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and respect your privacy. 1. Welcome from the Coach 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. Down the stretch it was good strategy to foul because both teams' players would usually make only 1 of 2 free throws. One of Duke's top guys, a wonderful player, was at the line and the commentators talked about how he's a "good" shooter. They pointed to the fact that he shot 72% from the Line last year. I guess "good" is a relative term. For players who shoot 50-60% from the line, 72% is terrific. When I played many years ago, 70-72% was mediocre. But now when so many players can't shoot even that well, 72% is considered good. Our standards have surely been lowered. A week or so later Duke had no trouble beating Portland 104-62, but they missed 19 of their first 20 three-point shots, finishing with 5 for 25, 20%! On Dec. 1st, 11th ranked Stanford shot only 40% from the free throw line and lost in overtime to a hungry, never-say-die Texas team!!! Stanford missed 15 free throws (10 for 25). Texas made a mediocre 24 for 36 (67%), but compared to 40%, they were true "marksmen." Now if a couple of our top-ranked college teams can shoot this poorly, what does it say for the lesser teams? In the pro game, you can find similar stories all the time. On Dec. 1st, the Golden State Warriors missed 16 free throws in the first half (making just 6 of 22 for 27%!!!) and finished 16 for 38 from the Line (42%) in a 29 point loss to Dallas. At the end of the first half, Coach Don Nelson did a "Hack-a-Shaq" type ploy that got them an 8 point bulge at the half. After one of the Warriors, who's shooting very poorly from the line this year, missed two free throws, Don had the Mavericks foul him in the back court 3 more times. He missed 7 straight free throws until finally making one, finishing 1 for 8 for the night. In field goals, two of the Warriors shot well, making 16 of 30 (53%), but the rest of the team shot only 17 for 53 (32%!). SOMETHING IS MISSING! I don't mean to just criticize these players and teams without having an answer. For each of these shooting horror stories, there are examples of great shooting for stretches, too. It's too easy, I know, to throw stones at other people's performance without any purpose, and it's not very kind. I know they're doing the best they know how. The coaches are coaching the best way they know. But there is something these fine athletes and coaches don't know about the process of producing accurate, consistent and repeatable shooting. If and when a team with the coaching and talent of Duke can learn to shoot lights out ... all the time ... they'll be truly invincible. They're almost that way now without great shooting. I'm saying that I know a more effective
way to learn and coach this critical skill. It's shown in my
Swish video and in my shooting clinics and camps. It's hinted
at in the articles and newsletters I write. I can even train
coaches to coach shooting this way. That's where I can make
a big difference in the game today: training coaches at all
levels (and especially at the youth level) to understand shooting
better and learn to coach great "pure" shooting (see
next section on this). If you've been reading these newsletters for awhile or have rambled through the background articles on my website, you know I see a powerful, yet simple, way that shooting can be learned and coached, and my intention is to help shift the game of basketball with this method. In that vein, I want to stress how important you are in my vision! I want to train and motivate coaches all over the country to coach this stuff. You'll find it is an uncomplicated way to approach the skill. And once you understand it, you will see it's the way the few great shooters in the game shoot. To achieve my goals, I need to magnify my efforts. As one person, I can only do so much. The Internet gives me a global audience, so here I can launch the project and here I can urge and guide it along with articles, newsletters, testimonials, on-line coaching, etc. I envision very soon some pages on my site dedicated to coaches, where we share our successes and failures with each other coaching this method. Video clips will soon be easy enough to capture and display and view that I can quickly get points across using that medium. And you'll be able to send clips to me to post on the site to assist other coaches. CD's and DVD's can be used as well. My next video will be on the subject of coaching the method. So far, over 60 coaches (and would-be coaches) have responded to my subtle offer to train people in this method, but now I want to raise the bar. To accomplish this I see I will primarily coach and support you in the beginning through my site and by email communications. I will also, as the numbers develop, start to have 2- or 3-day coaching trainings here in northern California in the coming year. As I travel, I will encourage the coaches and parents who coordinate my clinics