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Form Shooting Drill
Drill Purpose (All Ages)
This drill will improve shooting form and develop good shooting habits so once players get in a game, they will consistently use proper form without thinking about it. This simple drill is critical for youth player and can greatly improve shooting percentages for all types of players. All youth coaches should run this drill almost daily.
Instructions
First of all, it's important to understand that this is drill requires you and all your players to pay very close attention to the details. It also requires a lot of repetitions. This is all about developing perfect shooting form, so once you get in a game you use the proper form without even thinking about it.
Note: For the first time around, you'll need to demonstrate proper technique to all your players.
- Each player needs to grab a basketball and find a basket. It works best to have three players (or less) at each basket. Two players on each side of the basket and one in front.
- Each player should stand about 2 feet from the basket. (Yes, it's only two feet. Do not stand farther back!)
- For right handed shooters, your right foot should be centered with the basket and pointing directly towards the middle of the basket.
- Your left foot should be positioned shoulder width apart in a comfortable position. Most players leave their left foot slightly behind the other foot. The left foot should be pointing in the relative area of the basket but probably should not be pointing directly at it. Most players feel the most comfortable with their left foot pointing just to the left of the basket.
- Bend your knees, at a comfortable angle somewhere around 45 degrees.
- Now if you're feet are aligned properly, the rest of your body should follow suit.
- Hold the ball in your hand, palm facing up. Your non-shooting hand can dangle to the side.
- Slowly bring the ball in and hold is as if you were shooting with one hand.
- Your arm should form a 90 degree angle.
- Your tricep should be parallel with the floor and directly above your right leg.
- Your wrist should be bent with fingers spread out. The ball should be sitting on your finger pads, NOT your finger tips.
- Your index finger should be in the center of the ball.
- Pause. This is when you make sure your arm, feet, and everything is in the correct form.
- Look at the front of the rim.
- Proceed to shoot with one hand, leaving your off hand to the side. The player should use his legs on every shot. At the end of the shot, the player should be up on his toes. This is very important, because players generate most of their strength from their legs to shoot the ball to the basket.
- Hold your follow through. Tell your players, "It's like reaching into a cookie jar."
- Grab the ball and repeat the process.
- Get the ball quickly but don't hurry your shot! Take your time.
- Each player should get a minimum of 20 repetitions, but 50 or 100 would be better.
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Progression
As players master this skill, you can progress to other variations:
- Use two hands instead of one. Just make sure the off hand is one the side of the ball and not used to propel the ball.
- Do a jump shot. You should still stay two feet from the basket.
- Flip the ball to yourself, pivot, and shoot a jump shot. Again, stay close to the basket and make sure you proper form, even though you are going slightly faster. Do not sacrifice form!
For more advanced players, we commonly start with one-hand form shooting and progress all the way to pivots. We generally spend a few minutes on each progression and check all the players to make sure their form is not slipping.
Points of Emphasis
Continually tell your players...
- Hold your follow through.
- Take your time and always make sure your form is perfect.
- Bend your knees.
- Don't stand back too far! Stay just a couple feet from the basket.
Motivation / Teaching Tips
Tip #1 - Tell you players, "Once you get good at it, don't think you can stop. There are NBA players that do form shooting everyday!"
Tip #2 - Assign a coach to each basket to make sure they are using proper form. Help them correct any problems. If they don't do it properly, this drill is a waste of time.
Tip #3 - Make sure your players do NOT dip one shoulder or lean too far forward. When shooting, you want your players to have an erect torso. I like to use the phrase "shoot tall."
Tip #4 - If you as a coach, don't know all the aspects of proper shooting form, consider picking up a good shooting video. We covered the basics above but there are more things to look for, like hand placement on the ball and so on.
What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...
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Comments
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Coach Berry says:
12/27/2006 at 11:10:00 AM
I've used this drill at the beginning of my practices for years.
What I do in addition for this drill is include the following rules...
1. If you make 5 shots in a row (no backboard), you take one step backward.
2. If you MISS 3 shots in a row, you take one step toward the hoop (unless you're at the original position).
These rules give a bit of an incentive for better concentration.
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trace austin says:
12/27/2006 at 2:31:23 PM
thank you for this drill and tips. i am coaching a 9 and 10 year old girls team(my daughter)and i have been trying to teach proper shooting form to several of the girls. i have been playing basketball since i was 5 and know proper form but wasn't able to get consistently get my point across. i am confident this will help and plan on using during my practices. thank you.
