My daughter Meagan is 8 and has played through 2 church leagues to date. We have been working on her shot as she tend to bring the ball into her body at chest level and proceeds to "shot put" the ball toward the hoop. We have been working on shooting very short shots from the low block to focus on keeping her elbows up and using her fingers and legs to power the ball toward her target. During these drills she is improving but as soon as she steps away from the drill and shoots from anywhere else, she resorts back to a shove style shot. I realize some of the issue is strength related but she struggles with the timing to generate power from a leg drive when focusing on a more correct motion. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

A lot of 8 year old kids have a hard time shooting with correct form.... they don't have enough strength to do it. She's in 3rd grade?? Just teach her some the very basic stuff about the game and let her have fun. JMO

Lets see what Jeff and Joe have to say about this issue.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, she is in third grade. I understand and agree that the fun aspect is more important and the technical aspects should be kept to a minimum. Her leagues have utilized lower rims to keep them from heaving the ball to 10', I'm just trying to walk the line between keeping instruction simple and trying to avoid poor habits as she beging playing organized games. Thanks again for the quick response, we both enjoy visiting your site.

I wish this was my site... Jeff and Joe Haefner own this and its great from my point of view.

Thats a good start, lowering the rims.... I hope they are using smaller balls too.

If I were you, I would just keep an eye on her and see how her shooting goes... I understand as a dad/coach that you want to do what is right for her.... IF she is strong enough to shoot the ball with proper form.. then you can work on that.... if not... let her shoot it and change it when she gets a little older.

You can always work on form against a wall, that way there is no pressure to make shots.... good luck.

My daughter is almost 7. She doesn't play basketball (my choice, not hers - she wants to play). And I am a complete junkie, other than my family, basketball is my life. This is just what I think is best and makes the most sense. You can decide if you agree...

I put my daughter in as many opportunities to develop athletically as possible without pushing too much (gymnastics, soccer, martial arts, swimming, flag football, playing tag, and so on). These are all excellent for athletic development, which include coordination, balance, spatial awareness, strength, jumping, stopping, quickness, endurance, rhythm, reaction time, proprioception, flexibility, and agility.

Now so far I have only been able to get her to do soccer, gymnastics, lots of tag, and swimming in grandmas pool. But I hope to get her into some other things and just let her play these sports seasonally. When I have time I also try to encourage active games at home, whether it's tag, skipping, skipping backwards, mirror games, and so on. Kids need to learn how to move (fundamental movement). I believe if they can develop all this athleticism and coordination, that when they pick up a ball in middle school or high school, they have a chance to be pretty darn good. Coach Sar will probably agree, coaches always want athletes.

Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, and Dirk Novitski didn't play basketball until they were 13. Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (two greatest) of all time stunk when they were sophomores in high school.

So my opinion is to take a break from basketball. Do other sports. Then maybe in a year, pick up a REALLY small basketball, a 6 or 7 foot basket (even a plastic one in the basement), and let her shoot. With a light enough mini ball and taking break, she might just naturally correct the problem on her own and develop new muscle memory with the mini ball.

Hopefully this helps give you some ideas, regardless of what you do. If you have any more questions or we didn't fully answer, just let us know. We're happy to help.

Jeff,

I wish every parent could read this post.... great job....I have a good friend who really got me into teaching and coaching... I owe it all to him...... he went in to fire fighting and was a chief..... Let the kids have fun and experience as many activities as they can or want to.

Our school used to have a variety show right at the beginning of our basketball season.. thanks guys.... trying to get ready here.... ( I always told my players, do what you want, HS is a short time, enjoy yourself and I will support anything you want to do ) The funniest thing that ever happened ( as 2 players and a heavy set manager had to go to the variety show practice in the middle of mine ) They came back to practice during one of their breaks wearing PINK TU TUs ... I cant tell you how hard we were laughing at them... I only wish I had a camera then.

My friend has some grandsons who are playing football, one flag and one tackle.... I showed him the article regarding whats wrong with youth sports.... he said, maybe I shouldn't go to the youngest ones games.... I told him, go to the games and support all the kids.... but forget the winning part.. let them have fun... take a pill before you go if you have to hahaha... Even his wife things he goes overboard on this.... after reading the article.. I think he got the idea... will he be perfect, probably not... that will take time since he is so intense.

This post and that article should be mandatory reading before marriage and / or coaching. I know I made a lot of mistakes when I started coaching.... but I do know that I learned as I went along. I know my reply is a little crazy, but I wanted to share all this.

Again, GREAT POST.