|
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. SPECIAL NOTE: The number of subscribers
to this Newsletter is now approaching 1,400 mark! Thank you!!! Articles are written about this dilemma,
and people are looking for an answer. I feel I can provide that
answer. If you agree with what I'm saying, please help me get
my coaching methods out there. Refer people to my Website and
be in communication with me. Thanks. My favorite shooter was Eric Snow. I wonder how Philly would have done if plays were run for him. I doubt Coach Brown realizes what a great technique he has, or he would have had him taking more shots. And you saw Matt Geiger light it up. He has nice form. Meanwhile, Tyrone Hill shot unusually poorly (has a pretty good stroke) and Aaron McKie, with his complicated motion and Set Point way over his head, shot very badly when the pressure was on. Iverson is an incredible scorer, but not much a "pure" shooter. The Lakers hounded him and minimized his effect. Game over. He averaged 30 shots/game in the Playoffs, and averaged 33 pts., only ~1 pt per shot. That's not great shooting. As an aside, how awesome would Shaq be
if he had a jump shot and a free throw? He has a little turnaround
thing that works some of the time, and he can bank shots in from
the right side fairly well, but ask him to face the basket and
make an open jumper and I don't think he can do it. Maybe with
the new rules allowing zones and full time double teaming, he'll
seek help in learning an outside jumper. I could show him how
to make both jumpers and free throws. Each time she worked with me her shot got dramatically better. You can read her story of the doubt and angst she had over this most critical part of her game. She now has a new lease on life in basketball. I think you'll find the story most interesting. "When I showed up to play basketball at Stanford in 1993, at age 18, Tara Vanderveer, the head coach there, told me right away that my shot needed to be changed. I'd never been really coached in that area and I'd developed my own form, which had some obvious faults. However, I had spent so much time working on it that I'd been able to achieve a reasonably high percentage and no one had tried to make me change. After a few weeks of practice at Stanford, Tara told me that it was probably too late to change and decided to let me keep my old ways. She told me I would never be a pure shooter, but I had good aim and that was enough. "I had pretty good results with that shot throughout college. However, the pros were a different story. As my competition got better, quicker, and faster, I found that I had less and less time to "aim." I had trouble getting my shot off at all, and my percentage had gone way down on the ones I did put up. "After two seasons struggling in the WNBA, I began looking for ways to improve my game. One afternoon in late 2000, I ran into Tom Nordland at Maples pavilion at Stanford while I was waiting for an evening pick-up game. He introduced himself and offered some advice on improving my shot. Recalling Tara's statement 7 years before that it was already too late for me to fix my shot, I was very hesitant to follow Tom's example. After shooting poorly the next afternoon while concentrating on the new techniques, I decided that I would retain my old ways. I went off to play overseas and didn't see Tom again for several months. "Lucky for me I ran into him again. In late February of this year, with just over 2 months before WNBA training camp, I saw Tom again and decided that I should give his shooting techniques another chance. We worked together about 5 times in two months, focusing on a quick, high release and using the energy from my legs to control my shot. I allowed myself some time for the adjustment, and tried not to worry about missing my shots while I learned the new form. "After a couple of weeks, I started noticing the results. My shot was much faster than it had ever been before, enabling me to get it off before my defender could get to me. My percentage began to climb steadily. I noticed that the spin on the ball was correct for the first time in my life and that I finally had a nice, highly arced shot. "I showed up for training camp in May with renewed confidence and a much improved pro game. My coaches quickly noticed that I was shooting more and shooting better. I've seen my minutes, points, and percentages all go up over the first third of the season. Yesterday, I started my first game in 2 years. I've improved a lot of areas of my game over the past off-season, but working with Tom and learning this new shot are the most important factors of my success this year. "I think Tom's coaching can be extremely helpful to players at all levels. The techniques he teaches can be learned and mastered quickly, with only a few coaching sessions. He also coaches the mental side, how to be more focused and how to trust oneself. And he works with you to develop a practice routine. His "Swish" video can be a great tool for individual players and for coaches who'd like to learn how to teach this method of shooting. Finally, and most importantly, it is never too late (or too early) to learn the right shooting technique." -- Kate Starbird, Utah Starzz While in Indiana, I will also be putting
on two Trainings for Coaches who would like to learn a new way
to coach shooting. They will be in Evansville on Thursday, July
5th, from 7-9PM at Memorial High School (contact Coach Dave Hayden
for details at 812/429-1121), and at Martinsville High School,
30 miles SW of Indianapolis, on Sunday, the 8th, from 1-5PM (contact
