|
Return to Newsletter Index page
ATTENTION: You are receiving this newsletter
because you subscribed to it. If you'd like to remove yourself
from this mailing list, please see the instructions at the end
of this newsletter. Our subscriber list is NOT made available
to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber
and respect your privacy. This Newsletter is a vehicle for communicating what I know about shooting. I see the game in deep trouble because there are very few great shooters any more, and few people know how to coach great shooting. Coaches and players everywhere lament the decline in this master skill. Wonderfully designed plays are run to perfection, a player is opened up for a 10-15' shot or a 3, and then the shot is missed. It even happens so often that coaches and players aren't surprised when the shot is botched. Failure is kind of expected, but it's still disappointing. Articles are written about this dilemma, and people are looking for an answer. I feel there's good news and bad news. It's like that old story of a wise man counseling the King who seeks the Secret of Life and was told it lies in a big Vault. The wise man then tells the King there's "good news" and "bad news." The bad news is that there is no key to the Vault! The good news is that it's been left unlocked!!! The good news in this case is that the
secrets of great shooting are simple. It doesn't take thousands
of hours to become a great shooter. And they're not really secrets.
They're there for anyone to see in the few great shooters out
there. It's just that they've been lost or overlooked. The only
bad news is that we just don't see them. But all we have to do
is open our eyes. NBA training camps open October 4th or 5th, and after a week or two of intensive training and a couple weeks of Pre-season games, the 1999-2000 season will start in early November. Free agents are still being signed and talk is firing up as to which teams have a chance to go all the way. Some great players are say- ing this will be their last year, Charles Barkley for one, and Jeff Hornacek for another. Last year's terribly condensed 50 games in 88 days season is a thing of the past, thank goodness. This year teams will have time to practice and develop, not just perform night after night, hoping not to get injured. I read Bill Bradley's "Values of the Game" recently. It's a marvelous book, about the values the game of basketball cradles: Passion, Discipline, Selflessness, Respect, Perspective, Courage, Leadership, Responsibility, Resilience and Imagination. Bill talks about his days as a New York Knick and the incredible sense of "Team" they created during those great Knick years. For a Team to be great, he says, they must have these values. In the process, Bill pulls back the curtain on basketball's secrets - many of which, it turns out, extend to life far beyond the hardwood. I've been aware of Bill as a person for many years, most notably through a cassette tape reading of his life and now this book. He has been a "mindful" person all his life, very real, down to earth, caring, observing, developing. His life embodies the values he writes about, not just his basketball. He'd make a most wonderful President. When he was a Professor-in-residence at Stanford last year, about an hour from where I live, I called his office and was invited to send my video to him. They said he'd be "very interested." With the video, I sent a letter inviting him to meet me at a court at Stanford and "shoot some hoops" some time. Though he declined, he sent the following note: "Dear Tom, Your approach addresses a fundamental part of basketball - how to shoot the ball. I commend you for teach this skill to young people and hope that it raises shooting percentages all over America! Best regards. I wish we had had that moment on a court
together... This year the goal we have for him is 75% or more from the free stripe. What isn't notable in the stats is how his jump shot is also improving. They go hand-in-hand with my coaching, since they use the same basic motion. Dale's shot is getting more and more consistent, and when you see the Pacers play this year, watch Dale's shooting to see if his shots aren't higher and softer than ever. Let me know what you see. While there, I got to watch some scrimmages
at the Fitness Center where Dale trains. A lot of NBA players
live in the Atlanta area during the off season, and I observed
full out scrimmages involving such great players as Stephon Marbury,
Tyronn Lue, John and Drew Barry, Shandon Anderson, Tyrone Hill
and others. Stephon looks like he's gained some extra muscle
and played great. Tyronn is an amazing point guard, too. I can
see why he did so well last year for the Lakers. He was holding
his own against Stephon. John and Drew were the best shooters
there, and it was fun to watch Shandon, the great "finisher."
