Should You Teach Youth Players To Shoot A Basketball With Both Hands Equally?
By Joe Haefner
While listening to audio interview from Complete Athlete Development between Erin Perry (Physical Therapist) and Brian Grasso (Athletic Development Trainer), they discuss young athletes using both hands equally to perform athletic tasks and why it’s a good thing.
- Shooting a basketball equally with the left hand and right hand.
- Swinging the bat from each side of the plate.
- Kicking the soccer ball with both legs.
- Hitting a hockey puck from both sides.
- Throwing a football with both hands.
They mention that this is good for injury prevention. They go on to explain that if you continually throw or shoot with one hand, it can lead to muscle imbalances. If you constantly throw with one arm, you may get a shoulder that is stronger than the other. This can lead to injuries if the child is still growing and maturing.
Watch Eli Manning warm up before a game. There is a reason he throws the football left-handed and right-handed.
Along with preventing injuries, it should create a better athlete.
Can you imagine a basketball player that can:
- Shoot with both hands equally within 15 feet.
- Dribble up and down the court flawlessly with either hand.
- Pass with either hand.
- Finish around the hoop with either hand.
I recently read an article on ESPN about a pitcher named Pat Venditte in the Yankees organization that throws with both hands. Last year he had an ERA at 0.83 which is amazing for those of you who do not know very much about baseball. He can pick whatever arm he wants to throw with based on which side the opposing hitter chooses and he can throw twice as many pitches.
Would a player have similar benefits in basketball if he could shoot with both hands?
Most coaches try to teach passing, dribbling, and finishing with both hands. If we try to teach shooting with each hand equally in addition to the other skills at young age, would it make a player that much better?
You might be thinking, “That’s crazy. I can barely get my players to shoot well with one hand.” However, it’s still worth thinking about.
What are your thoughts?
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10 Comments
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Jeremy — May 7, 2009 @ 8:37 am
I think it is a no brainer as far as whether or not it is a good idea - I also don’t think it would be that hard to teach or train. Especially in young kids those muscles respond so fast that it would not take much repetition to get them to be able to shoot functionally from close range with both hands - which not only leads to a more well rounded athelete, but also makes you twice as dangerous as an offensive player.
Dave — May 8, 2009 @ 9:29 pm
I’ve always heard the rule for ambidextrous pitchers was they couldn’t switch throwing hands during a game or something to the effect that if they did, they could not switch back. I agree with teaching younger kids to shoot with both hands as it can only benefit them.
Steve — May 9, 2009 @ 3:07 am
Absolutely…learning to use both hands gives you an advantage.Being able to drive to your “off” side or shoot with your “opposite” shooting hand keeps defenses guessing….
SAULAWA ALIU IBRAHIM — May 11, 2009 @ 3:14 am
What is important in training the Youth is putting in mind Principle of Health Promotion, the fact that it is to adapt a habit but difficult to eradicatre it. Whatever we are teaching we should try and avoid imparting wrong techniques to the learner.
SAULAWA ALIU IBRAHIM — May 11, 2009 @ 3:16 am
What is important in training the Youth is putting in mind Principle of Health Promotion, the fact that it is easy to adapt a habit but difficult to eradicatre it. Whatever we are teaching we should try and avoid imparting wrong techniques to the learner.
Alton Sutton — May 11, 2009 @ 8:25 am
In my opinion that is the only way to teach basketball. Kids need to learn to use both hands when they first begin learning basketball or any other sport. When I first taught youth basketball I made all my players use both hands. They definitely had to learn to shoot layups correctly with both right and left hands. I will never forget, one year I had a very good athlete who was not good with his left hand. But all year long I made him use both hands in practice. If looks could kill, I would be dead now. He would give me awfully mean looks. But he went on to be an excellent point guard in high school. He now realizes what I made him do was for his own good.
Alton Sutton
Damian Hilton — May 12, 2009 @ 9:19 am
Look at Micheal Beasley the guy is a monster with either hand. The Heat would do a lot better if he saw the basketball a little more. He can hardly ever be stopped with a basketball in his hand. Left Right it is truly amazing!
Suneet — May 13, 2009 @ 1:05 am
Well….That’s an obvious answer
Learning to play well with both hands is a huge advantage…
The player becomes tougher to guard and he can drive in through almost any angle
One-handed dribblers can be stopped easily through some well applied pressure by the opponent
Jesse Schiel — February 26, 2010 @ 4:53 pm
I agree with others that learning to shoot with both hands is beneficial. However, I would caution against teaching or encouraging players to learn to shoot equally with either hand. The benefits of using either hand are mainly (a) dribbling/passing, and (b) shots around the basket. Being able to shoot well or equally with your right or left from 15 feet and out has almost no useful purpose other than developing dexterity in your off-hand.
Trust me. A player on my college team shot equally well with his right and his left. He never played and was an unreliable shooter. He could never decide whether to shoot with his right or left, and thus the constant indecision resulted in inconsistent and often poor shooting.
Like I said, there are clear benefits, but don’t get carried away.
.... — July 10, 2010 @ 11:15 pm
i can shoot with both hands it comes in handy wen ppl think they can stop your gudd hand u can switch ova