My son (5th grader) has the potential to be a very good shooter. He has good ball position, a nice release and has a very good eye for shooting.

The bad habit he has developed is that he doesn't always use his legs. When he uses his legs and gets proper lift he has a lot of success, out to even the three-point line.

However, more often than not he is either not bending his knees (rather he bends at his back) or if he does bend his knees he locks them when shooting rather than lifting up.

Are there any targeted drills that can be recommended for this specific problem? Many thanks.

Since I cant see your sons shot.... all I can do is to offer this advice.....

Do some form shooting off a wall... make sure that he does all the little things correctly and do this until its second nature and the whole procedure becomes muscle memory. By shooting off a wall, he wont have to worry about making the shot... its all about FORM

Then go to shooting the same shots - block / middle / block shooting with one hand and finishing up on his toes. There is a lot of information on this site but I'm its what your son needs. You can take a look at these and see if it will help.

To get better, each basketball drill needs to have a purpose and you really need to focus and work hard to improve.

Practicing drills is when players get better. In fact, the most important aspect of getting better as a player, is how you run those basketball drills.

In order to get better, you need to practice over and over to develop good habits and muscle memory. If you don'To get better, each basketball drill needs to have a purpose and you really need to focus and work hard to improve.

Practicing drills is when players get better. In fact, the most important aspect of getting better as a player, is how you run those basketball drills.

In order to get better, you need to practice over and over to develop good habits and muscle memory. If you don't practice the RIGHT way, you're just developing bad habits and training yourself to play the wrong way.
t practice the RIGHT way, you're just developing bad habits and training yourself to play the wrong way.


Basketball Shooting Tips for Players


21 Easy Ways to Increase Your Basketball Shooting Percentage

How to Develop Supreme Confidence (Required to Become a Great Shooter)

Top 5 Biggest Basketball Shooting Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

How to Develop a Super Quick Shooting Release (Like Stephen Curry)

How to Increase Your Shooting Range

This all comes from the Basketball Drills seciton on this site.

When doing form shots have your son finish on his toes. This makes him bend his knees and practices good habits. Repition, Repition, Repition...do this everyday.
The legs are an important part of the shooting technique, especially late in ball games.

All great advice here. Here's another thought:

Have them do a squat medicine ball toss. In order to do this, have the kid:

- Hold the medicine ball with two hands. Kind of like he would do if he were going to throw a pass in basketball.
- Squat down and explode up and toss the ball as far as possible.
- Eventually, you could have him move with the medicine ball like he is going to step into a shot and do the same thing.

This should naturally teach him what it feels like to sit the hips back and bend the knees. If he doesn't, the medicine ball won't go anywhere because it is too heavy. In other words, it won't allow him to cheat.

I'm guessing 4 pounds would be fine for a 5th grader. I've used 8 pounds with more mature athletes. Make sure it bounces if you are going to do this on a basketball court.

This also teaches coordination between the upper body and lower body.