Should Youth Coaches AVOID Plays and Patterned Offenses?

By Joe Haefner

One year I coached two teams, a 7th & 8th grade team (12 to 14 year olds) and a Fresh/Soph team (14 to 16 year olds). Besides, being a VERY busy year, it was also an extremely educational year from a coaching standpoint.

I was frustrated from the year before when I coached 6th graders, because the offense wasn’t where I wanted it to be, and I wanted a little more control over the offense (Bad Idea). For both teams, I decided I was going to run Bo Ryan’s Swing Offense (Bad Idea). It seemed to work well for him, and I thought I might as well give it a shot. I created breakdown drills and I decided I would spend at least 15 minutes every practice drilling the patterns into these players. Little did I know…

Here are some conclusions I came to:

1.  Youth players (14 & under) forget patterned offenses or plays, so why spend time on them during practice. Even with 15 & 16 year olds, the offense would consistently break down after 3 to 4 passes.

2.  Most of the points we scored were off of fast breaks, loose balls, turnovers, and offensive rebounds. Shouldn’t we practice some more situational & disadvantage drills if that’s where we get most of our points?

3.  I could have spent a lot MORE time teaching the players the fundamentals of the game. How to read screens, how to pass, how to cut, how to shoot, how to handle the ball, and so on. Instead, I WASTED a lot of time on a patterned offense.

4.  Teaching the fundamentals of the motion offense would have benefited both teams more in the long run. Rather than teaching them a pattern, I should have taught them offensive principles. It would increase their basketball IQ. Also, when they got older, it wouldn’t matter what offense the coach runs, they would know how to play the game.

5.  Kids tend to become ROBOTIC and FREEZE up when running the plays and patterned offenses during games. They don’t react to the defense, because they are trying to please you (the coach) by running the pattern. When they forget the pattern (which is 90% of the time), they panic and freeze up. Why not run an offense that teaches the players how to react to the defense?

I decided that simplicity is better and I will always run the motion, especially at the youth levels. I’m not saying that you can’t use a few simple plays during the year. I just wouldn’t advise any more than that.

If you would like to learn more about how to coach and teach the Motion Offense, take a look at our Motion Offense eBooks and Audio.

What do you think? What have your experiences been?

How Do You Always Keep a Positive Attitude as a Coach?

By Joe Haefner

One of my weaknesses as a person is that I can be a perfectionist and be a little too critical sometimes. This is something I have to be very aware of as a coach, because if you are too critical and always pointing out your players’ mistakes, they are going to lose confidence and play scared. As Don Kelbick has told us over and over, you want to “reduce the fear of failure” in your players. That’s the best way to get them to play to their potential.

This point leads into a story from Thanksgiving Break this year. I made the drive up 35 North from Kansas City to Iowa this year to go home and visit the family. My dad told me my old high school coach Kevin Barnes, who is now coaching his son’s 8th grade boys basketball team, wanted me to stop in for a practice and help out. This really got me excited, because I hadn’t talked to Coach Barnes for awhile and I love coaching kids and just being around basketball. I hadn’t been around the coaching atmosphere for almost a year, because I took last year off of coaching in an effort to build this website with my brother. I also wanted to pick his brains about his experience coaching his son’s team.

Anyways, one of Coach Barnes’s greatest qualities is his ability to remain positive. Even when he corrects a player, he has an uncanny ability to make a joke about it and get a laugh out of the player. When you walk into his practices, you can just feel the excitement and the positive vibe.

One time during the scrimmage at practice, a boy led a 2 on 1 fast break and got a little too deep under the hoop. He stopped and attempted to pass the ball, but it was too late. Another defender had hustled back and stole the pass.

My initial thought was “You probably should have passed the ball earlier or just attacked the hoop. If you are going to stop like that, you need to be aware of your surroundings so you make a good pass.”

Coach Barnes’s reaction was “Great hustle, Bobby. Way to get down the court and break up the play.” He didn’t say one word to the boy who made the bad pass.