and camps to organize coaches' trainings at their gyms for local coaches when I'm in town. Last summer I had two prototype clinics in Indiana this way. Becoming an effective coach of shooting is not a complicated, long drawn out process. It can happen fairly quickly. Once you have learned how to shoot this way yourself, which is what I require first (to a minimal level of competence), then coaching it becomes possible. I will train you in how to communicate the method and how to observe and coach it. It's very much a natural approach that kids like and quickly adapt to. Of course, we're human and we interfere easily and quickly with ourselves, but with patience and intention and commitment, we CAN learn anything. How long it will take depends on the level of awareness the student has, and his or her motivation to practice and observe what's going on. I have faith and experience that the body learns very fast once awareness is put in front of performance (in front of 'looking good'). This method is universal. Everyone, from approx. grades 6 or 7 and older, can learn this way to shoot. It's very natural and comfortable. My coaching is basically the same, whether you're a beginner or a seasoned professional. In fact, I believe strongly that an open-minded professional player can learn a lot by watching young kids practice and learn the method. If you would be interested in this possibility
for you, please email me at Tom@swish22.com.
I will give you some simple "homework" to get you
started and then we can be in communication FOR great "pure"
shooting. Thanks! I've had a little bit of training in this area of conversations, and I know they can be very effective. However, the trick is that the conversation be "FOR" the subject, not just "ABOUT" it. I'll give an example using money as the subject. A conversation "about" money would usually be talk about how there's never enough, or about how difficult it is to earn it or keep it or save it. You might talk about how, in your family, money wasn't ever talked about (like my family), or that it was talked about too much. It might include complaining about the lack of it, or criticizing people who had it, and wishing you had more. This conversation is almost always about the Past. A CONVERSATION "FOR" IS ABOUT THE FUTURE! A conversation "for" money is about the Future. It's talk of the power of money and what it can do for you and for everyone. It's for ways to increase wealth, not just rationalize why you don't have enough. In this kind of conversation, you look for ways to earn more of it, spend it wisely, invest it, use it to help others. It creates Possibilities and Opportunities, a powerful environment for learning and growth in this area. You'll see the ways you sabotage your accumulating of wealth and it will lead to you having more and understanding the whole process of acquiring and keeping it. Now let's convert that conversation to one about shooting. Most players probably don't talk much about their shooting any more. They just work real hard at taking a lot of shots from different spots, hoping they go in and wondering why they don't. It's like you're "supposed" to know how to shoot. It's a conspiracy of silence because no one knows what to say, what to talk about. With tons of repetitions they probably get a little better, but more often they just solidify a method that doesn't work very well. My suggestion is that players talk about what they are doing and feeling and thinking with a coach or friend as they practice shooting and after practice and games. (Coaches: Encourage players to talk to each other and with your staff.) Talk about what you want. Set goals. Talk about what actually happens when the ball flies toward the basket. What kind of height and spin do your shots have? Is there any consistency? Where do your shots typically land? What happens with your use of body/leg power and the upper body Release action? Talk about your own experiences, but also say what you see in others. Especially notice how the better shooters shoot, but take in all the shooters. Can you see what makes the better shooters so great? Can you see how, for others, shots break down and fail? What is it that fails? ...the Release, the Follow Through, the use (or non-use) of the legs, lack of confidence, lack of focus, fear, doubt? Talk about what you see when you watch games, in person and on TV. Can you tell when a shot is going to go in before it gets to the basket? If yes, how do you know? There are very few great shooters any more. Can you recognize a truly great shooter? ASK QUESTIONS! A big part of conversations is asking questions. If you don't know what to say, just ask a question. If you can't think of a question, just start it up by saying, "Joe, or Jenny, tell me how you learned to shoot. What works for you when you go to put the ball in the basket?" That will start a conversation, especially if the player or teammate is curious about shooting, too. Ask what others see