Coach Rex Harris, 317/422-8632). Cost is just $20. But reality is so much different. To Master anything requires patience and dedication over a long time. It requires loving the practice and not expecting to reach the ultimate goal any time soon, if ever. It's a process! It's the Journey, not the Destination. In fact, the more you master something, the more you realize you have yet to learn. But to many people, because of the programming they've had, that kind of thinking and living one's life seems strange. In my shooting clinics, I've come to realize that what I'm teaching -- principles of ball flight control -- can become a Mastery practice. I like to put on clinics of at least four hours, and with that amount of time, I can show them they are on a path to become "masters" of shooting, if they choose it. Leonard describes Mastery as, "the mysterious process during which what is at first difficult becomes progressively easier and more pleasurable through practice." By that definition, I could be seen as a Master to some degree in shooting. Maybe I'm a 5th degree black belt in shooting, or 7th degree, who knows? I'm not and will never be a total Master of the skill. I don't know if anyone really can. But some long-time great shooters like Chris Mullin and Jeff Hornacek probably have approached it as closely as anyone. People on the path of Mastery learn to love the practice. I can tell I'm in that category because I love to shoot. I play and coach golf, and I love to practice golf, too. I can spend hours just chipping or putting, without the need to go prove myself on the course, though I love playing the game, too. My mentor in golf is a master golfer, though he would never call himself that. His book, "Extraordinary Golf" (by Fred Shoemaker), is a marvelous treatise on learning and coaching golf ... or any human activity. In basketball, after the kids learn the basics of my Method, they report greater and greater enjoyment and begin to have tremendous control over distance and direction. Their shooting is becoming Accurate, Consistent, and Repeatable, qualities of a highly skilled performer. I show them they can demonstrate to themselves this is true. I invite them to come close to the basket, where we start every practice, and move their focus on the target 4" left or right, and then shoot and brush the inside of the rim on either side, over and over, with some level of consistency. I show them they can take jump shots and intend, on purpose, to shoot 9" farther than the target demands and hit the back of the rim. And they can purposefully reduce power or increase height and hit the front rim. They learn they can sight on the target and then close their eyes and shoot quite well. They can look at a marker on the floor directly beneath the basket and, while keeping their eyes there, shoot remarkably well (once they start to trust themselves). I teach them how to shoot over the backboard with greater consistency. These are some of the ways they can see how proficient they are becoming, like a trick shot artist. They start not just to make shots, but to make shots "beautifully." At the end of my clinics, I invite the kids to coach themselves with their opposite hand. This kind of flexibility and control are the realms of a Master, and I introduce ideas from the book, that of loving practice and finding and committing to an Instructor who knows the art or skill intimately and how to coach it. A coach in Iowa, after learning my Method, told me he got extremely good at hitting different parts of the rim, on purpose, to create rebounding opportunities for specific players. If that isn't a degree of Mastery, I don't know what is. In last month's Newsletter, the example of the 15 year old boy making 150 shots in a row and 93-94% of 550 shots are the performances of a master-in-training. Mastery of anything takes a lot of desire,
commitment and practice. But, if you can ignore the pull of
quick results and instant rewards, it leads to the greatest level
of satisfaction and achievement. It's what we all really want.
· Read this remarkable review by Coach Ken Lindsay of Evansville, Indiana, who has a coaches' website called the "Basketball Coaches Corner." In Ken's introduction to the Review in his "What's New" section, he says, "The Coach's Toolbox is where to read my review of an instructional video that will improve your jump shot and free throw shooting more than you can dream. It is called 'Swish,' by Tom Nordland and sure sounds like 'string music' to me. The legendary coach Pete Newell says, 'Every NBA player should have this video.' However, it is my opinion this video spans all levels from the beginner to the professional. In fact, most of you parents need to buy it for your child and let him, or her, teach you how to shoot jump shots and free throws." The review is at: Review by Coach Lindsay -- Read this review by Dr. Jim Gels of Charlevoix, Michigan, who has a coaches' website called the "Coach's Clipboard": Review by Dr. Gels -- Read this wonderful review by Guy Power
from his website, Power Basketball: -- Coach Michael Wells gives the Swish
video an "A+" rating. His Website is: Coach
Wells' Site, and there's a link to his Review at the bottom
of the Home Page. My "Mission" is to shift the way shooting is taught in this country. To do that I'll have to reach millions of people, sell hundreds of thousands of videos and get my method taught in thousands of schools and clinics across the country. I'll need to train countless coaches and get strategic partnerships with key basketball people, associations and corporations. The video is an excellent introduction to the Method, and people who watch it (and even people who just read my articles) report they are transforming their shooting. If you are interested in learning how (better)
to shoot and/or coach shooting, the Swish video will give you
a tremendous jump start. As you can see from the remarkable
testimonials and endorsements, it's a "special" video.