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odelia says:
12/28/2006 at 12:20:20 PM
tyvm im learning alot from ur tips and drills.
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Trish says:
12/29/2006 at 10:59:29 PM
I really appreciate the newsletter and the tips. I haven't coached for a long time, and so an assistant volunteer turned into a head coach volunteer for my daughters 5-6th grade teem. I have enjoyed reading up on drills, plays and tips. They are a lot of help!
Thanks!
Trish
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Ariel Rabe says:
1/2/2007 at 1:15:12 AM
It is much easier to teach shooting skills to beginners than kids who have played basketball or who have experienced playing in mini-tournaments and eventually acquired poor shooting habits, sadly with nobody telling them the right form or shooting mechanics. Please allow me to share this. In shooting, my focus is, as I call it, on the 4 S of shooting: spacing, spread, side to side control, stretching plus the "finger ruler" rule where the index finger is positioned in the "center" of the ball, at eye-brow and forehead level, comfortably straight like a ruler and follow-through. The 4 s is actually similar to developing dribbling skills. Thanks a lot and Happy New Year!
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Mohamed Hammad says:
1/16/2007 at 2:06:55 AM
Indeed i found it much easier to teach the proper shooting form using one hand then with 2 hands,,I coach a 9-10 years old boys.They're progressing in a very noticeable way..I'm thinking of buying shooting equipments like:the shooting gloves and other equipments that helps in shooting with perfect form.
Thank you very much .
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hany says:
8/30/2007 at 9:29:23 AM
this drill is verry good but with guides under 14 years i want drill to hi jump in lay up
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Lucy says:
10/4/2007 at 9:16:49 AM
All information is very important for me and my students.They help to teach of the this game very well.
Regards
Lucy
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jj says:
11/2/2007 at 12:22:39 AM
the "cookie jar idea"....is a bad idea. When kids think of putting their hand in a cookie jar the visualize their fingers CLOSED. Instead their fingers sshould be spread slighlty apart. The cookie jar thing is a common myth.
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Joe (Co-Founder of Breakthrough Basketball) says:
11/2/2007 at 11:44:41 AM
Hi JJ,
Yes, that is a good point and the hand is supposed to be relaxed. Coaches should point out the proper follow through and not rely on a kid’s wide interpretation of what “putting their hand in the cookie jar” might entail. The cookie jar is just a fun analogy to help kids remember to hold their follow through. You should also be careful about telling kids to have fingers spread apart. Instead, it should be a relaxed and comfortable follow through. Finger should not be too wide, and not too close together. A stiff follow through will result in a lower shooting percentage. The keyword here is “relaxed”.
If anyone has another good follow through analogy, please share…
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al bouldin says:
11/17/2007 at 8:50:19 AM
I am a first year coach working with JV and Varsity girls. Many of my girls have been shooting with incorrect form for so long. Although I have applied these drills, it seems my veterans resort back to their old ways. I know it takes more than a couple of weeks to fix years of incorrect mechanics. Any suggestions other than have patience. Thanks
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Jeff Haefner says:
11/17/2007 at 9:01:31 AM
Al,
Yes, we all face that same problem! I have a few suggestions to help break those old shooting habits:
1) Practice shooting form away from the basket. When ever changing mechanics you should move away from the basket. You can shoot to a partner, shoot from a chair in the air, shoot to a place on the wall, or shoot to a place on the floor.
Why? Because when you change mechanics, the first thing that happens when you shoot, is you miss. This is very discouraging for a player. They immediately think their old way is better and they want instant gratification, so they go back to the old way.
2) Lots of repetition. It takes hundreds and thousands of reps to break old habits.
3) Explain that they will be much better in the long run and it takes time.
I suggest listening to this interview, which explains how to solve this problem in more detail:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/audio/news7kelbick.html
Good luck!
Jeff Haefner
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com
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steve dement says:
11/21/2007 at 7:27:08 PM
Al-
I have coached for thirty years and am coaching varsity girls at a new h.s. this year.
Whether coaching girls or boys I have always found it beneficial when teaching a new fundamental in shooting, have them shoot to a partner or at a spot on the wall. Usually what happens when using the basket is they focus more on result (making it) instead of the process (changing it), thus they resort back to old habits. Hope this helps.
-steve dement
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Vince says:
11/24/2007 at 5:44:17 AM
Re: the 'cookie jar' thing - I was always taught the 'gooseneck' and 'wave the ball goodbye'. Waving goodbye is good because it implies a loose, relaxed wrist.
