Improve Your Shooting With....

I hope you are off to a good week. Here in Indiana the weather is ever changing. It is 38 and rainy one morning and 65 and sunny the next. I guess that is spring weather.

One thing that never changes is you have to put the ball in the hoop to get points. How you go about putting it in the hoop is another story.

There are many different shooting programs and coaches out there. All of them have the goal of improving the consistent nature of the shot. The funny thing is if you look at some of the best shooters we have in the game they all have a little different technique- but they all are consistent with their own technique.

Steve Nash shoots from off his shoulder- so did Larry Bird. Reggie Miller released in line with his head plus had a crossing follow through. You can list all the great shooters, and they all had different set-ups and follow-throughs, but they all grooved a pattern that worked for them.

Personally, I shoot and teach shooting more like the way Steve Nash shoots. I want the ball to be over my shooting elbow. I don't want the ball passing my eyes- I keep the window open by having the ball travel up the side of my face and in front of my shoulder. My release is at the hoop every time. When I position the ball in front of my face or in front of my shooting eye my wrist is not comfortable, and I normally shoot off target to the left. BUT THIS IS ME! I am comfortable in the pattern of shooting, because I grooved the pattern for many years.

When I am teaching young kids to shoot, I want them to balance the ball in their shooting hand as if they are going to shoot one handed. I then have them put the guide hand on the ball. Normally, this positions them so the ball is in-line with the shooting shoulder. Now as they grow and if I see them drift the ball inward toward the shooting eye but they keep shooting well, I know this is more comfortable for them. The key is I want the ball being shot straight at the hoop. When the shooter missed to the right or left consistently then I need to get them back into grooving a straight pattern.

Here are some shooting drill I like to use with young players:

1. Line shooting- The player sets up on a gym floor line and shoots the ball up and out like a real shot and tries to hit the line on the landing. This is a great visual drill to test how accurate they are and how straight the release is.

2. Wall shooting- Now the player gets more legs involved and tries to get the ball up on the wall with some arc. The ball should hit a target that is in-line with the correct shooting motion. Normally gym walls have bricks- I want the player to aim for the center of the brick.

3. Touch shooting- The player is now going to shoot at the hoop, but they have to be within 5-8 feet. I want soft shots and with the same action on every shot. I normally use the low blocks, short corner, short wing, center of lane. This allows the player to not have to push too hard to make the distance and allows for a consistent action.

4. Touch shooting off the catch- This drill forces the player to be aligned to the basket and bring the ball to the shot pocket quickly. I want legs knees and hips bent, feet squared to the hoop, and hands ready.

5. Touch shooting off the dribble- The player in this drill must be able to take the ball off the last dribble (which should be a hard dribble) and go up through the shot pocket and into the release in a smooth motion.

All of these drills should emphasize a great follow through and soft touch.

Give them a shot and let me know what you think.

Play Hard

Lee