In the game of basketball, you rarely shoot the same shot twice. Yet, we practice that way all of the time!

There is a time and purpose to shoot the same shot twice in a row during practice for confidence and technique development. However, if you want to have shooting improvement transfer to games, you need to vary your shots in practice. Here's why...

Research has shown that the way we access our memory is completely different than how we traditionally practice.

When the exact same shot is performed repeatedly, you access your short term memory. Imagine running from the corner to the wing and shooting this same shot ten times in a row.

When you wait for longer than 20 to 30 seconds or change shots between repetitions, you access your long term memory. You might want to do both.

Most of your shots during games are when you access your long term memory!

Here's a drill where you can practice this. It varies between six common shots that you will shoot during the game.

This is a 6 shot drill. The drill will begin with a pass from the passer to the shooter.

The 1st shot is a corner 3 point shot.

The 2nd shot is a shot fake / mid range pull-up

The 3rd shot is a curl off a pin down.

The 4th shot is a straight cut for 3 point shot.

The 5th shot is a flare to the corner.

The 6th shot is a transition 3 point shot. After shooting the flare, the shooter will sprint to half court line and back to the wing.

To supplement this drill, you can also add in variable 1v1 and 2v2 drills that force the offensive player to attack a defender, like during a game. Here is an example:

Breakthrough Basketball Shooting Camps

If you would like to learn the mentality, skills, and drills to become a great shooter, you can take a look at our Breakthrough Shooting Camps or the Breakthrough Shooting, Ball Handling, & Finishing Camps.

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

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