i made a post a few days ago about how my son shooting from was for his age which is 10 and attached a video clip, i got a few replies and coach sar asked what his range was and if i would maybe post a clip of shooting off the dribble or flip drill shots so here u go ,also i let my son read some of ur guys comments and really expressed to him how all u coaches stress the major importance of being a kid and having FUN!! and yes coach sar he read that u said tell him not worry about 3's right now that they will come as he gets older and stronger and i think at least this week he has listened to you lol cause i noticed last night at practice he passed up 2 open 3's so thanks! so here is a clip of his form shooting on the move that coach sar asked if i had ! thanks coaches for this site . its refreshing and keeps me at least well grounded on FUN and fundamentals and just overall enjoyment of my kids and when i catch myself going the wrong way as a dad with sports i come read ur replies to remind myself of FUN and let htem be kids

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LNXbU0DBGQ

I'm glad that someone is listening to me LOL ....... I think he is doing a great job right now..... he is trying to plant his inside foot which is the way that shot should be taken. ( I know that some other coaches say to use the same pivot foot all the time... thats not my philosophy )

It looks like he has a great work ethic too..... I like the way he goes about his workout. As far as the distance for his shooting... its important that he keeps the form the same... IF he has to change it to get the shot to the basket he is too far away.

Shooting is all about MUSCLE MEMORY..... keep using the CORRECT form and you will never have to think about it - it will just come naturally. Keep working on your game buddy and have FUN. :-)

Thanks so much for the kind words. Coach Sar and I have always been advocates of "FUN FIRST" when it comes to youth basketball.
I watched your son's video. He has a nice shot on the move. Good extension, nice arc and squares himself. Have him hold his follow thru a little longer. On follow thrus, I tell my kids, "Hold it until it hits". Basically holding your follow thru until the ball hits rim or goes thru net.

Tell your son keep up the good work!!!

Best Regards,

Coach A

I always told our kids to put their hand in the cookie jar.... :-) They can all relate to that. We also told them to hold the follow through until the ball goes thru the net..... we wanted them to think they were going to make every shot.

Keep up the good work and REMEMBER - Have FUN!

Thanks guys I will sure tell him to hold the follow thru longer! I have heard of and have told him the hand in the cookie jar but really had never thought to have him
Hold it til it hits! I would Like to ask for my own personal information what exactly does holding a follow thru longer do to the shot? He had his first game of the year Saturday and had a nice overall game , he really surprised me with his rebounding as a smaller guard ! I was impressed with the way he went and attacked the ball in the air and appeared to get it with two hands at the peak of his jump! That is something I hadn't seen him do last year! I think he had 15 pts and 6 rebounds ! I am just blown away with the speed and the way he jumped, I really didn't see that coming! I have tried pumping him up and really complimenting him on his rebounding and jumping in the game! As for our team we lost 37-24 but was competitive til the 4th qt and the game was a kept around 4 pt lead to a tie for most of the game! We had kids during time outs and half saying how much fun they was having and communicating and talking about what each other was doing! That was exciting seeing the kids enjoy competing and playing hard! Looking forward to more games!

Holding your follow thru longer is so important to a shooter's shooting form.
1) it reminds the shooter that he needs to "finish high and hold", it serves as a mental reminder to the shooter that this is the way to finish a shot

2) after a shot, the ball will travel in the direction where it last left the fingertips. If those fingers/fingertips are straight on then the ball will travel straight. If a miss, then the only thing you have to tweak is the distance. If a shooter's follow thru is to the left, to the right or "short-armed" then adjustments must be made to not only distance but left/right
accuracy.
3) Lastly, holding your follow thru until it hits serves as a diagnostic tool for an observer, coach or dad. If his shot is off
a coach can watch his follow thru and make adjustments and corrections. Or , as the coaches watches, the follow thru is perfect, the coach can now move on to other discrepancies in the shooting form.


Ever watch Michael Jordan, Kobe, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce..and pretty much all great shooters. Look how long they hold their follow thru. Jordan would continue holding it as he is backpeddling downcourt...even after the shot went in. Next time you watch a game with your son. Have him watch the shooter's form and follow thru...NOT the ball.

Best of Luck!!!

Coach A

I agree, its very important.... your son is well on the way to becoming a good shooter... he has a great work ethic - he loves to compete ( I can see that in the videos ) Shooting is all about muscle memory (JMO) and once he gets his shot down form wise, the rest is practice. Some say practice makes perfect... it doesn't - PERFECT PRACTICE makes perfect and that is where it develops the musclet memory.

Holding the follow thru shows that you are concentrating on the shot.... jerking back tends to have the ball come up short... he is young and will only get better... right now I think he has a great shot for a 10 year old... and him wanting to rebound is amazing... not a lot of kids want to do that.

I had one kid on our varsity that followed every shot he took, even from the top of the key which weakened our D... so we had to put in a rule for the point to get back every time he shot it....... and this kid could score.

How does he do from the free throw line? We always told our kids that if your shot was off, get yourself to the free throw line where you can concentrate on your form. We had some kids that shot 1,000 free throws a day during the summer...... high 80s and low 90s %wise during the season. Can you put another clip of him shooting just free throws?
I had some parents from other schools ask me if I cloned my shooters - they said they all shoot exactly the same way - perfect form... I just told them that we worked on shooting lot.
Again, be patient with your son, make sure he is having a lot of fun.....

The reason I brought up the free throws was to explain to you how my better shooters got that way...... a lot of perfect form shooting..... after shooting 1,000 we would have summer camp / practice and believe me their stroke was perfect.

Check out a couple of these good shooters and watch their form....
http://www.ihigh.com/school5105/video_886382.html

This team was #8 when we played them... and the reason the game plan worked so well was that we shot so well.

Let your son watch the point guard... he was 4'11 as a freshman and he was already a player......

Thanks guys! And I'll get a clip of him just shooting free throws coach sar ! We watch some games together last night and even the good college shooters in fact hold that follow thru til it hits! I pointed tht out to Blake and we both seen it time after time and I let him read ur guys responses on why it's important ! Guys I just want u to know That the reason I. Am asking and showing these clips is cause he is so eager to learn how to do it better and how to do it right! He soaks this stuff up likes sponge ! I just give him the info and let him put it to work if he wants to!

Des, your son sounds like a great kid, you are doing a great job with him.

Blake, be patient, keep working on your game - you have great form and range for someone your age. Thats why I suggested you NOT worrying about threes right now. I know that every kid either wants to knock down the THREE BALL of DUNK... and since you wont be dunking for a few years :-) I would concentrate on your shooting.

Try to stay within your comfort range when you shoot - meaning, you aren't adjusting your form just to get the ball up to the rim. Most of my best shooters were GREAT free throw shooters. IF you watched that clip I sent you will see that the good shooters had great form and follow thru.
Above all, while you are working at this... make sure you are having FUN...
....
Have you watched the Video "Boys of Fall" by Kenney Chesney? There are some great messages towards the end, just relate it to Bball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlXDo5WhQXI
I watch this and it brings back a lot of good memories..... remember that basketball (sports) like life - is a journey, not a destination. Keep up the good work and have fun.