Now you may be thinking, “Well, how does the kid know what he did wrong?” or “You should correct that bad play right away.” I used to have the same mentality that you needed to correct every mistake the second it happens. What I learned relatively quickly is that if you correct every mistake, you get a player who is SCARED TO PLAY, and that’s the worst kind of mentality for your players to have. You want your players to be fearless. They also tend to think too much which causes them to freeze up instead of just reacting to the play. Not to mention, the player never learns how to think for himself if he is always corrected and misses out on self-discovery which can hurt the child from a development standpoint.

Most of the time, you’ll find that the player will make the mistake a few times and correct it himself without you even saying a word.

Now, I’m not saying that you should never correct the player. If the player consistently makes the same mistake, then you should correct him in a positive manner. I like to use the sandwich technique from Morgan Wooten. Which is positive statement, correction, positive statement.

Positive: “Hey Jimmy, way to hustle to start the break. You always do a great job of that.”

Correction: “But next time try to make the decision a little earlier.”

Positive: “Keep playing hard, buddy. Love the way you always seem to be there on the hustle plays.”

Remember, the younger they are, the more time you should give them to discover the mistakes that they are making.

Do you have other methods of staying positive? If so, what are they? What are your thoughts?

Motion Offense - Getting Post Player Touches

By Joe Haefner

In our recent teleseminar for the people who purchased the Motion Offense eBooks, there was a question that I really wanted to share.

Here is an edited version of the question and answer between the listener and Don Kelbick.

Guest: I’ve got a 6′9″ kid actually that’s going Division 1 next year. I want to make sure that our number one rule is that every third, fourth touch is a post touch. Does this rule sound like a good rule for the motion offense?

Don Kelbick: Right. I used to do that, and that might work for you, because it worked for me sometimes. What I found with this rule is that it shows how much kids want to please you. A lot of times, they’d get concerned about how many passes were thrown.

So a kid would stand out on the wing, and somebody would be wide open. They wouldn’t throw it to them because they would say, “You know, I thought we were on the fourth pass, so I have to throw it into the post.”

I actually went away from that rule and used this rule instead, “We’re not taking any jump shots until the post man touches the ball.”

And if you have a real good post player, then let him touch the ball twice. And then you teach your post player that when the ball goes into the post, the defense is going to collapse. At the very least, the defense is going to turn around to try and find the ball.

Teach your shooters, when the ball goes into the post, here’s where you go. And then you teach the post guy that if he doesn’t have a post play, this is where you look.

By throwing the ball into the post and having the post guy throw the ball back out, the number of open shots that you will get will stagger you.

Could 3 on 3 Basketball Be the Best for Youth Players?

By Joe Haefner

Back in college, I came back to my hometown for a Christmas break. I ran into one of my old high school coaches by the name of Casey Ditch and we were talking about youth basketball stuff. Then he said, “Man, I wish all they did with youth players was play 3-on-3. That’s all I did when I was younger.” This really caught my attention, because Casey had developed into quite a player back in his day. He led the state in scoring, beating out former Chicago Bull Bobby Hansen (for those of you who remember him). He did unbelievable stuff with the ball and still could. If it wasn’t for two bad ankles, who knows what Casey would’ve done. We had a particular coach in the area who bragged about holding him to 15 points.

If Casey became such a good player by mostly playing 3 on 3 HALF-COURT as a youth, don’t you think your players could benefit from this as well?

When I thought a little more about the conversation I had with Casey, I realized that I played a lot of 3 on 3 when I was younger, too. I started playing in 3 on 3 tournaments when I was in 4th grade. I didn’t start playing organized 5 on 5 until 6th grade, and I handled myself quite well against players who had been playing since they were 8 years old.

If you think about it, 3 on 3 HALF-COURT basketball makes a lot of sense. It will improve a youth player’s long-term development for a number of reasons.

1. Players touch the ball more often. In the 5 on 5 game, players can go almost the whole game without touching the ball. In 3 on 3, you could touch the ball EVERY possession. When the player gets more experience handling the ball during game situations, the player is going to improve much more than the players who hardly touch the ball in 5 on 5. It doesn’t matter if you are the point guard or the star post player, you’re still going to get more touches in 3 on 3.