It was a delight to be that close and witness their incredible
basketball moves. It's also believed, I feel, that you shouldn't "mess" with a player's skills like shooting during the season. If you're talking about major changes in how someone stands or holds the ball, that might be true. But I feel if you introduce simple awarenesses of what a player does, and encourage feedback about what's experienced, learning can happen any time. I'LL HELP YOU WITH GROUP SHOOTING COACHING! If you're interested in this, I'll send you my thoughts on general shooting coaching that can be done easily with a whole team or teams or with large PE groups. There are some things that players can become aware of that can make a big difference in shooting, and they can be taught "en masse," to a whole group at once. These simple group exercises will introduce awarenesses and start a conversation with the kids that can lead to personal breakthroughs learned pretty much on their own (with minimal attention by the coaches). Want to give it a try? Drop me an email
at swish22@cruzio.com and I'll return 3 or 4 simple things to
do. And I'll stay in contact with you to refine them and respond
to questions, etc. This will be great fun. The kind of coaching
I do CAN be presented during a season. It's not a major shift
in how a kid stands or holds the ball or even releases it. If you worked hard all summer on your skills, you'll be best prepared for what's to come. If you've been goofing off, you'd better get going now. You've got at most a month to develop that extra move off the dribble, to learn better how to block out or play defense, or, most importantly, HOW TO SHOOT! I hope my Newsletters have been of help. Read them over again. Look at the articles I've written on "The Trouble With Shooting." (Go to my Website at http://www.swish22.com.) Get my video, if you can. If cost is an issue, Email me and we'll work out something. The video will show you how to coach yourself, what to look for in others, how to practice. It will give you an advantage. Most of all, enjoy yourself! Basketball is just a Game! It's a delightful and thrilling game, but it's still just a game. The values you learn on the court will help you in life. Winning is NOT the main thing here, despite what some coaches and parents may say. What matters is what you learn, who you BECOME in the process. You will encounter those old adversaries, Victory and Defeat. How you handle them is important. When you can handle them equally - neither being too proud in victory nor too humbled in defeat - then you've really learned something! When you lose, for example, can you stop making it all about you and your failure and, instead, feel (or imagine) the joy of accomplishment of your opponent ... and then go over and truly congratulate her or him? It's easier later, off the court, of course, to let go of the negative emotion, but if you can catch yourself feeling sorry for yourself right away and snap out of it and go over and truly congratulate your opponent, that would be awesome! When you win, can you do the same thing, be less into self glory and be more into sincere appreciation of your opponents and what they had to accomplish to be there that day ... and express it to them? I wish I had learned this when I was playing. I happened to be on winning teams mostly up to and through high school. And I spent most of post-game time feeling good about myself. It was, definitely, mostly about me. But looking back, though it helped my self esteem, I could have made some great friends and grown as a person by getting outside of myself in those moments. I didn't get any coaching in that process until much later. Maybe this coaching will help you. See if you can just appreciate being alive and realize how lucky you are to be playing this great game. Smile and greet your teammates and opponents with joy in your heart. See if you can meet them as long-lost friends. (I've heard that the Dali Llama greets everyone he meets as if he or she is a long lost brother or sister, mother or father, or child.) You can change the game with your love and appreciation. Sure, you want to work hard and develop yourself so you can accomplish goals, be recognized, and make a contribution to the team (and victory), but it's the "process" of that development that matters - it's who you become that truly matters! Who you become will affect your entire life. If all you can talk about with your grandchildren is that you won some games and achieved some fame, it will be hollow. If this touches a chord in you, Email me and tell me what you've discovered or noticed about this subject. Observe yourself in games and practice and watch how you behave. Do you get this idea of "getting outside yourself" and being with other people? I'd love to be in communication with you about it. Life is, hopefully, a long process for you. You don't have to be a success at every stage. In fact you can't. Failure and disappointment are inevitable companions on your journey. Failure can serve to make you stronger, make you work harder, re-evaluate yourself, and make corrections in your life's path. See if you can find enjoyment in even the humblest things, in the "ordinary" things of life. As a mentor of mine put it, "Learn to appreciate the `ordinary' in life ... because there's a lot more of it!" Best of luck and great learning to you! OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTRY: I'm available to come to your city to do clinics. The rate will depend on the number of clinics and students and the travel time involved. Call for details and to set up such a clinic or a series of clinics. Keep checking my Website at http://www.swish22.com or call or Email me if you'd like more details. I'll update the schedule on my Website when it changes. PRIVATE COACHING: VIDEO ANALYSIS: Go to the Swish Website, find the section about the "Shooting Newsletter," key in your Email address and click on the "JoinList"graphic. An Email will be sent automatically back to you asking that you confirm that you want to be on the List. Reply in the affirmative and you will be added to the list and receive a password. There is no need to save or record the password because ListBot will always quickly Email it back to you when asked. It's needed only to change your Email address or to Unsubscribe. You can also just Email me back that you want to Subscribe. I'll take care of it. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this Newsletter: If you ever want to Unsubscribe, please
visit ListBot at ListBot
You will be asked for your Email address and your password. If
you don't remember your password, Email them that you lost it
and they will quickly re-send it to you. Then you can easily
Unsubscribe. ------------------------------------------------------------ |