Comments on: Should You Teach Youth Players To Shoot A Basketball With Both Hands Equally?

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:08:05 +0000

I agree it would really help youths develop into a better player for the future. I read some of the comments above and there were truths there too. It really is confusing as a defender if your opponent can be strong at both hands. Especially for youth levels. The cons is the amount of extra time you need to spend on it.

By: Kevin Monahan

Kevin Monahan — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:44:08 +0000

I ran my first ever practice 2 nights ago with 8-9 year olds. I let them shoot around on their own as we were waiting for the full team to arrive and noticed they all liked long shots, trick shots and wild arm throws from about 20 fett out. We did the Form Shooting Drill, alternating 20 shots right-handed and 20 shots left-handed. Almost all had a difficult time from both sides but I will continue running the drill all season long along with the Lay Up drill from both sides for the remainder of the season, progressing to more challenging drills after they nail down the fundamentals.

By: Desmar Gomes

Desmar Gomes — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:35:15 +0000

Hey this a good article and shooting with both hands is defintely a good skill to have I had surgery a week ago and I just couldn’t fight the itch anymore today I played and I used my left hand it was natural its a bit hard at first but it defintely makes you feel more versitale

By: Scott H

Scott H — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:36:01 +0000

I think its a good idea. I enocuraged my two sons to do it, the younger one has embraced it well (8). He can shoot from 10 feet in equally well with either hand. On the left side of the hoop, he shoots almost exclusively left handed, and vice versa on the right side. I figure he will be prepared when he plays the upper levels.

By: Unerring

Unerring — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 02:12:36 +0000

I to can shoot with both hands. both well beyond the three point line. I am an every day right hander but on the court it doesn’t matter i just can do it. its easy been doin it since 8th grade after an injury. just relax the other side of your body when you shoot. im not super athletic but in the gym im a nightmare. defense can be rendered helpless. plenty of occasions iv gone up for a left hand jump shot defense jumps so i slide ball to right side for an almost uncontested shot .

By: ....

.... — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 04:15:23 +0000

i can shoot with both hands it comes in handy wen ppl think they can stop your gudd hand u can switch ova

By: Jesse Schiel

Jesse Schiel — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:53:31 +0000

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.

By: Suneet

Suneet — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:05:26 +0000

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

By: Damian Hilton

Damian Hilton — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:19:45 +0000

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!

By: Alton Sutton

Alton Sutton — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:25:28 +0000

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