2. More room to operate. A lot of younger players, especially under the age of 12 don’t have the skill, strength, or experience to utilize their basketball skills with 10 players on the court. 3 on 3 gives them more room to operate and practice their skills.

3. Players learn the game! When there are only six (3 on 3) players on the court, players are more inclined to run the pick-and-roll, screen away, and screen the ball without a coach even telling them to do so, because there are fewer options out there. After awhile, they will start to figure things out for themselves which is FANTASTIC and exactly what you want the players to do. With ten (5 on 5) players on the court, a lot of those options aren’t there, because they lack the skill, strength, and experience. Now, with fewer players on the court, it gives them a split second longer to recognize a situation.

4. No pressing & zones. Now, instead of spending time on breaking full court pressure, breaking half-court pressure, playing against a 1-3-1, playing against 3-2, playing against a 2-3, playing against a triangle-and-two, playing against a box-and-one, you can focus on the FUNDAMENTALS. Youth coaches waste so much of their precious time working on things that they shouldn’t worry about at an early age.

99% of the presses that are ran by youth coaches wouldn’t work in high school or college, anyways. Most of the presses I’ve seen, just run 2 to 3 players at the ball and hope he throws the ball high enough, so somebody else can pick it off. It’s just a tactic that takes advantage of a flaw in our basketball development system, because players lack the skill, strength, and experience to react correctly to these situations. Spending that extra time on basketball skills and concepts, will benefit them much more for the future. Not to mention, if taught incorrectly (which most of the time they are), the zones and presses can ingrain some terrible habits in your players that don’t work at the higher levels.

Personally, I feel that youth players should not play in 5 on 5 leagues before age 10 or 11. Part of me feels that may even be too young.

What are your thoughts?

Coaching Youth Basketball with Limited Time (1 Practice a Week)

By Jeff Haefner

We just wrapped up our bonus tele-seminar for customers that ordered the Motion Offense eBook last night…

During the tele-seminar a few youth coaches asked some very good and interesting questions.  One question in particular was…

“I coach 5th grade girls.  We only practice once a week for one hour.  What would you recommend that we focus on during that short amount of time”?

Summarized in my own words, here’s Don’s answer…

In that short amount of time, I would focus on SKILLS, allow the kids some time to play, and give them homework.

To give you an example, here’s a way to work on Skills (fundamentals) and Motion Offense at the same time…

1.  First, pick a couple cuts or screens that you think would be good for your team.  For example, you could choose down-screens and away-screens.

2. Next, run shooting drills that incorporate those movements.  You could have two offensive players (no defense).  One player on the wing, another player on the block.  A coach or third player could have the ball on top of the key.  The player on the wing sets a down screen, the other player rubs off the screen, catches the ball, pivots, and shoots.  Now repeat over and over.  Your players are working on screens (part of your motion offense), pivoting footwork and shooting (skills).

3.  You can do the same thing with away screens, basket cuts, and any type of cut or screen.  The key is to choose a couple elements from your motion offense and turn those elements into skill building drills.  Your imagination is the only limit to the types of drills you can come up with.  It doesn’t hurt to mix things up and make the youth basketball drills fun too. 

By practicing this way, you’ll save a ton of time and get a lot more done.

Also, you’re providing drills that your players can practice on their own.  Don’t be afraid to give them some homework.  Some players will put in the work outside of practice to get better.

Let them play

After practicing skills, I would let them play at the end.  It’s up to you how much time you spend scrimmaging.  But as an example, you could work on skills for 45 minutes, then scrimmage for 15 minutes at the end.   In practice, I think kids need to play at least a little bit.

During the scrimmage, start by showing the kids general spacing.  You’ll probably want to put tape on the floor so they know the basic motion offense spots.  Then just tell them to play.  If they don’t know what to do, just say “Do you remember the down screen drill we did at the beginning of practice?  Do that.  Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won’t  That’s ok.  If it doesn’t work, do it again.” 

Now you have worked on skills, you have the beginning of a motion offense, and your kids are “learning how to play”. 

