I have a player on my team who shoots with an incredibly high arc in his shot. Apparently his shot was blocked in a game a while back, so he's developed a habit of "launching" his shot. Sometimes the arc is so high, it's a good 2-3 feet above the top of the backboard. He'll get lucky and make one now and then, but over all it's a very low percentage shot.

My first thought is to work with him on creating space, shot fakes, being ready to shoot when receiving a pass, and getting his shot off quicker. However, I have a hunch this is a pretty ingrained habit at this point.

Any suggestions on how to get his arc lower and get the thought of being blocked out of his head?

Thanks!

Rob -

If you play this game long enough and shoot enough you will probably get your shot blocked :-)

I like your approach regarding how to help him... the physical part is the easy part... the psychological part might be a little harder.... go back and correct his form first...

Here are a couple of videos that you might want to look at also..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfTxHGOQdEc

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/drills/Ray-Allen-Shooting-Drill.html

Here is something that I used with my players and what I have written to many other players on Breakthrough Basketball...

As I talk to a lot of players, they are looking to correct their shot, dribbling, passing etc. Mostly shooting..... there is no quick fix for this, you have probably been shooting that way for a long time and have created a bad habit and its in your muscle memory. To correct this problem, it is going to take 100s of shots to create a new muscle memory - so the shot becomes automatic.

The first thing you have to do is correct your form... that can be done by shooting against a wall so you don''t have to worry about making the shot... only using correct form - Shoot 100s of shots a day until you have correct form.

Then you can go to the basket and do what we called BEEF check going from Block to the Middle to the other Block.
Step 1 - We started this with the SHOOTING HAND ONLY.... maybe 12 shots in all.
Step 2 - Then you can bring your guide hand up but NOT on the ball and do the same thing. 12 more shots.
Step 3 - - 12 more shots with your guide hand in the proper position. ( your guide hand has nothing to do with the shot other than to keep the ball in the proper position on your shooting hand.)
The next thing to do would be to step back several feet... 6-7 feet? Now repeat Step 3, don''t move any further back until you have mastered this distance. Once you are shooting with a good percentage, you can move further back.

Don''t move to the three point line if you are shooting 30 percent from 10 - 15 feet. Don Kelbick says that a good shooting percentage is around 46% and in game situations that is good... in practice, from short range, I would like to see it a little higher.

From the free throw line... depending on your age and ability level, 60 to 80 percent is what I had my kids try to achieve. ( High School Varstiy Players )

To explain BEEF for those who haven''t heard that term. B - Balance ( staggered stance, one foot slightly in front of the other ) E - Elbow under the ball ( the elbow might be SLIGHTLY out ) E - Eye on the target (keep your eye on the target until the ball goes in) F - Follow through..... ( keep your arm extended until the ball goes in) I hope this helps.

Great advice. I read your reply last week and started working on some of those suggestions. Already seeing improvement. Thanks!