Hi,

I am an assistant coach for a girls team in high school. I have been coaching for two years now and starting on my third. My question is that I am working with a player who is in a shooting slump. She has great form...the ball is just not going in. I'm talking she is wide open and over shooting it. She seems to be forcing it. I try to encourage her to relax and let it come to her. From experience I know most of the problem is mental. I asked her what she thinks about when she shoots and she says that, "I hope I don't miss." I wanted to know some ideas to help this player to find her "mojo." Within our practice we do a lot of shooting drills. Any suggestions would be a great help. Thank you.

You have to try and change her " I hope I don't miss " Attitude to ... "Give me the ball, I can make that shot " ... AND.... " Piece of cake, I can make that shot! "

You say her shots are all long? Try to get her to get a little more lift in her shot... What is she using as a target? Back or Front of the rim? I used just over the front... don't ask me why, it just worked for me.

IF she is long and using the back rim... change it to the front.... see what happens. Let us know.

Ken

Yeah, thinking "I hope I don't miss" before you shoot is the worst thing you can do.

Let this player know that it's ok if they miss. They can contribute in so many other ways... defense, rebounding, passing, leadership, hustle, and so on.

Let the player know that the best shooters in the world miss more times than they make it!!! Look at NBA players. If you shoot 40% from three point area you are consider a great shooter. Yet you are missing more times than making it. Seriously, don't worry about missing. How many times have we seen Michal Jordan miss his first 6 shots and then go on a tear to score 50?

If all else fails, we have some slump breaking techniques that work every time in our ebook:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/pr/btshooting.html

Also, here are some really good confidence builders and articles that will help.
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shooting-confidence.html
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/coaching-basketball-shooting.html
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shooting-improve-confidence.html
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shooting/overcome-shooting-slumps.html
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/blog/index.php/how-watching-tiger-woods-can-improve-the-mental-aspects-of-your-basketball-game/