Player with a "Slow Load"

Back in the day, Tubby Smith commented on Tayshaun Prince's "jump shot", calling it a "Slow Load." Being 6'9" helped prevent many blocked shots I guess...Anyway, I have a youth player similar in that he is also left handed and has a slow load. His form is pretty much spot on, but he takes a bit longer to set the ball in his hand prior to shooting. I had noticed it during the initial practices, but since his form looked good, better than most his age, I wasn't going to say anything.

However, his father made a point to ask me at the last practice whether there was some method to get him to "speed up" the process as it were.
We have been working on some catch and shoot drills, but I don't know of any trick or technique to move his process along. Come regular season, I'd hate for him to lose confidence and be hesitant to shoot after getting it blocked a few times early.

Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Mark

At a young age, they lack the strength sometimes.. ( not sure how old he is right now ) but as he gets older and stronger his shot should get quicker.

One thing we did with a few players like that was to have them time themselves as they shot in practice... 1 -1,000 .... 2 - 1,000 etc...... then we asked them to try and take a little bit off of that time... lets say he was shooting at the (2) 1,000 part... got him to work at this by getting him to shoot at that 2. The one thing we didn't want to affect was his shooting % ... but IF he got this and was still shooting well, then we had him go to the (1) 1,000 ... possibly taking a second off of his release time.... that might be way too much for him right now... but the first (undrelined part) might work for him.

Another thing we worked on was catching the ball in the triple threat position whenever possible, that way he can go right into his shot IF it was a good shot for him.

Great! I'll try that the next practice!


Thanks!

Mark

Good luck and I hope it works.

Oh, forgot, he's 10...and thin.....hence the Tayshaun Prince reference! :-)

That has a lot to do with why he has a slow release... hes 10, thin and probably not all that strong yet... heck, hes young... be patient... you say he has good form and shoots well % wise.... don't worry about it..... as he grows, gets bigger and stronger, things should take care of themselves.... you can still run what I was talking about to help him with a little quicker release.

Yep, that's sounds great...I only considered it because his father asked me if I knew of any way to speed him up.

I'll start out with the counting and see how that works

Thanks!

Mark

Tell his dad to relax and let the kid be a kid and have fun.... :-)

LOL! Thanks!

Actually we did try the counting exercise, and also a drill with a passer under the basket that passes the ball to the shooter then does a quick defensive close out. Seemed to help.

Thanks, again!

Mark

Thats great..... a two fold drill.... thats also good.... get two things done at one time.... saves time.

Good luck this year... hope you have a fun season and that boy is happy playing.

Thanks!
We had a pretty good practice Saturday, even though I had only 4 players. :-P
Started teaching then a motion offense and they seemed to pick it up pretty quickly.

Mark

Tough stuff for 10 year olds but you know your own kids... simple pass and cut type ?

The last thing you want to do is have them "THINKING" on the court rather than reacting.... especially at this age. I hope this works for you/them.

Well, it's simplified, and they actually picked up on the progressions of the 2-3-4 players when I got confused a bit. :-)

http://www.coachesclipboard.net/StanfordMotionZoneOffense.html



Mark

That has some nice movement .... and IF the kids get it and can run it under pressure.. thats great.

I have a lot of my stuff on that site... under Coach Sar... open post offense, match up D... press offense and inbounds plays.. Jeff and Joe weren't around when I started posting with Dr Gels... both of these sites are great.

This year is unique in that my players and the ones with most experience and ability and shooting/dribbling prowess are also my tallest players.
I need all three of those guys out on the perimeter. I have two who almost as tall who have little /no experience and can play down low if necessary..
Two others have never played at all, still working with them on proper dribbling and shooting technique.

Mark

Your job is a work in progress... they are young... remember, its a journey, not a destination... and God Bless you for working with youngs kids of this age.

True!

Thanks for your help and kind words!

Mark