But to achieve my mission, I need help. Contact me if you'd
like to be part of whatever this evolves into. I'll welcome
your energy and ideas. Thanks. Below are a couple Questions I've been asked recently. Can you set the ball too early? How do you fix that? Q: I don't want to be overprecise, but is it possible to bring the ball up to the set point too soon? In other words, as a player has the ball in triple threat position, when should the ball get raised up to the set point? As the player's knees drop the body down before starting to rise up? Before that? I see some players getting the ball to the set point well before initiating the shot, but it usually looks awkward. A: I'm aware of how tall girls are told, sometimes, to get the ball overhead right away to avoid having it knocked away and this gets them very mechanical and unnatural. It works to get the ball more out of reach, but it also inhibits the girls from getting a powerful, fluid lower body/upper body action to shoot from. I think the main thing here is not to get too technical about it. If you try to analyze exactly when, bio-mechanically, the ball should be set, it gets kids in their heads about it and all naturalness leaves. Awareness coaching works better. If the kids know that they want to get ready soon enough to "use" all the available leg drive (what I call "UpForce") as they go to shoot, they'll learn naturally when and how to set the ball. It will require a "quick" setting, without it becoming mechanical (do this and do that, etc.). The following kinds of questions will help them get it: -- Okay, that time did you feel you set
the ball too quickly, too late, or just in time to catch the
upward leg energy? Questions like these will lead them to learning, whereas telling them when to do things will make them mechanical and tight. Trust them to learn this stuff without analyzing too much. If they feel they're setting too early, they'll naturally adjust to a later setting. If they're too late, they'll figure out how to get ready sooner the next time. I know from my coaching that if I mention anything physical, it gets the students immediately into (1) making themselves wrong, and (2) trying to get it "right" or trying to "fix" it. Awareness questions are much more powerful. -------------------------- This is not a question, per se, but lots of people have asked for a great way to practice the Release and connecting it to leg energy. The answer is a Wall. Work against a wall a lot, without a basket. Stand just 4-5 feet away to do this practice. (The wall needs to be clear of things, overhangs, bulletin boards, indents, etc.) There you can observe yourself shoot without the distraction of a basket, without the "lure" to make the shot to look good, without the continual judgment of performance that we all get sucked into. There you can more easily note how you release the ball, observing the wrist and hand and arm. The hand will bounce or flop if the wrist is relaxed, and that's the goal. By watching what you do with a goal in mind, you'll see yourself learn very quickly. Shoot upward against the wall at a very high angle, having the ball "glance" the wall on the way down, not hit it on the way up or at the top. The latter mean you are wristing or flipping or throwing the ball. Aim high and watch how you do it. If the wrist is totally relaxed, the hand will flop directly forward, in line with the imaginary target. If it isn't relaxed, the hand can do any number of motions. Start with no legs, and shoot over and over until you have a very relaxed Release. Then slowly add the leg drive, what I call UpForce (U/F), shooting higher and higher, staying in the same position. The idea is to shoot up. Observe what happens as you add leg power. Are you getting 100% of the U/F energy? If not, what percent are you using? 20%? 50%? 80%? 100% is the goal with most shots. You can even start to observe your "accuracy" by picking a line or a spot to shoot in line with, and see what happens. You will find the more you depend on the U/F to power your shots, the easier it is to be accurate and consistent. Everything is very visible when you shoot against the wall. Master these simple things and shooting will get easier and easier. Great exercise: If you find you very easily
slip back into old patterns when the basket is added (very common),
do this: Stand under a basket to the right or left about 15
feet at a spot where there's a wall you can shoot against. Shoot
a few times as above, training yourself to do more with the big
muscles and less with the wrist and hand. Then back up a bit
and turn and quickly shoot at the basket. Compare the two motions.
