective rebounders. After all, someone is bound to break his record. Why not you?