and feel. Ask them to tell you what they see in your shot. Ask the better shooters to describe what it is they have mastered to some level. Some will not be able to describe, but others will. Ask for Coaching! This is HUGE! When you find someone who seems to know more than you do, ask her or him to coach you, to guide you in your exploration of shooting. People love to be asked to coach others! By talking about things, we get them out in the open and answers can come. If we stay silent, all we get is what we know and think, which isn't really very much. GO FOR IT! So ... jump right in and talk about shooting, talk about what's happening and what you want your future to be. Make the talk FOR great shooting, not just ABOUT it. Look for ways to raise the bar on the conversation, and to take chances, both with your words and with your actions. Just talking about the fear you feel when a game is on the line will help you face the fear the next time. And your teammates will relate to your fear or doubt and then express their own, and you'll have immediate team bonding. We're all human. We have the same mental processes that can create great things as well as interfere with us, that can sabotage our performances. Confidence can lead us to great performance, but it needs to be backed up with effective technique. Fear and doubt can cause us to fail miserably. When you hear of a different way to shoot,
give it a try. Let your experience be the judge. And if you
find a truly great "coach," ask him or her to help
you! You'll shortcut the learning and get quickly to the essence
of shooting (or any skill you want to tackle). The more you
truly "know" about shooting and how it can be learned
(both intellectually and physically), the more quickly you will
start to master it. And conversations can mix up the pot and
get the learning flowing a lot more powerfully. Article #1: The
Trouble with Shooting (written in 1997) I have other articles on my site as well.
To go directly to that page: Articles On this page on the right you can choose 'Season Stats,' 'Game-by-Game Stats,' or 'Career Stats.' You can also click on a link to see the player's team's statistics, among other things. This same information is available for WNBA players. Here's an example for Chamique Holdsclaw: Chamique Holdsclaw's statistics The Internet is a fabulous source of information
like this. I suppose if you go to college websites, you'll be
able to see the stats for the college teams. It's not centralized
as it is for the NBA, but I'm sure many colleges have the programming
power to put up the numbers. When people buy my shooting video, I suggest something that pleasantly shocks them. I suggest that their kids can coach them in shooting. What 12 or 14 year old wouldn't love to be able to coach mom or dad in something? Usually, of course, it's the other way around, the parents teaching the kids. But if you take something like shooting a basketball, you are probably more skilled than your parents are, especially as you play more and more (and they sit and watch you more and more). This sounds preposterous, I'm sure. How can a young player coach someone else in something that is being learned? My answer to that is that you will be surprised what you can coach. THE BEST COACHING IS ASKING QUESTIONS! When you know how to do something to some level of competence and someone else asks you to help her or him, here's what you can do. (You don't have to be an expert; you just have to know a few key things.) (1) First, they have to want to be coached! Make sure they are receptive to the idea. Don't talk them into it. Make it clear they are "asking" for help. Then be clear on what it is they want to be coached in, and then ONLY COACH THAT. Do not try to coach them on something they haven't asked to be coached in. People don't like to be coached when it is "uninvited." In this example the subject is "shooting," and it's assumed you can shoot pretty well and you know how you do what you do. (If you have my video, you will really know what works with shooting, but even if you don't have the video, if you shoot fairly well -- or have any other skill that you do well -- that's enough to get started.) (2) Secondly determine how long the person wants to be coached. Don't leave it "open ended," meaning you have (or think you have) permission to coach her or him forever. Set a period (or a series of periods) of 1/2 hour, or an hour, or whatever, and then stick to that. Here's how it could happen if you have the video: The idea is to watch the video together, and then for the parents to pretend they know nothing about shooting and let their child(ren), YOU, lead the coaching. If the parent is already a good shooter, then ask her or him to use the opposite (weak) hand so they're in the role of a beginner. This coaching is possible because the method is so simple and natural and it gets results so quickly. If you don't have the video yet, then you can try this if you know more about