How productive do you think that hour would be if you spent nearly the entire time teaching them a set play or a patterned offense?  It takes a long time for kids to learn and remember patterns and plays.  Kids will get VERY little benefit from that!

That’s the great thing about a motion offense.  You can work on skills and motion offense at the same time.

You could even practice some man to man defense during the scrimmage.  Just have one coach responsible for making minor corrections during the scrimmage.  This coach only watches the defense and tries to improve their positioning.

This is how you get the MOST out a short amount of time.  Kids need to play, learn skills, and have fun.

If you’d like to hear the actual question and answer in audio, Right Click here and select Save As.

My Personal Experience With Tom Nordland’s Swish Method

By Joe Haefner

When I was in 9th grade, I developed into a pretty good shooter. Every shooting session, I would hit a hot streak and bury 10 to 15 three’s in a row. I think I made as many as 25 during one session.

My shot was quick, but I had a very low release. My varsity coach then asked me if I wanted to play college basketball and I said, “Yes!” From that point forward, he worked with me to develop a higher release point. For some reason, things didn’t click, and I developed a hitch in my shot. I lacked the coordination between my lower body and upper body that was required to shoot a jump shot. Looking back, I wasn’t using my legs to get my shot there, I was straining too much with my upper body, and I tried to shoot at the peak of my jump rather than shooting as I was going up.

I lost my shooting touch..

By senior year, I was a total head case. I was always thinking about my shot mechanics instead of letting the shot fly. I shot 33% from the field which had dropped from 42% the previous year and 50% my sophomore year.

Now, let’s fast forward to this last year. As I was reviewing and watching some great shooting DVDs, I came across Swish 2.

I started toying with the shooting methods Tom Nordland uses in Swish 2. I hadn’t practiced or played with any consistency for about 2 years, so I was quite rusty. My girlfriend also took some interest in shooting with me and I tested out the shooting methods on her.

Here is a quick summary of what I did:

1. I developed my “Pure” shooting stroke. I practiced shooting to a partner, not at the hoop.

Swish 2 goes into great detail about the “Pure” shooting stroke and how to develop it.

2. Next, I started to incorporate my legs into the shot. I still did not shoot at a hoop.

3. I started to toy with adjusting my shooting distance with my legs while using the same stroke. Still did not shoot at a hoop. All I was trying to do is get a feel for the shot.

4. I started shooting very close (about 5 feet away) to the hoop. I gradually moved out.

Instantly, I noticed I was shooting with TOUCH! It felt good. Granted, I was shooting from 5 feet away, but it still felt great. Gradually, I started moving out. The same thing happened. I was consistently hitting nothing, but net. The shot felt good. It looked good.

After a few months of shooting with the Swish Method, I really started stroking the basketball with a nice touch. Not to mention, my girlfriend (who never played high school basketball) was becoming a pretty good shooter.

Want to know the crazy thing about it? We were only shooting once a week.

Now, remember when teaching or making shooting adjustments, it isn’t all gravy. I struggled and still struggle at times when practicing as will anybody else when first changing a shot. Most players will often miss more before they start making more. This applies to the whole “Take 2 steps backwards to take 3 steps forward” analogy meaning that you may miss more at first with your new shooting technique (2 steps backwards), but you will make more in the long-run (3 steps forward).

I’m still working on my 3-point shot after 5 to 6 months. If I had time to practice like I did in high school, this could’ve been done in a few weeks. This is just to put in perspective that you do not want to learn a new shooting method and jump straight out to 3-point land. Things just won’t work and you’ll get frustrated.

Here is what I learned from the Swish Method:

1. At any age, you could develop a GREAT shot using the Swish method with some persistence and patience. And you truly develop that “Pure” shooting touch that all of the great shooters have. When I used to miss shots, I would MISS. The ball would clang off the rim and come flying back at me or somewhere else. Now, I get a lot of shots that go in with those “shooter’s touch” bounces.

2. Now, my girlfriend shoots better than me, so I’m never teaching her anything basketball-related again.

If you like to learn more about the Swish Method, check out our review on Swish 2 or visit their website here Swish 2.

