My son uses his right hand to do lay-ups from left side. I tried to correct him. But he still does it.
is this something we have to correct it? or is it OK to shoot layups using right hand from the left side of the basket?

Michael -

How old is your son? Younger kids have a hard time using their off hand, it takes a lot of practice. Be patient with him.....

Try this with him....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmFOj0nhUN8

Make if fun for him, set some goals but until he gets confidence in himself... he will revert back to his strong hand.

thanks Coach.
he is almost 11 years old. I tried to have him do mikan drill. but he just refuses

Testy little guy huh! haha

You might talk to him about playing at the next levels..... he might get away with that now... but when he gets to high school he will need his left hand.

Can he dribble with his left hand? How about using the Mikan drill against a wall.... that way he wont have to worry about missing the shot. ??

Bribery always works.... how about X number of makes out of X number of shots? Make is simple for him so he can succeed. You can even start it out by saying.... shoot 5 left handed lay up and we will get some ice cream after practice. Then increase the #..... then go to a couple of makes for a pizza - you know your son better than I do.... find something that will get him to TRY I hate bribery but it will also make for some good father / son time.

Just some thoughts.

It's not okay to shoot right handed when doing a left handed lay-up and it is something you want to correct sooner than later. Like Sar mentioned, he might be able to get away with that now (age 11), but that will change quickly in the next year or two. The reason is because there is no protection from someone blocking his shot. Normally, he would have his inside leg and opposite hand up to help protect the ball, so there is a practical reason for shooting lay-ups the correct way.

Having said all that, he's 11 and it sounds like he might not see (or care about right now) the importance of shooting a left handed lay-up the proper way. It's not uncommon to see kids at the younger levels shy away from using their weak hand. It feels uncomfortable. I like Sar's idea of bribes or maybe easing into using the weak hand with some short competitive drills between you guys (with him somehow winning a majority of the time). Heck, I make my 8th grader play H-O-R-S-E with only left-handed shots sometimes just to get him shooting with his left hand more. Well, really I do it so I have a chance of winning.

Dribbling with his left hand might be the way to go first. When your son is in a good mood and maybe not even thinking about basketball, show him this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOcXA1S_VPI

You can google a few drills down the road to keep it interesting. There are two ball dribbling drills (great for weak hand work), one ball dribbling with a tennis ball in other hand and so on. Maybe you try a couple with him, if he sees that it's difficult for you, he might gain some confidence and motivation to practice so he can keep beating dad.

The earlier a player can work on their weak hand the better, imo. It becomes a HUGE factor as you get older, the players who are comfortable with both hands make tryouts and get more playing time. He's only 11, so I wouldn't get too twisted up about it though. Have to keep it fun.

Thanks Coaches Rob and Sar for your replies.
I talked my son about the replies here. Hopefully he will understand the importance of it. When he is doing the drill practice, it happens so far that no one noticed (including his personal coach). I took a video and played in slow motion and discovered that.

You might let him read what we are saying... and its not a put down.... but, IF he wants to play at the next levels, he has to work on fundamentals. He is 11, he should still be having fun while he does this.... otherwise he will grow up hating the game.... and at his age he should be doing all of this for the love of the game.

Listen to your dad young man, he, Rob and I are just trying to help you and see you get better. I'm sure that you are a computer genius, search the web for information regarding the game and fundamentals. Good luck and have fun.

I'll give my opinion.

The most important thing, and I think everyone would agree, is to develop coordination and the ability to make shots with both the right hand and left hand.

Personally I have no problem with players shooting with their right on the left side of the basket. I just want them to practice lots with both hands and be comfortable shooting with both.

In fact he should be able to shoot with his left hand when on the right side of the basket and the left side of the basket.

If you are on the left and shoot with the left, you are able to shield the ball from the defender and possibly shoot over them. If you want to minimize your strides to the basket and get the ball up as quick as possible (before the defender gets there) sometimes it's better to jump off your left foot (in stride) and quickly go up to the basket with your right hand. If you watch Steve Nash and John Stockton, they frequently shoot a quick lay up with their right hand on the left side.

So my philosophy is to develop coordination and skill jumping off either foot and shooting with either hand, so if they choose to develop finishing moves like Nash or Stockton, they have the foundation to do so.

This is not what is traditionally taught. So I'm sure you'll hear some coaches that disagree.

You wont get any argument from me on this ...... that and using the proper footwork. We used an X out drill to teach proper footwork and drillbing with the outside hand to protect the ball.

As far as games go, use what you have to use to make the shot

.

11 might be a little young to be worrying about finishing like them LOL You see young kids shooting floaters and all kinds of shots today.... nothing wrong with experimenting with different things as long as they are just not throwing the ball up there. JMO