How to coach fundamentaly challenged player

Hi there coach,

My name is Adam Medina and I coach a private school H.S. team, I only have seven players and I only have 3 out of them that have some form of fundamental basketball skills. My question is how do I train the ones that don't and have developed all the bad habits, playing street ball?

Coach,

Your players just need lots of repetitions. I don't think there is any way around that. You need to prioritize the things you can fix and the things you can't fix. Then get in the gym and get quality reps.

In regards to shooting, the are a few techniques to change habits faster.

First, you can shoot away from the basket. That allows players to start developing new habits without getting discouraged. 99% of the time players will go back to their old habits because at first the new (correct way) is uncomfortable and their shooting actually gets worse. It takes time and that's why shooting away from the basket helps develop new muscle memory.

Second, you can have players immediately correct their mechanics. For example, if you notice that you didn’t follow-through; reposition your arms for a proper follow-through right away. By immediately correcting yourself after each practice shot, you train your mind to do it correctly the next time.

If shooting is of interest, we go into great details in about breaking habits and effectively developing a great shooting stroke in this ebook:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/p ... oting.html

As for the shooting part... have them start using only one hand.. this forces them to get their elbow under the ball, the get the lift and follow thru - hold it.

They can do this against a wall... not worrying about making a shot.... htey can get the correct muscle memory doing this.... it works.

Ken