NEW Motion Offense eBook with 2 SPECIAL offers only available THIS WEEK

By Jeff Haefner

We released our new Motion Offense eBook with 2 SPECIAL offers only available THIS WEEK…

The new eBook will teach you how to develop a more effective offense, score more points, and win more games!

You can check out the new eBook and special offers here:

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/pr/motionoffense.html

We hope you enjoy it.

Do You Make This Mistake? Basketball Stats Can be Deceiving…

By Don Kelbick

I was watching the Mets tank another one last night (yes, cut me I bleed blue and orange though I don’t readily admit it any more) on ESPN and Rick Sutcliffe, whom I am not a big fan of, made a great comment. As David “MVP” Wright came to bat, Sutcliffe commented that even though Wright has 123 RBIs, he has hit under .250 with runners in scoring position. What that means is that Wright must have a huge number of opportunities to hit in that situation. You have to think about the “quality” of his RBIs. By batting under .250, the number of runs he leaves on base may have turned the pennant race into a laugher.

That comment started me thinking. After I read the book “Moneyball” (highly recommended) I look at statistics very differently. I started applying Sutcliffe’s comment to basketball. Think about some of the statistics we use as benchmarks. A big man has a lot of “blocked shots.” Does that make him a great defender or are your perimeter players allowing too much penetration? You have a player who has a lot of steals. Does that make him a great defender or does he take too many chances?

For statistics to be relevant, you have to link them to the game in some manner. If a player makes 4 steals in a game (a lot) but gives up 4 layups on steal attempts that weren’t successful. Was that really good defense? Shooting over 50% does not necessarily mean great shooting, it might mean a lot of layups (not bad but not good shooting)

My favorite example was a meeting we had after we lost a game in double overtime. We looked at the stat sheet which said we had 51 offensive rebounds (that’s right - 51 offensive rebounds). Since it was an emphasis for our season, the other coaches were ecstatic about the stat. I, as usual being the sideways thinker, thought we should try to become better shooters (if the ball goes in more, there are less offensive rebounds. If the ball went in 1 more time, we win!).

Just something to think about.

Basketball Shooting Workouts and Practice Tips

By Jeff Haefner

To become a better shooter, you need to practice smart.  And just as important, you need some good basketball shooting workouts that actually make you better.  Too many players practice aimlessly without an intelligent plan.  You can get an edge on your competition by practicing smart and following a logical plan!

Here are a few important guidelines when you workout and practice shooting:

1 – Set goals based on number of shots (or makes), NOT time! 

Do you make this mistake? 

You could literally practice for an entire hour and only take 100 shots.  That’s not enough and you might be neglecting certain types of shots that are important.  If you just go to the gym with the idea that you’ll shoot for an hour, then you’ll discover that you waste a lot of time dribbling around.  You just don’t get in a good workout.

All the pros and great shooters set a goal for a certain number of shots, no matter how long it takes.  You can set your goals based on “makes” or “attempts”.  It’s really up to you.  It’s more challenging to base your workout on “makes”.  So if you’re looking for a challenge, that’s the way to go.

The key is to get to enough of shooting repetitions.  You should shoot at least a few hundred shots at each practice session.  Setting the right goal will help you get in the reps!

2 - Chart your progress. 

To improve your confidence, start charting all of the shots that you take in practice.  It’s easy to do and you’ll be absolutely amazed at how much it helps.

After every practice session, keep track of what kind of shots you took, the number of shots taken and the number of shots that you actually made.  Take the time to develop a basketball shooting chart, because it really helps.

3 - Work on each type of shot. 

When practicing, be sure to work on the following types of shots:

• Shooting off of the “catch”
• Shooting off of the “dribble”
• Stepping into your shot from both directions (right and left foot).
• Various ranges that are games like shots for you.
• Shooting from a “jump-stop” (only if you have mastered the step-in technique or if your coach directs you to use a jump-stop motion).

4 - Go at Game Speed. 

If you don’t go at game speed in practice, then your shooting percentage in games will be lower than it should be.  If you have ever played, you will understand the actual speed of a game.

5 - Shoot game-like shots. 