Thanks guys for the drills, and brilliant website. No doubt will be spending a lot of time on here. Greetings from the UK. Vince.
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wael says:
12/21/2007 at 12:30:55 PM
thanx for this very important information that u send me.
*the deffense link u send it to me need acredit card and i didn't use it,so try to send me another some thing i can use it,thank u.
*i need drills and plays that could help players to move and play as ateam(basic drills).
*i need more drills for 1/1and 2/2-3/3-forgive me because i ask u for alot of things,but i'm anew coach and i want to be agood one.thanx
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stefan aurelian says:
12/26/2007 at 9:14:23 PM
all is very corect, i've seen that after i read it.
it helped me to really realise what i've done 3-4 years
amazing!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!
i am sure this will help and guide a lot of youngs players.
all my respects, ASH
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Max Guidi says:
1/23/2008 at 11:03:23 AM
Al
These drills are very good for players around 8-11 years old. Sooner or later they will learn the correct shooting form.
These drills really help.Everything is a good idea, but the ''cookie jar'' thing, not really.
I would rather watch Ray Allen attempt a jump shot.
Max
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kami says:
1/30/2008 at 4:00:40 PM
This is a very good drill for ages 8-11 but i am a bit older then that and i need better drills to learn but other people need to check this web out because other then this being to young it good information!
= ]]
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Sikander says:
2/6/2008 at 4:25:16 AM
I want some basketball freinds send me a mail i live in Bochum
sikander_isa@hotmail.com
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abdulai abdul fatawu says:
2/9/2008 at 6:23:38 AM
Dear sir/madam,
my name is fatawu i am a basketball player in Ghana tamale.i play in a team call northen rockets.i am 14 years of age.i will be very greatfrull if you could kingly send me a book of how to play basketball so that i will be good in my sociert.because i want to be like IVERSON.bye for now.
ABDULAI ABDUL FATAWU,
P O BOX TL402,
TAMALE GHANA.
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morina says:
2/21/2008 at 6:23:50 PM
thank's about this ,it's very good
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Rick Allison says:
3/14/2008 at 12:40:41 PM
I have found that doing this type of form shooting with a heavy ball (twice weight of a regulation ball) adds a bit of functional strength training to the shot release mechanics. However, I require that the shooter''s off hand be in its proper position on the side of the ball (but not touching the ball). This keeps the shoulders square and does not introduce a body position that does not naturally occur during shooting (i.e., arm at the side).
Everything should be focused on developing proper muscle memory. After a sequence of rotation through 5 spots around the basket, we move back two big steps (allow the off hand to be placed on the ball) and introduce some combination motion mechanics, such as, triple threat/shot fake/strong-side jab/shot...or, triple threat/shot fake/cross-jab/shot...or, triple threat/shot fake/strong-side jab/shot fake/cross-jab/shot. Focus is on efficiency of ball movement (i.e., straight-line movements), body positioning and motion mechanics. With the heavy ball this has the added benefit of working on some transverse functional strength movements.
I have found this short, heavy ball, near-basket shooting routine has helped to improve shooting range with proper mechanics. Made baskets during the heavy ball routine are secondary in importance to proper form and follow through.
Rick Allison
LoneStar Basketball Academy
http://www.lonestarbasketball.com
[[[ C2E ]]]
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ahmed says:
4/7/2008 at 9:43:11 AM
good site for basketball
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Tdub14 says:
4/21/2008 at 9:17:47 PM
I have been playing basketball for 10 years. I am 15. Ive been to a bazillion camps. I made varsity my freshman year. I practice everyday. and everyday i practice the basics. If you want to be a good shooter you have to go up to your basket and practice your form. I usually spend 3-4 hours a day in my driveway trying to make perfect swishes. Very close to the basket at first. If I make 3 in a row without the ball touching the rim I take a step back, until i get to the 3 point line. then i start over. It has made me a very good shooter.
I also coach 6,7th and 8th graders. Its hard to get them to shoot well because they dont have enough strength to get the ball up. My advice would be just go over the basics with them. Put them all at a basket and do the drill described above and have a contest ( if you dont they wont try). If you have an assistant one of you stand on one side of the court, making sure they perfectly swish it and dont touch the rim. Whoever makes the most wins. Im going to do it in my next practice
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john says:
5/4/2008 at 9:32:22 PM
this helped me alot so it can help you keep on trucin with that shot
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