shooting than your parents. Ask them if you can "experiment" with coaching them in shooting. If they agree, and you have a period of time set up, then go for it. And here's what to do: Start by finding one aspect of shooting that is important and focus on that. Let's say it's the height of the shot. (For later sessions you can suggest other "key" areas; for example, spin, use of the leg power, the Set Point, Release, Follow Through, etc.) Before you start, get in touch with how you shoot relative to height, if you don't already know. Let's say you shoot medium high to high, and you want to help your dad or mom learn to shoot that way. The key, as I said above, is that once you have the lesson set up and the action to be coached is determined, then all you really need do is ask questions. An occasional demonstration can also help dramatically, just so it enhances their awareness of what's possible for them. Step 1: Set up the parameters and a method of communication Once you have the focus of the lesson determined, then demonstrate a few shots and ask what she or he sees in terms of height in your shots. Find a way for them to rate how high each shot is (the bottom of the ball relative to the rim at the highest point in the ball flight). For this example, we'll use a physical scale... so many feet above the rim. Step 2: Then get them in action and and ask them to report what they see and feel In this step, you just ask them to shoot and report to you exactly what happened, no more, no less! With the scale you've set up, they should fairly quickly be able to report that a shot was 1' above the rim at the highest point, for example, or 2 1/2' or 4'. Don't think you know the answer. Don't think you know how high they "should" shoot. Stress to your "student" at this time that this is a mutual discovery process. You and they are both exploring this, and the goal is learning about height and how it's created and how it affects a basketball shot. Step 3: Don't interfere! They'll do the learning! This is the critical last step of this example. Keep them in the process of inquiry and discovery. If you try to tell them what's right, it will interfere with them learning about height or arch. Instead remain "neutral." Don't know. Be open to anything, though, of course, you know from your own experience that higher is more effective. But you want them to "discover" that same truth, not be told by you because then it's your learning, not theirs. One last point here. As a coach, it is very important not to let judgments come in to your assessment of their performance. If you act excited when they shoot higher or when the ball goes in, they'll then try to repeat that to please you. Stay as neutral with your emotions as you can. A shot is just a shot. A miss is no different than a make, if you are truly exploring height (or whatever aspect of shooting you choose). Too many coaches become cheerleaders for performance, and this robs the student of the value of pure awareness without judgments. If you want to be a cheerleader, make it for their awareness, which is how they will best learn. YOU CAN COACH ANYTHING THIS WAY What's beautiful about this way of coaching is that you don't have to know a lot about something to be an effective coach. If you know the questions to ask, you can powerfully help any student learn. As a coach, see if you can just be a facilitator for awareness! Learning happens with awareness, not by you telling or demonstrating things. Yes, sometimes, a demonstration is just what's needed, and some people can learn by being told what to do. But most of us learn purely by awareness of what we do relative to a goal or intention. If we discover that higher is more effective and we just observe how high we shoot, our amazing bodies will start to experiment with a different way to use leg power or maybe a change in the shot motion from a throw or flip to a push might be appropriate. Curiosity, exploration, discovery, openness.
These are the qualities of a Learner. Invite your parents to
examine this stuff with you and not know the outcome. What will
happen is incredible learning and joy. And they'll call you
a wonderful coach! I invite you to bookmark my Website (Swish22) so you can go there easily to catch my latest comments on shooting. You can read about my video there (including endorsements, testimonials, reviews and an Overview of the video), my coaching, and the many articles on shooting I've written. You can see archived back issues of this Newsletter and, of course, subscribe, if you're not already getting this on a regular basis. Please tell others about my site and my
video. Send them the URL (http://www.swish22.com) and let them
know there's a proven method for better shooting. See my Website for the latest news about Clinics, Camps and Private Sessions. If you'd like to organize some clinics or camps with me, call or email me. Here's a direct link to the Clinics
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