Shooting game-like shots may be completely different for two people on the same team.  One player may take the majority of his shots flashing to the ball from anywhere within 12 feet of the hoop.  Another player may take the majority of his shots from 15 to 20 feet.  That’s why it’s important to meet with your coach and ask what type of shots you’ll take within the offense, so you know what you should practice.

6 - Gradually move back, working on all ranges.

Don’t neglect mid-range shots.  Too many players have holes in their game because they don’t practice mid-range shots.  Michael Jordan made a living off mid-range jump shots.

7 - Incorporate free throws into your routine. 

If you get winded, catch your breath by shooting a few free throws.  This is a good way to manage your time effectively.  You’ll get more done, in less time!

8 - Use chairs to help you practice footwork and simulate game-like conditions.

You can easily simulate game like situations (dribbling around defenders, running around screens, etc) by using chairs. 

If you have a partner, you can still use chairs.  The player shooting the basketball gets his own rebound and passes it back to the partner standing by the chair.  The partner places the ball on the chair.  The shooter continues the same pattern on the opposite side.  If the shooter misses, rebound the shot and finish with a lay up.

For more chair drills, see the basketball shooting drills in our full blown shooting course.

Example of a Good Basketball Shooting Workout

Here’s an example of a good basketball shooting workout… 

Polish mechanics and shooting form

At the beginning of your workout, you should focus on shooting form for a little while.  This will help to keep your mechanics from slowly drifting in the wrong direction. 

Spend about 4-5 minutes practicing the following:

• Shoot the ball one-handed away from the basket (this can be to a partner, line on the floor, or spot on the wall).
• Shoot the ball one-handed at the basket (up close, just two or three feet away)

Groove your shot to build confidence and positive mental images.

Of key importance is starting each and every workout with at least 50 shots close to the basket to groove your shot.  No matter what else you include in your routine, don’t leave these easy shots out! 

So, at this point, you should shoot using your normal two-handed grip (shot and balance hand) up close to the basket.  These are supposed to be easy shots.

Practice catching and shooting by stepping into the shot (pivoting)

Now you can gradually move back and work on various shooting situations.

Spin-flip the ball to yourself, as if you’re catching a pass and shooting.  Mix up shots from different angles and distances — top of key, right elbow, left baseline, etc.

• Shoot 25, 8-foot jump shots, stepping in with left foot pivot.
• Shoot 25, 8-foot jump shots, stepping in with right foot pivot.
• Shoot 25, 12-foot jump shots, stepping in with left foot pivot.
• Shoot 25, 12-foot jump shots, stepping in with right foot pivot.
• Shoot 25, 16-foot jump shots, stepping in with left foot pivot.
• Shoot 25, 16-foot jump shots, stepping in with right foot pivot.
• Shoot 25, 18-foot jump shots, stepping in with left foot pivot.
• Shoot 25, 18-foot jump shots, stepping in with right foot pivot.

Free throws

• Shoot 50 free throws.

Practice shooting off the dribble
Instead of flipping the ball to yourself, you now take a couple of hard dribbles and pull up into your jump shot.

• Shoot 10, 8-foot jump shots, dribbling to the right.
• Shoot 10, 8-foot jump shots, dribbling to the left.
• Shoot 10, 12-foot jump shots, dribbling to the right.
• Shoot 10, 12-foot jump shots, dribbling to the left.
• Shoot 10, 18-foot jump shots, dribbling to the right.
• Shoot 10, 18-foot jump shots, dribbling to the left.

Free throws

• Shoot 10 free throws.
• Shoot 10 random jump shots
• Shoot 10 free throws.
• Shoot 10 random jump shots
• Shoot 10 free throws.
• Shoot 10 random jump shots
• Shoot 10 free throws.
• Shoot 10 random jump shots

With this routine, you shoot several hundred shots, including free throws, shots off of the “catch,” and shots off of your dribble.

Designing your own basketball shooting workout

There are hundreds of options when designing a routine.  Since every player is different and needs to emphasize different things, you should develop your own specific workout. 

