BIG shooting problem

I would call myself a pretty good shooter. I have a decent- good jump shot (somewhere in between). I believe my form is almost perfect. The thing is, when I am having a team scrimmage, I can't make a shot for my life. I will be open and shoot my shot, and I would make the shot every single time, except in team scrimmages, when I need it. Then the coach is always like "you need to make that!". It happens every time! I don't know why it happens. Also, like when I drive in, I would pull up for a tear drop, it should be such an easy shot and I make it almost 90% of the time in every situation I am in, except during team scrimmages. I missed like 3 of those floaters in a row yesterday. By the 3rd scrimmage yesterday, my point guard just stopped passing me the ball, which made me very angry. I just can't shoot at all in team scrimmages. It Makes me mad!

Mikko..... since I am NOT there to see and analyze your shot.... the only thing I can surmise is SELF - CONFIDENCE. You NEED to tell yourself that you can make that shot every day of the week and twice on Sundays. You HAVE to believe in yourself..
It's a lot easier to shoot when no one is guarding you... and when there is NO pressure. How about when you are shooting that you get someone to defend you... maybe NOT to block the shot but to harrass you and make it more difficult?
I still think its about self-confidence - be patient with yourself and concentrate on your target when you are shooting... hold your follow thru too. Don't get angry because that is self defeating..... stay positive - get your self to the FREE THROW line where you can concentrate on your form. Ask your coach IF your form is good when you are shooting in scrimmages and IF there is any difference between practice shooting and shooting in scrimmages...
Good luck and let us know how its going.

OK. I'll try to have more confidence. The thing that breaks my confidence is whenever I mess up or make some turnover, or miss a pass, my point guard yells at me and that kinda breaks my confidence. Should I just ignore him?

Maybe he is just trying to make you better.... but its up to the coach to do the correcting / yelling :-)
Just concentrate on YOUR game.... focus - focus - focus. Keep your eye on the ball.... you don't want to miss any passes if you can help it. We all make mistakes...... players / coaches and the Pros do too.
So, listen to WHAT he has to say.... NOT HOW he says it. IF he really bothers you, ignore him when he yells at you.

alright. I'll just ignore what he says because he definitely is not trying to make me better, and I'll try to be more confident

How old are you? What level are you playing at?

15 yrs old, playin 15&under AAU basketball

OK, be patient with yourself... you are still young and have a long way to go. You have plenty of time to improve your game. Hang in there and relax, we used to say, Play Hard - Play Smart.... and HAVE FUN!

When you practice on your own make sure you practice at "game speed". Don't just take set shots. Take shots off the dribble. Or throw the ball out in front of you with a backspin, throw it "underhanded" about 8 to 10 feet in front or on the side of you, run to it and catch it like a pass, turn square and shoot. Basically this drill allows you to pass to yourself.
Also, when practicing on your own, ask a buddy to play tough D against you. You need to practice under pressure to do better during your scrimmages. 1 on 1 or 2 on 2 pickup games will help you.

And as Coach Sar pointed out. Never lose confidence, try not to get down. Believe in yourself!!!

And finally, if you having a bad shooting day, there are other things you can do to make up for it. Make good passes, play filthy defense, crash the boards, hit the deck for every loose ball.

Out,

Coach A

And take some charges!

Mikko: a quick suggestion, you and your point guard need to sit down over a coke and discuss his attitude towards you. You need to inform him that his yelling and refusing to pass you the ball is not helping him or the team. He needs to also know that it is destroying your confidence. Point guards (ala Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Magic Johnson) should be floor leaders not autocrats. I think if you present this to him in a mature but matter of fact manner, he will listen. If he's any kind of a leader, he will take your advice. Hope this helps Coach Mac

I'm just gonna ignore what my point guard tells me. He is always angry at someone and never at himself, he has no confidence in half the team, he doesn't try to make anyone better, all he says is "COME ON MAN!", then he sighs and gives someone a dirty look. He is a complete "you-know-what". He won't listen. He's just one of those people. He wouldn't even say hi in school or something, he would just walk past like he doesn't know you. I'm just gonna play my own game and do some training to get better

He doesn't sound like much of a leader.... you are playing on a TEAM.... that means TEAM and NOT I or ME. Don't sweat the small stuff and EVERYTHING is small stuff!