Is there any difference? Note what the differences are. Then
repeat. The goal is that the shot with the basket can be as
relaxed and efficient as the one against a wall. This "comparison"
shooting, one, then the other, over and over and over, will train
the body to choose the more effective and consistent "new"
motion. ANTICIPATING SHOTS I saw a couple games recently between 7th grade girls. The shooting was mostly poor, and oftentimes it was hard even to get shots off. This happened to involve a team that I will be coaching soon, and I was asking myself what's needed. I saw two needs: (1) A method of shooting better, and (2) team movement and screens and picks to open the girls up for quick shots. I'll use girls for the example here, but this applies to boys, too of course. The first item is no problem. The Swish Method will be exactly what they need to learn to make shot after shot when they're open and have time to shoot. For the second item, I see a couple, fairly simple solutions. CATCH & SHOOT: Against a zone, quick passes will free players to shoot. Loading an area (sending extra players there) will permit, with quick passes and quick shots, someone to get uncontested shots off. Against a man-to-man, you need to set good screens and then, when coming off the screen to receive the pass, be ready to catch and shoot quickly! At this age, not many defenders can anticipate this kind of movement and passing and intercept the ball, or be in the right spot to inhibit or block a quick shot. If the screen, movement and passing are done quickly and effectively -- WITH ANTICIPATION TO GET A SHOT OFF QUICKLY -- many shots will be possible. ONE DRIBBLE & SHOOT: As an attack against man-to-man defenses, the Pick & Roll is a great team play to free people up for jump shots (or layups). The idea here is for the person with the ball to wait, before dribbling, until a Pick is set by a teammate. Anticipating the Pick, the shooter fakes away from the Pick and then moves toward the Pick to get rid of her defender. Key is that the Pick be well set. The person setting the Pick needs to plant herself firmly and solidly in the way and then be ready to pivot and roll toward the basket. If the picker's defender then switches to pick up the person with the ball, then the picker is open as she is moving toward the basket. A quick pass from the dribbler or a pass-pass via a third teammate to the picker will result in short, open jump shots or layups. Most often, however, at this age, is that the Pick will open the person with the ball for a quick jump shot before the defense can recover. This requires that the person with the ball ANTICIPATE being open for a moment when she fakes and dribbles past the Pick. A single, quick and powerful dribble can be performed to initiate the shot. The key is in ANTICIPATING the moment, being ready, and knowing how to dribble quickly to the open spot, focus on the basket, and take the shot. I know dribbling is often shaky for kids at this age, but I feel just one quick and strong dribble can be learned relatively easily, and it can then be used to trigger the shot motion. If there is any hesitation, the opening will probably be lost. A team with good shooting mechanics and skill will score a lot of points at this age with these simple plays. Work on these things and see what you learn.
You can practice by yourself or with a friend. Your coaches
will know how to coach the team movement and passing. If you
know how to put the ball into the basket quite consistently,
these "plays" will be run for you often. Related to Coaching, not Shooting... I'd like to recommend something to you, especially to youth coaches. You may already be on the same wavelength as these folks, but I wanted to introduce to you a wonderful movement called "The Positive Coaching Alliance" (PCA). They are located out of Stanford and want to help coaches be more effective by teaching them how to be more "positive." Their slogan is "Transforming youth sports so sports can transform youth." They are developing marvelous methods and languaging for coaching that helps kids learn the great things about sports, counter to the "winning is everything" philosophy that professional sports conveys and many coaches unwittingly get seduced into forwarding. Phil Jackson is involved as a spokesman and appears on their CD's, talking about how he's been influenced by their teachings. The PCA offers books, CD's, and coaches' trainings where they teach coaches how to use the wonderful methods they've developed. I've offered to do shooting clinics for basketball coaches in conjunction with them. Go to their website at Positive Coaching Alliance and get introduced to their stuff and staff and get on their mailing list. They are a most impressive group. The head guy, Jim Thompson, is a longtime youth coach, a great organizer and fund raiser, and he's now assembled a paid staff of seven dynamic coaches who help him manage the movement. A cute story: One of the PCA coaching
principles is to far outweigh criticism with positive comments.
A suggestion is a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative coaching.
Phil jokes on one of the CD's how Horace Grant and he have a
"thing" going back many years and he finds it hard
to have a 5:1 ratio when working with him. The best he can hope
for in this coaching relationship, he says with a chuckle, is
about 2:1! Please tell others about my site and my
video. Send them the URL (http://www.swish22.com) and let them
know there's hope for better shooting. (More than "hope,"
it's a proven Method.) See my Website for the latest news about
Clinics, Camps and If you'd like to organize some clinics or camps for me, call or email me. Here's a direct link to the Clinics &
Camps page: ------------------------------------------------------------ To SUBSCRIBE to this Newsletter: To UNSUBSCRIBE from this Newsletter: ------------------------------------------------------------ |