Think of how you learned to shoot a right hand layup. Most likely, you were told to jump off your left leg, bring your right knee up, and shoot the ball off the backboard. All this occurred from a perfect 45 degree angle to the rim. 

Almost everyone learns this way. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Players should know how to shoot a traditional layup.

However, if you teach players that the conventional way is the ONLY ‘correct’ way to shoot a layup, you are doing your players a disservice.

Why? Well, watch a basketball game on tv. How many of the layups are the traditional layups mentioned above? Very few, I’d bet. 

Why is that? Because in the game, there are 9 other players out there making things more challenging!

If your players are only able to shoot their layup one way, how will they adjust when the game necessitates something else?

Versatility > Perfection in Finishing Moves

As your players get older, they will need multiple ways to finish around the rim.

Likewise, they will need multiple types of footwork to get shots off.

They will need to be able to close out in various ways.

They will box out different types of players differently.

Your job is not necessarily to teach them all these ways. But it is to make sure they have an open mind to trying new things.

I’ve seen youth players who make a layup using non-traditional footwork get criticized by coaches and teammates for not doing it ‘the right way’.

Another way of looking at that would be the player found a different way that accomplished the main goal - making the shot!

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t teach a traditional layup. It’s a fine place to start. However, it does mean you shouldn’t teach it as THE way to score at the basket.

Instead, teach it as A way to score at the basket.

Stop Over-Coaching to Create Problem Solving Players

Your goal is to develop players who are creative and can figure things out for themselves.

You can do this through how you tailor your drills. Let’s use the back attack drill as an example.

You could use some of the following constraints to challenge players to figure out different finishing solutions:

• Can’t use the backboard
• Must use non-dominant hand
• Can’t bring a second hand to the ball to finish
• Must finish off 2 feet
• Can’t fadeaway
• Dribble limits

These are only a few. These constraints challenge your players to figure out what works for them. And that’s huge!

Yes, we might have ideas on what will work for them. But through trial and error, they can start to discover things for themselves. In the long run, that’s a much more powerful type of learning!

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