Mikko: one thing that is gnawing at me is why doesn't your coach notice his negative attitude towards you and many of your teammates? Further, if this attitude is affecting you how many other players is it affecting? When I was a young player, we used to call these guys "club house or locker room lawyers". They can have a bad effect on the team and if nothing is done about it, they will continue until the team and its chemistry is destroyed. As coach Sars says, don't sweat the small stuff, however, if it is not addressed, it becomes big stuff. Coach Mac

Got this from Jeff and Joe - thanks guys.

How to Develop Supreme Basketball Shooting Confidence (Required to Become a Great Shooter)
Just ask any shooting coach or expert about the importance of confidence...

They will all tell you that confidence can be the difference between an AVERAGE shooter and a GREAT shooter. Confidence will greatly improve your shooting percentage!

So how do you develop supreme and unwavering shooting confidence?

Here are three few extremely effective techniques:

1 - GROOVING

Before every practice and game, face the basket and shoot 50 EASY shots about four to ten feet from the basket.

Not only does this improve your shooting form, but it helps to develop phenomenal confidence.

How?

You'll quickly become very good at grooving these shots over and over. You'll see the ball going in the basket over and over. You'll swish the ball repeatedly and probably shoot 60%, 70%, 80%, or more, which is great for your psyche.

Simply by seeing your shot go in over an over, you'll become more confident.

Why do you think that NBA players do this before games?

Why do you think that Tiger Woods starts all of his practice sessions by making 100 three-foot putts?

Because it works! So don't overlook this powerful strategy.


2 - CHARTING

This is another technique that you should NOT overlook!

Lots of coaches talk about it, but we give credit to Dave Hopla for helping us realize the power of charting. He has been preaching it for years.

To improve your confidence, start charting all of the shots that you take in practice. It's easy to do and you'll be absolutely amazed at how much it helps.

After every practice session, keep track of what kinds of shots you took, the number of shots taken and the number of shots that you actually made.

Why does this help?

It seems so trivial, but the greatest shooters in the world have discovered this secret and will all tell you the same answer.

Their chart continually reminds them of how great they are. They can see on paper that they shot 65% for all of their 10 foot jumpers. They can see that they shot 90% for free throws.

Then what happens?

You start believing both at a conscious and deep subconscious level that you're an awesome shooter!

And you have the proof right there on paper. It shows you that you've made thousands of shots. And you won't soon forget how to shoot because you've done this thousands of times and you can knock 'em down!

Take our advice. Start charting your shots, especially the shots that you groove.

The chart doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to make sense to you and be easy for you to carry around, like a notebook, journal, or a binder.

Here's a simple example of a shooting chart, but you should come up with one that makes sense to you:

Date Shot Type Attempts Makes Percentage
3/21/2008 Form shooting 50 40 80%
3/21/2008 6' grooves 50 38 76%
3/21/2008 12' catch & shoot 100 62 62%
3/21/2008 Free throws 10 8 80%


3 - PRACTICE

This alludes to an obvious technique to improve your confidence...

Practice!

We all know that practice improves confidence.

If you're reluctant to shoot, not confident, and hesitant, then you're probably going to miss. Even though confidence is the mark of a great shooter, you can't invent confidence out of thin air. It has to be based on some evidence and experience.

This comes from practice. You will be able to relax and shoot with a confidence that has been earned.

No tricks or tactics here. You just need to get it done. For a little motivation, you might want to recruit a good partner. You can also set goals. Do whatever it takes. A high school player should be taking around 500 shots a day and charting them all.


We suggest that you implement all of the techniques above. You should groove your shots every day, chart your shots, and practice ALL the time.

Coach: Great article, great advice, enough said Coach Mac