Now it certainly helps to find a bunch of good workout examples to give you ideas.  And you can use those shooting workouts as a base to design your own.  But don’t just use a cookie cutter workout.  You’ll cut yourself short.  Start with some examples, then as you learn, start to design your own custom shooting workout.

21 Easy Ways to Improve Your Basketball Shooting Percentage

By Jeff Haefner

Tip #1 – Locate Your Target (the Rim) Earlier

Getting in the habit of locating your target (the rim) earlier will improve your shooting percentage.  Why? 

Locating the rim just a split second earlier gives your brain more time to subconsciously calculate distance and focus on your objective. Your eyes should be on the rim as early as possible. To make this little trick work, you need to develop this habit in practice, which carries over into games.

Tip #2 – Always Hold Your Follow Through

You’ve probably heard this a hundred times but there’s good reason for it.  Holding your follow through solves a multitude of shooting problems.  This simple movement helps you maintain good basketball shooting technique without even thinking about it.

Tip #3 – Finish with a Floppy Wrist

A common mistake is for players to follow-through with a tense wrist.  Your wrist should be as relaxed as possible.  Your hand should finish on line and often bouncing during follow-through.

Tip #4 – Use a Colored Ball to Improve Rotation

To improve the straightness of your shot, try a colored basketball during practice.   This makes it easy to see the rotation and direction of the ball.  The immediate feedback makes it quick and easy for you to adjust and improve your shot.

Tip #5 – Don’t Shoot like Kobe

TOO many kids try to copy Kobe and end up with bad shots for the REST OF THEIR LIVES!

Youngsters have no business trying to hang like Kobe and shoot.  Kobe is a freak of nature!  You should shoot as you’re going up (at least 1 inch before you reach the top of your jump).  Trying to mimic Kobe’s shot will just earn you a place on the bench and lots of frustration.

Tip #6 - Stop Thinking about Your Shot During Games

One of the worst things you can do is think about your shooting mechanics during a game.

Thinking about your shot is for practice, NOT for games!  In fact, you should only think during certain parts of your practice.  It’s ok to think during a form shooting session or when learning a new skill, but once you start developing rhythm and get further into practice, don’t think!

During games, train yourself to think about other things or nothing at all.

You’re going to miss a few.  So what!  Don’t think, just shoot the damn ball!!!

If you adopt this mentality, your shooting percentage will go UP.

Tip # 7 – Eliminate Negative Thoughts with this Simple Trick

Eliminating negative thoughts can dramatically improve your basketball shooting percentage.

To stop thinking and eliminate bad thoughts, you can try this little trick…

Before each game, practice, and shooting session, tell yourself that you don’t care if you make any baskets.   Say it out loud or in your head several times. 

THEN, when you go to shoot (right as you’re catching the ball), say something to yourself like, “Nice shot. I can do better.”  In other words, try not to care if it goes in or not.  

This simple little trick helps you to relax into the process and not think about the result. Using this technique will be enough to break you out of mini slumps and restore your confidence.

Tip #8 – Develop Optimal Arc

DID YOU KNOW that a shot with a flat 35 degree arc only has .6 inches of margin for the ball to clear without hitting the rim?  The shot has to be almost perfect to get a swish.

BUT a shot with a 45 degree medium height arc has a 3 inch margin of error!

That’s right.  Just by increasing the arc of your shot, your margin of error could increase as much as 500%!

How many shots bounce OUT of the basket because you missed by just a fraction?

As a general rule of thumb, finish your follow through with the rim clearly visible beneath the fingers of your shooting hand.  That way you will ensure that you have a decent arc on the shot.  Shots with proper arch have a much better chance of going in.

Just don’t go too high.  Because if your arc gets too high, you’ll loose your distance control.

Tip #9 – Watch DVDs

Simply by watching great shooters groove their shots over and over, you can improve your confidence and form.

The good habits and examples can be contagious.  As you watch, the good form becomes ingrained in your mind.

Not to mention, you should never stop learning.  There are lots of good shooting DVDs and books for you to learn from.

Tip #10 – Use a Partner to Tune your Shot Alignment

Spend a little time during each practice lined up along a court line about 20 feet from a partner, shooting back and forth and trying to have the ball bounce as close to the line as possible. This simple practice technique will help you to fine tune your control of the precision of your shot.

Tip #11 – Land in the Same Spot

Balance is a very important aspect of shooting.  You achieve balance primarily through a proper stance and footwork.  After your shot, you should land pretty much exactly where you started.  This means you have established good balance from your stance.

Tip #12 – Film Your Shot

You’d be amazed at how filming your shot in both games and practices can help you.

The most common response from players is… “That’s how I shoot!!??”

That’s right.  Most players haven’t seen their own shot before. Seeing your shot on film can help you to detect poor mechanics and motivate you to make commitments for improvement.  Bottom line– it’s a great way to refine your shot.

Tip #13 – Get a Partner

When possible, try to shoot with a partner.  Because when you’re alone, you end up chasing the rebound before following through properly.

This is important.  Think about how you practice…

You shoot and then you start following the shot immediately so you can get lots of reps.  Guess what?  This can mess up your follow-through.  You need to FINISH each shot and hold your follow-through.  That’s why we recommend getting a partner to rebound for you.  Now just because you can’t find a partner you can (and should) still practice by yourself.  Just be aware of holding your follow through.

Tip #14 - Fix Bad Habits by Immediately Correcting Your Shot

This is one of the easiest ways to break bad shooting habits.  For example, let’s say you forgot to hold your follow-through.  Well, immediately after you shoot, raise your hand back up and put your hand in the correct follow-through position.  This simple technique will help you quickly correct the bad habit

Tip #15 - Use a Return Device

Using basketball rebounding and return devices can literally double the number of shots you can take in practice.  Just think how much time you spend chasing the ball when you practice.  A return device solves that problem and lets you take more shots in less time.

Tip #16 – Keep the Ball Above Your Waist

When you catch the ball, always keep the ball above your waist and in the shot pocket.  There’s NO need to dip the ball.  This is wasted movement.

Tip #17 – Don’t Fall for Gimmicks

Too many players spend their hard earned money on shooting gloves and gimmicks, thinking this will make them great shooters.

You can’t use these devices during a game so it really doesn’t do you much good.  You need to learn how to shoot effectively without these devices.  There is NO magic pill.

Tip # 18 – Keep Your Shot Motion Balanced, Fluid, and Consistent

A fluid motion means that there are no jerky movements or stopping points, just one constant flow from start to finish. 

Consistency can’t be stressed enough.  Your feet, arms, shot pocket, and jump height should use a consistent motion every time you shoot.  All the greatest shooters in the world have amazingly consistent movements.

Tip #19 – Groove 50 Shots Before Every Game

Before every practice and game, face the basket and shoot 50 EASY shots about four to ten feet from the basket.

Not only does this improve your shooting form, but it helps to develop phenomenal confidence.

You’ll quickly become very good at grooving these shots over and over.  You’ll see the ball going in the basket over and over.  You’ll swish the ball repeatedly and probably shoot 60%, 70%, 80%, or more, which is great for your psyche. 

Why do you think that NBA players do this before games?  Why do you think that Tiger Woods starts all of his practice sessions by making 100 three-foot putts?

Because it works!  Don’t overlook this powerful strategy.

Tip #20 – Quickly Chart Your Shot to Determine Tendencies

Head to the gym and shoot a bare minimum of 50 shots.  Ask your partner to chart your shots.  The KEY is to chart the detailed results of each shot.  You will track how many shots fell short, too long, to the left, and to the right.  This information will help you to determine what you need to work on.

For example, if you consistently miss short (like many players do), you’ll need to work on your power and distance control.  If you consistently miss to the right and the left, you need to fix the mechanics of your foot and/or arm alignment.

Tip #21 - Work Game-Like Movement into Your Practice

To make game shots, you need to practice game shots.  You should use good shooting drills and practice movement off screens, cuts, chairs, and pivoting in both directions.

Get to the Gym and Apply What You’ve Learned

There ya go… 21 simple ways for you to improve your basketball shooting percentage.  Now get to the gym, apply what you’ve learned, and knock down more shots!!